Thursday, December 18, 2008

right tank catch up

9 hours

The basic structure of the tanks is similar to the outboard leading edge but the tanks require multiple layers of additional detail.  Fabrication from raw stock to finished part is very rewarding.  The inboard tank stiffeners called for lots of cutting and filing... nothing that a vise, hack saw, and energy could not handle though.  So far there have been no tasks that would require metal to be cut with a band saw...

The right tank is nearly to the same point as the left.  Next up will be disassembly to work on the internal structure for the fill, drain, level sensors, vent and such... then the pro seal begins!

From raw stock to finished part... there is quite a bit of detail fabrication, fitting, and assembly to the tanks.

raw stock to finished part :)
start with heavy angle stock
rough cuts to shape
fitting the finished forward tank attach angle
transfer the center hole from piece to piece, attach and match drill the outboard to the spar by position
assemble everything to set the Z channel attachments to the baffle 
fully cleco the inboard and outboard ribs of the tank
remove everything and match drill the baffle to the interior Z channel attachments
drill the baffle and countersink the skin