Ideas for a Dedicated Construction Space? - Zenith Aircraft Builders and Flyers2024-03-29T06:32:11Zhttps://zenith.aero/forum/topics/ideas-for-a-dedicated-construction-space?commentId=2606393%3AComment%3A415123&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noOne thing I have really like…tag:zenith.aero,2015-02-18:2606393:Comment:4151232015-02-18T01:26:42.617ZPaulhttps://zenith.aero/profile/PaulBryan
<p>One thing I have really like having is a pneumatic cleco tool, only $80.00 at the yardstore.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.yardstore.com/browse.cfm/4,4345.html" target="_blank">http://www.yardstore.com/browse.cfm/4,4345.html</a></p>
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<p>One thing I have really like having is a pneumatic cleco tool, only $80.00 at the yardstore.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.yardstore.com/browse.cfm/4,4345.html" target="_blank">http://www.yardstore.com/browse.cfm/4,4345.html</a></p>
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<p></p> More good stuff. I guess if I…tag:zenith.aero,2013-06-22:2606393:Comment:2919672013-06-22T13:38:00.157ZCurtis Eggenhttps://zenith.aero/profile/CurtisEggen
<p>More good stuff. I guess if I screw up a tip, worst case is buy a new tip and try again. I imagine I should get used to that concept! Thanks again.</p>
<p>More good stuff. I guess if I screw up a tip, worst case is buy a new tip and try again. I imagine I should get used to that concept! Thanks again.</p> Thanks Curtis I ran a ai…tag:zenith.aero,2013-06-22:2606393:Comment:2918742013-06-22T04:08:50.531ZRANDY L HALLOCKhttps://zenith.aero/profile/RandyLHallock
<p>Thanks Curtis I ran a air hose to the top of my shop, put a T and hung two 25 foot coil air hoses, the kind that springs back up when not in use. Tied them apart by 4 feet. I had to stretch up to reach them. They worked great because the spring tension helped hold the drill or rivet gun up, made them weight half as much. Believe me when you are drilling or riveting a thousand holes in the wing they get too heavy to hold up by yourself. I got a rivet gun from Zenith and found I wanted…</p>
<p>Thanks Curtis I ran a air hose to the top of my shop, put a T and hung two 25 foot coil air hoses, the kind that springs back up when not in use. Tied them apart by 4 feet. I had to stretch up to reach them. They worked great because the spring tension helped hold the drill or rivet gun up, made them weight half as much. Believe me when you are drilling or riveting a thousand holes in the wing they get too heavy to hold up by yourself. I got a rivet gun from Zenith and found I wanted another one so I didn't have to change the tips so often. I purchased one from Harbor Freight and used a standard drill bit to round the tip to match the one from Zenith, no machining necessary. The tips were soft, they drilled very easy, It actually worked better than the one from Zenith. I don't remember what size drill bit I used to round out the rivet gun tip, I think between 3/8 and 7/16, I started smaller and worked up to the size that made the rivet just right. I also had 3 air drills to have all three bit sizes to do most of the drilling for all the riveting. There was times I used all three drills in less than a minute, Couldn't have done that with only one drill. There cheap, less than 15 dollars at Harbor Freight.</p> Thanks for all the pointers,…tag:zenith.aero,2013-06-22:2606393:Comment:2918682013-06-22T01:36:38.650ZCurtis Eggenhttps://zenith.aero/profile/CurtisEggen
<p>Thanks for all the pointers, Randy. Good tips. I think HF has a little rolling mechanics stool that I'll add to my shopping list. I wish there was one closer to us, but I guess that's why we have mail order.</p>
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<p>Do you have multiple air lines, or do you just swap drills/guns on one hose as needed?</p>
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<p>If I may flaunt my ignorance, can the rivet gun tip be modified with a standard drill bit? I figured it would have to be machined in order to produce the "rounded"…</p>
<p>Thanks for all the pointers, Randy. Good tips. I think HF has a little rolling mechanics stool that I'll add to my shopping list. I wish there was one closer to us, but I guess that's why we have mail order.</p>
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<p>Do you have multiple air lines, or do you just swap drills/guns on one hose as needed?</p>
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<p>If I may flaunt my ignorance, can the rivet gun tip be modified with a standard drill bit? I figured it would have to be machined in order to produce the "rounded" rivets... or am I just over thinking this?</p>
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<p>Great panel, by the way!</p> Lights, Lights, and more ligh…tag:zenith.aero,2013-06-20:2606393:Comment:2914962013-06-20T05:20:38.586ZRANDY L HALLOCKhttps://zenith.aero/profile/RandyLHallock
<p>Lights, Lights, and more lights. you can't have too much light. Our aging eyes need more light. I built 2 4x6 tables because what was I going to do with a 12 foot table when I complete my build, but I already had a 4x9 foot board room table I thought wasn't going to be long enough. As it turned out most of my build was done on the 9' because the 6 footers had wheels that moved too easy while leaning to build. I agree 3 foot would be better due to leaning over from both sides. One of my 6…</p>
