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Big Hands and Small Places

DonFromTX

DonFromTX

Well Known Member
I guess they saved the worst for last. I have several hours now trying to put the pivot bolts in that hold the stabilator on! I have the nose jacked up a bit and the stabilator matching the fuselage, but the holes are elusive. Has anyone found an easy way to do this?
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Somewhere in my travels I picked up a pair of medium length forcepts that worked out pretty good in there. Even so, it was pretty tight. Superglue the washers.
 
I measured and super glued the washers on, so I know it will fit OK. I am going to try some fancy tools to hold the bolt while I wiggle the tail.

tomkk said:
Somewhere in my travels I picked up a pair of medium length forcepts that worked out pretty good in there. Even so, it was pretty tight. Superglue the washers.
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DonFromTX said:
I guess they saved the worst for last. I have several hours now trying to put the pivot bolts in that hold the stabilator on! I have the nose jacked up a bit and the stabilator matching the fuselage, but the holes are elusive. Has anyone found an easy way to do this?
Click to expand...

Find the closest airport-bum kid and put him/her to work!
 
I am not sure what the difficulty is because I havn't built a 12, but I did make a special tool for putting bolts into the RV4 elevator hinges. The problem was getting the bolt in far enough to one side and there was no finger room. My tool could be used in many simila situations built to suit each one. it is 2 pieces of metal, bent at 90 deg, one bent end goes on top of the bolt head, the other goes below the head and has a slot cut for the bolt shank. The 2 pieces then run alongside the shank to another 90 deg bend and the leg which is hand held. An elastic band holds the whole contraption together.
 
DonFromTX said:
I guess they saved the worst for last. I have several hours now trying to put the pivot bolts in that hold the stabilator on! I have the nose jacked up a bit and the stabilator matching the fuselage, but the holes are elusive. Has anyone found an easy way to do this?
eqrwoj.jpg
[/IMG]
Click to expand...

Don, don't know if your picture shows the actual situation you are working but it is a bit easier working from the top with all fiberglass fairings off and the rudder off and out of the way? You can also use a couple of "bullets" to get and hold the holes aligned. I made bullets from bolts with the threads ground off and the shank tapered. Then once the stab is on and supported carefully remove the bullets and insert the bolts.

CTT_3907-M.jpg
 
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For what it's worth, here is what we did to solve this problem (from my builder blog):
http://vieilleburette.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-guy-who-helped-me-conquer-stabilator.html

There is not much details on the tool made of scrap Al we used to hold and push the washers but it was very simple with a notch holding the washer and scotch tape to prevent it to fall. Once the tapered bolt is passed through you just pull the tool and the washer stays in place. You then remove the tapered bolt and replace it with the right one. You need an assistant because it's difficult to hold both washer holder and tapered bolt.
 
Yeah, the photo does not represent current status, I did take the fiberglass off. I got a tool thru the holes on the pilot side, will try more tomorrow - all alone and that is a lot of the problem.

Tony_T said:
Don, don't know if your picture shows the actual situation you are working but it is a bit easier working from the top with all fiberglass fairings off and the rudder off and out of the way? You can also use a couple of "bullets" to get and hold the holes aligned. I made bullets from bolts with the threads ground off and the shank tapered. Then once the stab is on and supported carefully remove the bullets and insert the bolts.

CTT_3907-M.jpg
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Nice to know you gave the same description that I feel.

WingedFrog said:
For what it's worth, here is what we did to solve this problem (from my builder blog):
http://vieilleburette.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-guy-who-helped-me-conquer-stabilator.html

There is not much details on the tool made of scrap Al we used to hold and push the washers but it was very simple with a notch holding the washer and scotch tape to prevent it to fall. Once the tapered bolt is passed through you just pull the tool and the washer stays in place. You then remove the tapered bolt and replace it with the right one. You need an assistant because it's difficult to hold both washer holder and tapered bolt.
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Taking your question a step further....Do all of these control surfaces need to come off again at paint time? I'm nearing the end of my empennage tail cone kit and not sure if I should go ahead and install all the tail feathers as per the manual at this time or should I wait?
 
After some thought, I thought this would help, it sure did, slid the bolt right into the holes! Also as someone pointed out, although uncomfortable, there is much more room to see and work from the bottom!
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All my control surfaces came off for painting. Otherwise I think you will end up with unpainted "shadows" where the surfaces meet the fuselage.
 
My paint shop painted my RV-12 with the stabilator mounted in place. It came out very well -- no shadows -- so it can be successfully done that way.
 
Although I hate to second guess the paint shop, I sure hope they do NOT take off my stabilator to paint. I can just see some paint guy in a hurry slapping it back without care that it takes. I think most all take the flaperons off as well, not so hard to see if they put it back correctly.

DHeal said:
My paint shop painted my RV-12 with the stabilator mounted in place. It came out very well -- no shadows -- so it can be successfully done that way.
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I think most professional paint shops will not disassemble or reassemble a homebuilt, they will want you to do it. My painter assigned one of his workers to help but it was up to me to get the parts off and on. That was OK by me.

After conferring with the painter, I decided to leave the stabilator on, and the painter did indicate that the paint may not be perfect in the shadow areas, however after it was done it looked perfect to me.
 
Washer wrenches

I share your frustration and every time I tried to push the bolt through, the super-glued washers fell off, or got pulled off when they stuck to my finger. I tired several home made versions without much success. I purchased a set of washer wrenches from aircraft spruce, a little steep at $35.00 for what they were. However they worked great. I also bought a device that holds a bolt so you can install it with only a thin piece of aluminum instead of fat fleshy appendages blocking your view. I highly recommend both of them for working in confined spaces.

Donnie Mac
 
I had both of those tools and was about to enlist the aid of the bolt holder if the vicegrips did not work. They worked well so no need to use them. I had some "gel" superglue, and it stuck the washers nicely, they did not come loose. Earlier when using ordinary super glue, the washers would come loose easily.

dsm8 said:
I share your frustration and every time I tried to push the bolt through, the super-glued washers fell off, or got pulled off when they stuck to my finger. I tired several home made versions without much success. I purchased a set of washer wrenches from aircraft spruce, a little steep at $35.00 for what they were. However they worked great. I also bought a device that holds a bolt so you can install it with only a thin piece of aluminum instead of fat fleshy appendages blocking your view. I highly recommend both of them for working in confined spaces.

Donnie Mac
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dsm8 said:
I share your frustration and every time I tried to push the bolt through, the super-glued washers fell off, or got pulled off when they stuck to my finger. I tired several home made versions without much success. I purchased a set of washer wrenches from aircraft spruce, a little steep at $35.00 for what they were. However they worked great. I also bought a device that holds a bolt so you can install it with only a thin piece of aluminum instead of fat fleshy appendages blocking your view. I highly recommend both of them for working in confined spaces./quote]

Thanks Donnie.
Any possibility you could provide a link to those specific tools?
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