16 NOV 14: Page 16-3 step 4: 8.75 hours

Began riveting the right wing skin.  I did the left wing by back riveting and I really didn’t want to back rivet the right wing – it took way too long to back rivet.  I began bucking the rivets that I could reach.  About 1400 a local -14 builder – Mike Hammond – swung by and helped me shoot the left and right wings.  It’s amazing how fast the skins went with two people!  We finished up both wings except for a few areas on the rear spar that I’ll easily be able to finish up by myself.  Looks like I’ll be starting the tanks sooner than expected!

11 NOV 14: Page 17-3 step 14: 2.75 hours

Finished riveting the left leading edge:

12 NOV 14: Page 16-2 step 6: .7 hours

Began dimpling the right wing skins – no pics

13 NOV 14: Page 16-2 step 6, page 17-3 step 9: 3.15 hours

Finished dimpling right wings skins and right leading edge:

14 NOV 14: Page 17-3 steps 9-14: 5.5 hours

Dimpled the screw holes in the right splice strip for #8 screws.  Riveted the nutplates onto the W-1019-R splice strip:

Reassembled the right leading edge:

Began riveting the right leading edge assembly:

15 NOV 14: Page 17-3 step 14, page 16-3 step 2: 7.5 hours

Finished the right leading edge:

Clecoed the right wing skins together in preparation for riveting.  I had to cleco the leading edge just to see it!

9 NOV 14: Page 17-3 steps 14: 6 hours

Finished all but a few top ribs of the left leading edge.  Bottom complete!

Glad to say that all the rivets were shot without incident – nice and smooth:

I shot all the bottom skin rivets in the cradle, but the curvature of the top skin is too much to shoot the top skin in the cradle.  Had to shoot the rivets in the curve of the top leading edge with the piece laying on a workbench.  Shooting on a curve is always difficult.  The swivel flat set helps, but you still have to be very cautious about being square to the rivet as not to ding the skin – especially the top leading edge of the wing!

Looking good so far:

Only did a couple rows and stopped for the evening.  I was tired and didn’t want to push my luck with the top skin!  Should finish up this leading edge tomorrow.  Only a few ribs left to rivet.  Nice and smooth:

3/6 NOV 14: Page 16-3 step 3: 2 hours

Finished riveting the left wing skin – at least all the parts that I can rivet without help.  Back riveting took a long time – think I’ll get a partner to shoot the right skin.  Plus to back rivet I had to use a double offset back rivet set.  I really don’t like the shop heads that set produces.  VERY hard to hit the shop head with even pressure with the double offset, and you have to turn the pressure up very high.  Just really difficult to get nice shopheads.

8 NOV 14: Page 17-3 steps 9-14: 6.5 hours

Dimpled the L LE skin:

 Dimpled the screw holes in the splice strip for a #8 screw:

 Riveted the nutplates onto the W-1019-L splice strip:

Began to rivet the left LE assembly.  It’s so nice to be bucking rivets again instead of back riveting.  The shop heads are so much nicer and it is nice to be using much lower pressure at the gun.  Honestly, the factory heads look just as nice as back riveting.  Knock on wood, my leading edges will look very nice!

20 OCT 14: Top Wing Skin Prep: 1.75 hours

Countersunk the rear spar repair and clecoed the top skins to the L wing structure:

21 OCT 14 – 2 NOV 14: Page 16-3 step 3: 17.5 hours

Holy cow this has been a long month - I've been sick most of it.  Was down for about the first 2 weeks of October, got better for about 2 days, and have been sick again for the last week and a half - uggghhhh.  Bad timing as it just started getting cooler and it's perfect for building in the garage.

Rivets taped and ready for back riveting:

Almost finished.  Back riveting has taken a long time!

15 OCT 14: Priming wing skins: 2 hours

Finished priming wing skins – no pics.

17 OCT 14: Page 16-2 step 6: 2 hours

Dimpled the W-1002 and W-1003 top wing skins and the W-1028A and W-1028B wing box j-stiffeners:

18 OCT 14: Page 16-2 step 6, pg 9-18 step 7, pg 9-19 steps 1-2, pg 16-3 steps 1-3: 7 hours

Finished dimpling the left wing skins – start to go crazy after a while:

Finished the right elevator trim tab.  Riveted the hinge half to the right elevator.  Gap looks pretty good:

Bent the hinge pin to be secured by safety wire:

Finished product:

Started to rivet the left wing inboard top skin – had to drill out a few rivets due to not countersinking far enough.  Went over all the holes with the countersink bit to deepen them about .001-.002.

19 OCT 14: Page 16-3 step 3: 6.25 hours

Finished drilling out several proud rivets due to not countersinking the skin far enough.  Didn't want to deform the rib flange so I drilled all the way through the rivet.  I begin with removing the head the conventional way, but then drill through the tail with the smallest drill bit I have.  I go very slow, being very careful to drill straight through.  If done carefully, this is what you end up with:

 Squeezed the end rib/nut plate rivets:

Back riveted the rest.  It is extremely slow going, but produces excellent results.  Between flipping the frame back and forth, being extremely careful positioning the back rivet plate, and ensuring the skin is flat against the plate, this method takes quite some time.  The results are definitely worth it.  Hard to get good pics, but the skin is glassy smooth:

I couldn't reach the end rivets, I’ll have to order an offset 12” back rivet set.  Got almost all of them set though:

Got the inboard skin finished.  Now that I have my system down, the outboard should go quite a bit faster:

13 OCT 14: Primed wing parts, page 9-18 step 7 (right tab): 7.5 hours

First batch of Akzo – waiting for the :30 mix time before shooting:

Patched my figure 8 dimple while waiting.  The patch epoxied to the flange:

 The epoxy oozing through the figure 8:

Wrapped a piece of .032 in packing tape so it won’t stick to the epoxy:

Clamped together until it sets.  Front:

Back:

First batch of parts drying:

Had to rivet the hinge on the second elevator trim tab, so I could finish priming it:

Last batch for the night.  Always takes longer than I think it will due to having to wait for parts to dry, mixing more batches of primer, etc.  Have ½ of a leading edge skin and an outboard wing skin remaining.  Primed both elevator trim tabs, all leading edge ribs, wing walk doublers, splice strips, all wing/leading edge stiffeners, 1.5 leading edge skins, and all but 1 of the top wing skins: