After looking through the pictures on Fred Bauer, Jr?s RV-3B picasa page, I noticed the jig that he built the fuse on was fabricated out of steel. That got me to thinking about how I might build a fuse jig that would make better use of our tiny two car garage. Something that would keep me from parking outside, like I had to do with the RV-6.
The RV-3 firewall bulkhead (widest part) is 24? wide on the plans and I have 35? inches of space between my Miata and the garage wall. Built properly I could put castoring wheels on it for easy access during a work session, then I could roll it against the wall, lock the wheels and then pull my car back in for the night.
When the canoe needs to be flipped I could weld on tabs to the jig near the spar location and tailcone bulkhead, giving a nice way of working on the canopy, interior, etc. Maybe even chop off a foot of the legs to lower it all a bit. Could move it anywhere I needed it. Might even be able to mount the engine and cover the whole thing with two sheets when I needed to.
As the jig goes aft towards the tail, it would taper to minimize creep into free garage space.
Stan has a welding station in his hangar out at 52F and I am pretty sure he would let me pay for the parts and electricity used.
Throwing it out here to see if there are any dealbreakers that I haven?t thought about. If properly braced I don?t think twist would be an issue.
Doesn't sound like rocket surgery, but all my math classes had to do with accounting, so I throw it to 'the collective' for input.
b,
dr
Fred's jig:
![fitting%20the%20lower%20rear%20fuse%20skin.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Flh4.ggpht.com%2F_4_GO0bybLRE%2FR4AHiyZ81iI%2FAAAAAAAAAOk%2FVSkwzsRuRVM%2Fs720%2Ffitting%2520the%2520lower%2520rear%2520fuse%2520skin.jpg&hash=5bae69d7d80408a97a17b564c6b58a9e)
The RV-3 firewall bulkhead (widest part) is 24? wide on the plans and I have 35? inches of space between my Miata and the garage wall. Built properly I could put castoring wheels on it for easy access during a work session, then I could roll it against the wall, lock the wheels and then pull my car back in for the night.
When the canoe needs to be flipped I could weld on tabs to the jig near the spar location and tailcone bulkhead, giving a nice way of working on the canopy, interior, etc. Maybe even chop off a foot of the legs to lower it all a bit. Could move it anywhere I needed it. Might even be able to mount the engine and cover the whole thing with two sheets when I needed to.
As the jig goes aft towards the tail, it would taper to minimize creep into free garage space.
Stan has a welding station in his hangar out at 52F and I am pretty sure he would let me pay for the parts and electricity used.
Throwing it out here to see if there are any dealbreakers that I haven?t thought about. If properly braced I don?t think twist would be an issue.
Doesn't sound like rocket surgery, but all my math classes had to do with accounting, so I throw it to 'the collective' for input.
b,
dr