jlfernan
Well Known Member
Today I finally finished riveting in the aft bulkhead in my 9A. What an ordeal!! I mounted the tie down bracket to the bulkhead as was suggested several time on the site. The rivets on the fuselage sides, inside and out were a breeze. Used three different squeezer yokes and got them done lickity-split. Now the the fourteen(?) on the the lower 729 were terrible. I don't know if I was having a bad day or the planets were not lined up properly lined up? Of the fourteen, I had to replace six with #4 rivets. Nothing I tried would keep the smaller #3's from tipping over. Unfortunately the heads sit a little "proud" of the skins, but there is no way for me to dimple the skin. I decided a long time ago I would rather build a safe plane than a show plane, which explains the pile of replacement parts. Nothing too serious, but peace of mind is worth a few bucks. I tried different air pressures, different bucking bars, and even an offering to the aluminum Gods. My point is Doug needs to start a section for psychological srvices. You know, a place where someone can go and talk to the aeronuatical version of Dr. Phil, who will reassure us that everything will be fine. Am I the only one who that has days like this?
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