right tank catch up

6 hours
I picked up a set of crows feet to torque the aluminum pipe fittings in the tank and put them to use on the left tank, then moved on to the right tank and set all of the interior ribs in two proseal sessions.

Measuring proseal is much simpler and far less messy when using an actual scale rather than my make shift 10 to 1 balance.

crows feet and a torque wrench... whoo hoo!

riveting the anti-rotation bracket is a bit tricky since the torqued fitting and fuel pickup tube need to be in place when setting the rivet... at least i could not figure an alternative.

this simple working jig was very helpful

outboard end rib and fuel access panel

anti-rotation bracket for the fuel pick-up

fresh rivets and a ghostly reflection 

measure pro seal with a real scale ;) 

just about ready for the baffle

back on track

9 hours
A very good shop day.  I picked up some more rags, regrouped and cleaned for a fresh start.  I sanded down some high rivets at the tank fill flange... very nice, cleaned proseal and began final preparations of the right tank for the first proseal session.

By the end of the day the left tank is only lacking the inboard rib and baffle and the right tank is ready for a rib proseal session.  Tomorrow I plan to knock out two proseal sessions to bring the right tank to the same status and rivet the last rib in the left tank.  At that point I should have a clear idea if I will need more proseal for the baffles.

So far I have done all of my proseal spreading, dabbing, and filet work with different ‘popsicle’ sticks; for the flange this may not work out, I will experiment with squeezing through a freezer baggie.

The right tank is ready to go into the jig for final rib assembly.

right tank skin prepping for proseal

bring on the proseal! 

starting to like the smell... 

tank ghost...

proseal madness!

stiffeners buttered with proseal and clecoed in position for riveting

filler flange riveted and dressed with proseal

tank drain ready for proseal to encapsulate the rivets

Ho Ho... Doh!

6 hours

Most of the day was spent on final preparation of parts for the right tank... duburring, dimpling, scuffing, and cleaning.

I used my robo flaring and parker bending tools for the first time on the vent line, I need to pick up a set of crow’s feet to torque the fittings and finish the inboard rib.

What seemed like a great shop day turned a bit sour as I realized that I drilled the right tank access reinforcement ring without regard to its orientation to the access panel... after much head scratching to come up with an acceptable fix; modify the access plate to orient the sender correctly, fabricate a new pickup tube, replace the access plate, replace the rib, fabricate a new plate, order a blank plate...

...since I have finalized my planning for landing lighting on a pair of duckworks for wig-wag function and I have a small list of miscellaneous items to order from vans anyway, I have decided to simply order a new rib and plate from the ‘big list’.

I had hoped to break out some proseal... at the end of the day there remains a significant amount of prep to complete though... tomorrow...

The access plate is shown in the correct orientation, you can see the reinforcing ring is offset by 20 degrees or so... doh!

inboard rib on the left tank with access panel ring in place

bulkhead fitting for the vent line

vent line at the tank high point near the filler flange

ready to start the right tank... clean! 

cutting the access panel

Error!  I misaligned the ring when drilling it to the rib...

getting ribs and parts ready to start fitting the tank together

access panel misalignment

As it turned out I ended up fitting the right tank with a flop tube fuel pickup and could have just fabricated up a new blank plate here rather than replacing the rib...