Well after letting my primer that I sprayed yesterday set up, I got back to work on the the toolbox practice kit today. The primer came out pretty well. I probably sprayed it on a little too thick but I did a better job of spraying it on than I thought I would. This was another thing I've never had experience with so I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. Not terrible though.
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| Finished primer on the lid |
I got my first chance to use universal head rivets today. There are a couple different types of rivets that Van's RVs use - flush head and universal (or round) head. I've only used the flat head rivets up to this point. The universal head rivets provide a bit of an extra challenge as the rivet-setter has to concentrate a little more on where the rivet gun is placed (hopefully directly on the head of the rivet). I was doing well setting these universal head rivets... until about halfway through the row of the line I was working on. Then... I let the rivet gun slide off the rivet head. NOOOO!!! And then I let it happen a second time! Damn. You can see the damage in the pictures below...
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| Row of driven universal head rivets |
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| Damage to two rivets/skins in a row (I was riveting every other rivet) |
There's not much I can do about that damage. I sort of just laughed it off. It goes to show how much more experience I need to gain. It did put a bit of a scare in me... I just thought, "Man, what if I'd done that to a skin on my airplane?" That would've been awful. But I'll just keep getting more practice until I feel more comfortable with the rivet gun. After I become a pro riveter, the damage on my toolbox will just serve as a reminder of where I came from. ha!
After a little more work, I had the toolbox all finished up. It turned out OK. Parts of it I thought I did pretty well on and others I realized how much more practice I need. But that was the who point of doing this practice kit... just to gain experience and learn from my mistakes before I make those mistakes on the actual airplane. I had fun doing this project. Next I'll start in on the second practice kit I ordered... it's a small airplane control surface. Looking forward to getting started on it!
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| Finished product |
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| Finished product with the primed lid open |
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| Another shot of the damage... damn it. Lesson learned though! |