<p>Lights, Lights, and more lights. you can't have too much light. Our aging eyes need more light. I built 2 4x6 tables because what was I going to do with a 12 foot table when I complete my build, but I already had a 4x9 foot board room table I thought wasn't going to be long enough. As it turned out most of my build was done on the 9' because the 6 footers had wheels that moved too easy while leaning to build. I agree 3 foot would be better due to leaning over from both sides. One of my 6 foot tables was used strictly for a painting table. Very handy to have the room to lay out parts to be painted. I built 1/2 of my plane standing, 1/3 sitting on a short stool and 1/8 on a 2 foot step ladder. A short soft stool with wheels was handy to kick myself around while working low. I used an old TV stand with wheels to hold my clecos and rivets. Push it around with you, very handy. I have 3 air drills one for each bit size, there only $14 at harbor freight work fine. I have 2 air rivet guns only $35 harbor freight and it works better than the one from Zenith, just take a larger bit and drill out the concave shape of the gun tip to round the rivet, worked great. Put a old sock over the gun so you don't blow oil all over your project. I've made several tools to help my build, but the one that has saved my fingers explicitly in the cold winter I took a round screw driver, cut the tip off and drilled a hole down the center so I could slide it over a rivet and push the rivet in easy when some of the rivets didn't want to go in. It used to kill my old fingers trying to push a rivet in a hole that didn't line up good. I even used a hammer many times. Make the hole fit the 5/32 rivet. If you use the larger rivets you can use a 3/16 nut driver to push the rivets in, works great.</p> Forgot to say how much I love…tag:zenith.aero,2013-06-20:2606393:Comment:2916472013-06-20T02:30:55.944ZCurtis Eggenhttps://zenith.aero/profile/CurtisEggen
<p>Forgot to say how much I love the color of N750A. Just beautiful.</p>
<p>Forgot to say how much I love the color of N750A. Just beautiful.</p> "a multi-colored finish of wi…tag:zenith.aero,2013-06-20:2606393:Comment:2913452013-06-20T02:26:38.606ZCurtis Eggenhttps://zenith.aero/profile/CurtisEggen
<p>"a multi-colored finish of wind-blasted bug guts and mud over a diverse substrate of chipped paint and tarnished metal". LOL. But it looks so good on her!</p>
<p>"a multi-colored finish of wind-blasted bug guts and mud over a diverse substrate of chipped paint and tarnished metal". LOL. But it looks so good on her!</p> I appreciate the intel, Danal…tag:zenith.aero,2013-06-20:2606393:Comment:2914842013-06-20T02:13:06.394ZCurtis Eggenhttps://zenith.aero/profile/CurtisEggen
<p>I appreciate the intel, Danal. The system's got the capacity for the new space, just need to run a couple of 10" flex to the plenum. That's what my airconditioning-expert-nephew tells me. But, I've have future aspirations for some space at the opposite end of the building, so I'll definitely look into these split units.</p>
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<p>We've still got to get your lovely bird over here to Athens one of these days! </p>
<p>I appreciate the intel, Danal. The system's got the capacity for the new space, just need to run a couple of 10" flex to the plenum. That's what my airconditioning-expert-nephew tells me. But, I've have future aspirations for some space at the opposite end of the building, so I'll definitely look into these split units.</p>
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<p>We've still got to get your lovely bird over here to Athens one of these days! </p> Your grandfather was a wise m…tag:zenith.aero,2013-06-20:2606393:Comment:2913412013-06-20T02:04:39.775ZCurtis Eggenhttps://zenith.aero/profile/CurtisEggen
<p>Your grandfather was a wise man, as are you. Thanks for these pointers. I was thinking of epoxy on the floor, but never considered that the color could be a issue. I was thinking a very light gray. I'm hoping to have lots of visitors, so the fridge and some garage sale chairs are a must.</p>
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<p>And I guess I'd better order more shelves. ;-)</p>
<p>Your grandfather was a wise man, as are you. Thanks for these pointers. I was thinking of epoxy on the floor, but never considered that the color could be a issue. I was thinking a very light gray. I'm hoping to have lots of visitors, so the fridge and some garage sale chairs are a must.</p>
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<p>And I guess I'd better order more shelves. ;-)</p> Excellent suggestions, John.…tag:zenith.aero,2013-06-20:2606393:Comment:2915762013-06-20T01:56:33.618ZCurtis Eggenhttps://zenith.aero/profile/CurtisEggen
<p>Excellent suggestions, John. I like the idea of a "convertible" work table. And I think I'm sold on the 3' width. Thanks!</p>
<p>Excellent suggestions, John. I like the idea of a "convertible" work table. And I think I'm sold on the 3' width. Thanks!</p>