Finishing Tapes on Aileron Ribs

 We had another warm dry day today so I was able to get the finishing on the aileron ribs.  It was very windy so I worked on the deck outside my attic.  A little crowed but it was out of the wind.

 For the inboard ends of the ailerons I made patches to wrap the inboard ends so there would only be 2 layers of fabric in the aileron gap.  I marked and ironed the corners so they would fit snugly on the end.  I also made a tab so the fabric wrapped around the front side of the spar.

On the top and bottom the fabric extends 1" beyond the structure just like it would with a 2" tape.  I'll do the same thing with the aileron cut out on the wing.

Rib Tapes On The Last Wing Panels

Today was a beautiful, dry, 70 degree day.  I was able to get the finishing tapes on rib for the last 2 panels.  Still lots of tapes to do as we get nice days.  Pretty nice for late January.

Remaining Wing Rigging Fittings Painted

I finished painting the rest of the wing fittings and they're cooling down in the oven after baking all afternoon.  I had some trouble painting the zinc chromate with my old air brush.  I've ordered a new one and it should be here tomorrow.  With the last of the fittings painted I can now install new cables on the 6 main ones.  I can't finish installing the cowling until the 2 forward flying wire fittings get  bolted to the fuselage.  We're getting there.

Painting Wing Fittings

 I've been grit blasting and painting all the fittings for attaching the wings, struts, etc.  This is about half of them.  After painting with Zinc Chromate primer and Black Enamel I load them in my oven and bake them.  The four 100 watt bulbs get it to 225 - 250 degrees F which cooks them nicely in about 2 hours.

Wire Dispenser for Wrapping Cable Splices

 I wanted a way to hold the loose coil of 22 gauge wire while wrapping the splice so that I didn't need to cut a piece of wire and risk getting my eyeball scratched again.  The end of a piece of safety wire got around my safety glasses when I was in the Air Force.  I still have a scratch.  I wanted a spool but couldn't figure out how to wind it.  I also liked the packaging of the 20 gauge wire with it's slit on the side to dispense the wire as the coil spins inside.  I figured I could duplicate their idea.

 At the hardware store I bought a 2" PVC cap and a 1/2" coupler.   The coupler has a ledge in the middle so you don't push either pipe in too far.  This made a perfect ledge to set some washers on for a nut on the bolt to hold the coupler in the middle of the cap.  This post helps keep the coil from getting tangled.

 I want the wire to feed out at the edge of the cap so I ground off the raised lettering with the belt sander.  Spin it on the table while holding it lightly against the belt.

 This all leaves a nice square edge.  A few turns of the de-burring tool put a smooth radius on the inside, wire feed, corner.

 A 1/4" diameter hole was located in the center of the cap.

 Some guide lines helped for filing a nice square hole to pocket the carriage bolt which hold everything together.  The carriage bolt assures The cover nut is easy to get off and makes it all a little smoother in the hand.

 You can see how the washers and nut work to hold the center post in place.  I started with a short bolt so I can grind the post to length.  We need a gap of no more than the thickness of the wire.

 I used a thin ruler to use as a thickness gauge drawing a guide line for grinding.

Hold the cap on the table of the belt sander while gently rolling the cap and grinding down the post.  This keeps the top end parallel to the edge of the cap so the cover will have an even gap for the wire.

 I used a hole saw to gently cut out a cover.  The hole saw has a 1/4" drill in the center which is why I used a 1/4" bolt.

To clean up the edge I held the cover on the table with a piece of 1/4" rod and spun it to keep it nice and round.  A little clean up on the edge with a file removed the last burrs and left a smooth edge.

 You need to make sure you have the end where they started winding on the inside and the end where they finished winding coming out the gap under the cover.

I'll look for a nice knob to replace the nut to make loading even easier.  It fits my hand perfectly.

Time to wind some more splices.

Improved Thumb Wheel for the Cable Splicing Clamp

After using the Splicing Clamp to make about 10 cables I decided I needed to stop and make a larger, easier to grip, tightening wheel.  I originally made the wheel from the same 1/4" x 1" bar stock used for some of the parts.  It seemed clever and would work fine with flexible cable.  With the non-flexible 1x19 cable it was just too hard to get the cable tightened against the thimble.  You could do it but it took a lot of wiggling the cable while turning the wheel.

I decided I needed a wheel closer to 2" in diameter with nice big knurls for a good grip.  I also wanted to keep it 1/4" thick to have a reasonable number of threads.  If it wears out I may need to make one from 3/8" thick steel.

 The only piece of 1/4" steel I had was on some tools for making wire ferrules for the WACO internal bracing wires.  I decided it would be fine with a 2" hole in the base since I just clamp the base to my work bench.

I located a pilot hole for the 2" hole saw then used the saw to draw a centerline to layout a pattern of holes for the knurls.  It certainly took the guesswork out of where the center of the holes should be.

 I center punched a pattern of 12 holes, pilot drilled them with a 3/16" drill and finished them with a 5/16" drill.

 To round the edges of the holes, it makes more comfortable knurls, I countersunk the holes with a 1/2" center drill, steeper flutes.  Then I lightly countersunk then with a 1/2" twist drill.  It really makes a nicely rounded edge to the holes.

 Back to the 2" hole saw to cut out the wheel. I cut half way from each side and when it got close just pounded it out with a light hammer blow.  I didn't want to risk this 1/4" slug flying around.

It's looking like a thumb wheel.

 I cleaned up the outside radius with the belt sander and the chamfered the edge at 2 angles, sort of like with the hole edges.

 The remaining burs were cleaned up with the small sanding drum on the Dremel tool.  It needs to feel good in your hand and no sharp edges.

 The hole was tapped with a 3/8" fine thread to spin on the center bolt.

I had a little trouble getting the 3 bolts apart since I had put Loctite on the threads and cut off the head of the 3/8" both after tightening it in the clamping bar.  A little heat took care of the Loctite.  I greased the threads and the pivot with Molykote to keep the friction low.

I'm ready to make some more cables.  Much nicer wheel.

Nicopress Sleeve and Wire Wrap Process for Cable Terminals

 I'll cut the cable to length after making the first terminal end, so the first end is just located so as not to waste a lot of cable.  I make the first bend 4 1/2" from the free end.

I decided I needed to know where to locate the bend on the second end of the cable, in order to make the cable the desired length.  To work it out I needed to know the length of cable in the loop from the end of the Nicopress sleeve, 1/2 of that is the length to the center of the bend.  To see how much cable is used in the in the first loop I decided to make 1/8" tick marks on the cable 2" either side of the first bend.  I made red and blue tick marks so it would be easy to see how much cable was in the loop.

 After slipping the sleeve and fitting on the cable I started the bend by hand at my center tick mark.

The sleeve and fitting were slipped as far into the bend as possible by hand.

The end was placed in the clamp and the clamp tightened until the cable bend was tight in the thimble (shown still loose below)

 With the cable tight in the thimble the center crimp was made on the thimble.

The crimp at the thimble was 2nd and the loose end crimp 3rd.  The crimps were checked with the Nicopress Gauge to make sure they were tight.

 Based on the tick marks, 1 7/8" of cable forms the loop past the sleeve.  The bend mark will need to be 15/16" from the end of the sleeve.

The distance from the end of the sleeve to the inside of the thimble curve depends on how much you trim off the ends of the thimble.  Here it is 25/32".  Knowing the length of cable from the edge of the hole in each end fitting I need an extra 5/32" of cable at each end to make the cable the correct length after bending.  I'd rather the cable be a bit long than a bit short so I'll use 3/16" rather than 5/32" when making the cables.

 I decided to tin the cable before wrapping to assure a good solder bond with the wrap wire.  As usual when soldering, heat the wire enough to melt the flux, apply flux, heat and solder.  Use more flux as needed.  Make sure the cable is tinned all the way around, and along the length where it will be wrapped.

 Protect the cable with a piece of 20 gauge steel while cutting the end.  I make the cut starting 1 3/4" from the end of the sleeve.  This makes the wrap the length of the standard solder wrap.

I found it easier to wrap if the end is cut very flat, about 30 degrees or less.

I also find it easier to get the wrap tight if the loose end and cable are taped together.

 I found that the free end of the cable needs to be supported if you use the splice clamp to rotate the cable while wrapping.  If your serving wire were on a spool, as they once sold it, you can hold it while wrapping around the cable.  My wire is a loose coil so I pull off about 4 1/2 feet to use for each wrap.  With a loose piece it's easier to rotate the cable than move the piece around the cable.  For longer cables I'll use a piece of PVC pipe for it to spin inside.  I'll also look for wire on a spool or a way to wind a spool.  Many of the wing cables are pairs on a single fitting.  The second cable on those is easier done wrapping with a spool.

 To start the wrap I bend a 1/4" tab to lock under the wrap and a 180 degree bend next to the tab.

I start by holding the tab in the groove between the cables.  The first wrap is made so it crosses the bend at the start to lock it.

The wire is held tight while winding for 1/4" from the sleeve.  This puts the first inspection gap the same distance from the thimble as it was on the standard wrap.

 The wire is angled to make the 1/8" inspection gap and then the wrapping continues perpendicular to the cable.

The second section of wrapping is 3/4" long.

 Another 1/8" inspection gap is formed and the wrap continues for another 3/4".

The serving wire is cut off, and the side of the cutter is used to flatten the cut end to the cable so it won't snag someone (like me) after soldering.

 The finished wrap is ready for soldering.

Again start by heating to melt the flux.

 Start soldering at the small end working with flux and solder to completely solder the wrap to the cable.

At the sleeve turn the iron so it's parallel to the cable and the tip touches the sleeve.  This way you can get all the wire soldered.  It doesn't need to be soldered to the sleeve but doesn't matter if it is.

 The finished wrap looks like what I had hoped.  I really like it.  Full strength of the cable, with the look of a wire wrapped terminal, and no loose end to get snagged on.  How cool is that?