Karl.Kruger
Member
One of the things that is tedious for me building this project is finding the centers of ribs and stiffeners, I know there are tools out there that people sell and use, but I created one that works pretty well and it's simple and quick to build.
The one in the picture is "7/8 wide X "3 1/4 long .060 Alclad, I found the exact center of the strip and drilled a #30 hole, it could have been smaller, a #35 or so might have been better, it doesn't matter though, the marker will drag itself to the center of the hole anyway. The #40 holes I drilled are exactly 1" apart. The variation in distance for the outer holes will allow the tool to get closer to the end of the stiffener, otherwise a quick touch up with a 6 inch rule will suffice. I think "3/4 from the center hole would have worked slightly better.
The rivets I used for the outer holes were MS20470AD3-9, again, shorter is fine, it was what I grabbed. I inserted the rivets in the outer holes and flipped the strip and the rivets over and with my automatic center punch, "staked" the holes all the way around the rivets very close to the hole in order to set the rivets to keep them from falling out.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/F7-_-_V5UbukHf7mXP8FNkTaLAADESBmtLTwySARAII?feat=directlink
To use the tool. secure your project piece and wedge the two rivets as shown in the picture and drag the metal strip down the center with the marker.
The one in the picture is "7/8 wide X "3 1/4 long .060 Alclad, I found the exact center of the strip and drilled a #30 hole, it could have been smaller, a #35 or so might have been better, it doesn't matter though, the marker will drag itself to the center of the hole anyway. The #40 holes I drilled are exactly 1" apart. The variation in distance for the outer holes will allow the tool to get closer to the end of the stiffener, otherwise a quick touch up with a 6 inch rule will suffice. I think "3/4 from the center hole would have worked slightly better.
The rivets I used for the outer holes were MS20470AD3-9, again, shorter is fine, it was what I grabbed. I inserted the rivets in the outer holes and flipped the strip and the rivets over and with my automatic center punch, "staked" the holes all the way around the rivets very close to the hole in order to set the rivets to keep them from falling out.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/F7-_-_V5UbukHf7mXP8FNkTaLAADESBmtLTwySARAII?feat=directlink
To use the tool. secure your project piece and wedge the two rivets as shown in the picture and drag the metal strip down the center with the marker.
