Prepping the skins and checking shape

Prepping the inner surfaces of the F-01473 side skins prior to priming..

Putting it all together was a little early as I hadn't primed or dimpled the skins yet, but I had to see what it looked like...awesommmmmme!!

Made a rookie mistake here by removing the external blue protective plastic from the skin. I should've just exposed the lines of rivets.

Now to pull it all apart again and prime the skins.

Prepping the F-01418B-L & R Longerons

Continuing on with the F-01418B Longerons after spending a few days on just the edges. Below, I've tried to show the sharp raw edges created when the holes are punched - these need to be smooth.

Below shows the difference between a deburred hole and a raw hole. (don't stress, all those little scratches were sanded out later.

I thought I'd show how easy it is to debur two sides of the one hole at the same time. This tool came in a set of five different sizes. It fits in a drill and has a tiny blade that depresses when a set pressure is applied in-line with the shaft. The pressure can be adjusted with a small grub screw in the thicker end of the tool. The blade is double-side, so when it passes through the hole, it performs the same action when being pulled back through the hole.

Wualla - Both sides deburred!!

Here it is being pulled back through the hole.

One longeron countersunk..........one not.

And on to the side skins. Not much to see here but decided to get them out at the end of the session to start tomorrow.........or later today as it was about 2am when I stopped here.

Aft Fuselage Start

The Aft Fuselage Longerons (F-01418B-L & R) are much thicker aluminium which means thicker edges to smooth. Additionally, when these pieces were cut, the cuts weren't very clean.

As a result, I had to

1. file all the edges with a coarse file
2. file all edges with a fine file
3. finish off the edges on either the Scotchbrite wheel or use a Scotchbrite pad to give it that smooth polished finish

This first image, I've used the coarse file on the near edge, but the far edge is untouched.

This has had a go with the coarse file, then the fine file and then the Scotchbrite to see how it polishes up. If you zoom in you can see there are still visible scratches from the coarse file. I would then have another go with the fine file and the Scotchbrite pad again until no scratches are visible.

The near side is slightly out of focus, but the far side shows a smooth edge.