Going to be prosealing in a few weeks and was wondering if anyone ever used this technique for inserting ribs. I was thinking instead of building a jig just clecoing the tank ribs in and one at a time, take them out, apply the seal and then slide them right back in. I tried to build a jig once but turned out horrible and thought instead if the jig, use the other ribs to hold skin in place. Just wondering if its been tried this way before and how it worked. I really dont want to try another jig. Not to sure if they'll slide in and out because of the dimples.
Van's Air Force
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prosealing, anyone ever try this?
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I did it the way you described, except I also had the tank in the jig. The tank was clamped to the jig, and the jig was clamped to the table (when riveting). Then, one at a time, I'd remove a rib, apply the sealant, then reinstall and rivet. The proseal acts as a lubricant making it "easy" to put the ribs back in. I also used a piece of tape across the open end of the tank (aft end) to pull the skin tight against the rib when riveting the aftmost upper and lower rivets.
IowaRV9Dreamer
Well Known Member
Hi Greg - I did it just as you described and it worked great. I also used a... jig 
I think maybe you are over-thinking the whole jig thing. All it is is basically something to hold the tank steady while you work on it. It doesn't hold anything in alignment (as you have already figured out - all the ribs do that).
Instead of thinking of it as a jig, how about an "assembly fixture"? The tolerances on it are really loose - think like 1/2 of an inch. Mine was as described in the manual - 2 pieces of wood with a (rough) tank cross section. These were attached to a 2x4 and padded where the skin touched them. The "assembly fixture" was great to hold everything steady, especially when clamped to the bench.
Good Luck!
I think maybe you are over-thinking the whole jig thing. All it is is basically something to hold the tank steady while you work on it. It doesn't hold anything in alignment (as you have already figured out - all the ribs do that).
Instead of thinking of it as a jig, how about an "assembly fixture"? The tolerances on it are really loose - think like 1/2 of an inch. Mine was as described in the manual - 2 pieces of wood with a (rough) tank cross section. These were attached to a 2x4 and padded where the skin touched them. The "assembly fixture" was great to hold everything steady, especially when clamped to the bench.
Good Luck!
Sparky
Well Known Member
Recommendation
Greg,
For what its worth here is my recommendation. I used a tank jig and would definitely do it that way again.
The jig allows you to orient the tank any way you need it to get the best access for riveting without having to rest the tank on the clecoes. If you bend the clecoes while resting the tank on them you can dent the skin around the clecoe. Also, as metioned above you can clamp the jig to your bench for better leverage while riveting. Finally, when installing the rear baffle, without a jig it would be difficult to balance the tank on its leading edge while you are busy (highly recommend having a partner to help with this part) trying to finished the job before the proseal starts to cure. All around I found the jig to be indispensible.
You can have my tank jig if you'd like. My daughter is planning a trip to Fargo within the next couple of weeks and she could bring it up.
Also, see this link to see some tank hints I posted a while ago:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?p=109820#post109820
Greg,
For what its worth here is my recommendation. I used a tank jig and would definitely do it that way again.
The jig allows you to orient the tank any way you need it to get the best access for riveting without having to rest the tank on the clecoes. If you bend the clecoes while resting the tank on them you can dent the skin around the clecoe. Also, as metioned above you can clamp the jig to your bench for better leverage while riveting. Finally, when installing the rear baffle, without a jig it would be difficult to balance the tank on its leading edge while you are busy (highly recommend having a partner to help with this part) trying to finished the job before the proseal starts to cure. All around I found the jig to be indispensible.
You can have my tank jig if you'd like. My daughter is planning a trip to Fargo within the next couple of weeks and she could bring it up.
Also, see this link to see some tank hints I posted a while ago:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?p=109820#post109820
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I don't like to build anything and only use it once unless I have to. So I didn't use any tank jigs. What I did was, I have two of those EAA benches that I built for the project, now those are way cool because they are heavy and solid. I used them to jig my wings and my tanks. How did I use them for the wings, simple I set them up to face each other and set the wings in between and made a simple bracket to support the tip end of the wing and then used long screws for the root end of the wing. Then I used the plumb bobs and then screwed in metal sheets at the trailing edge top and bottom of the wing and secured it all good. Then I revited on the top skin. When I used the benches for the tanks I put the benches together with an opening of about a foot, then I put a blanket in there and stuffed the tank skins in there, adjusted to get the opening I wanted and then stuck in the ribs.
I never thought about using the jig to just hold it for riveting. I thought the jig was to help get the cleco's in. I never used a jig when I did both leading edges and I didn't have a problem so I think I'll try to do without first and if all else fails, I can slap a loose one together. Thanks for all the input.
