January 12, 2008
I spent a lot of time working on these hinges this weekend. There are a lot more steps to do to make the hinges that are riveted together angle and sheet. Most of them need to be done in a certain order. I only rough cut the shapes with the bandsaw first. For parts that are riveted together, I just make the angle part square and trim to match the sheet portion later after all the holes are drilled and the sheet part is sanded to final shape. So before that, I drill the hinge base holes and bushing hole. Here is where I usually sand the base of the angle so that it actually is 90 degrees as opposed to slightly off. Then I match drill the rivet holes through the sheet and angle using clamps and clecos to hold it together. Then I sand the the sheet part to shape, put the clecos back in and trace that shape on the angle, then sand the angle to match the sheet. I know, it's really clear, I just didn't take any pictures. If you are really interested in all this, email me. The point is, it takes some time to go through all of these steps for all of these hinges. My friend, Ryan, helped me drill some of the rivet holes. Here are all the rest of the hinge parts that I will be making for the tail. All the rivet holes are drilled and the parts are all shaped. After I polish all the edges, I'll treat the surfaces with the alodine process, press the bushings, prime them, and then rivet them together.
Speaking of priming. I primed the two rudder hinges this weekend with zinc chromate primer. I covered up the bushing hole when I primed the part so it wouldn't get in there. I have to touch up a spot I missed though but it turned out really well.
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