Helpful Hints For Homebuilders Our liats are off to the gentlemen who submitted the folloioing helpful hints and we wish that we had enough of those AC Spark Plug Tips of the Month Certificates to issue to each and every one. We know this additional feature in SPORT AVIATION will be well accepted and of great help to the membership. So, if you have any hints send them in to Headquarters. This month EAA Individual Achievement Certificates will be sent to the following:

Thomas W. Martin Meeting Grove Lane Norwalk, Conn.

John W. Grega 355 Grand Blvd. Bedford, Ohio

Henry E. Winslow Mira Loma Circle Apt. Paul Stadler Unit 14A 1459 Acheson 1600 W. 5th St. San Diego 11, Calif. Oxnard, Calif. Stewart Steinberg 1638 Churchill Rd. Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

DEBURRING SHEET ALUMINUM

By Henry E. Winslow, EAA 595 Mira Loma Circle Apt., Unit 14A 1600 W. 5th St., Oxnard, Calif. Deburring sheet aluminum with a file is a long, tedious process, and often the results are not as desired. Here is a tool which not only does an excellent job of deburring, but is fast and neat. It also works well on curved edges. The main part is one of the double blades

from a wire stripper used by electricians. A rod is fitted through the hole in the blade and peened over. A handle is fitted on the other end of the rod. To finish the tool the rod is bent so that the blade angle to the work is tilted toward the handle about 10 deg. from vertical. To use it is simplicity itself! One of the half-round holes in the blade is placed on the edge of the aluminum and the tool is pulled toward yourself, deburring both edges as it goes.

TUBING CLAMPS

By Thomas W. Martin, EAA 12149 Meeting Grove Lane, Norwalk, Conn.

When joining the two fuselage sides of a welded steel structure, it might be helpful to others to suggest the idea which I found very useful. The tubing will stay right where you want it if you employ Stanley 404 picture frame clamps. These are made of cast metal, and will hold a true 90 deg. angle for welding or tacking. 32

DECEMBER 1963

NAIL SCREEN

TABS-

By John W. Grega, EAA 3808 355 Grand Blvd.. Bedford, Ohio

JIG

MAGNETIC /" HAMMER

HOUSEHOLD SCREEN

-WOOD OR ALUM. FRAME

The most troublesome operation in nailing gussets, or skinning a wing, is picking up the small nails with a magnetic tack hammer. With this set-up, all the nails can be picked up right the first time, as all the heads of the nails will b? facing up. There will be no need to position the nail on the hammer head so it can be driven straight.

amount of epoxy-resin, and paint the plexiglass and the

tape, beginning at the first hole, drawing it up tight, and then proceeding to each following hole and doing the same. Cover the lacing with a plastic wrapping, and clamp it down with a strip of spruce or plywood to flatten the fiberglass tape against the plexiglass, and let it set. This method will insure a neat job, and a safe and trouble-free installation. A few sheet metal screws may be necessary to hold things in place during this operation, but they can be removed later.

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A frame can be assembled out of 1 in. by 2 in. stock, about 12 in. square, and ordinary household screen tacked or stapled to it.

REMOVING RIBS FROM THE JIG MADE EASY

Ready-made aluminum framed screen can be used, providing it is of a convenient size.

1638 Churchill Rd., Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

The nails are strewn across the screen, the screen is picked up in both hands, and moved sharply sideways, back and forth, until all the nails fall in the screen openings, points down.

While building the ribs of my homebuilt airplane, I was faced with the problem of getting the ribs out of the

The frame is set on the work bench, ready for use. The magnetic end of the hammer is touched to the nail head, the nail picked up and driven home through the gusset. The frame, with the nails on it, can be stored after the job is completed, and when the next job is started, the frame will be ready for use.

By Stewart Steinberg, EAA 2128

jig. I was having trouble with the glue that pressed out sticking to the jig board, so I tried this on the jig board and it worked very well.

When using full-size plans of a rib, to save a lot of time, and get your rib out of the jig easier and with less pressure applied on the rib, try this: Fasten your full-size rib print to your jig board with tacks, or Scotch tape, then cover the print with a medium-heavy clear plastic, and fasten it over the print with tacks or tape. Now you can put your holding blocks around the edge of your print to form your rib by using an Exacto knife. Cut the plastic and

-X-

ATTACHMENT OF PLEXIGLASS TO WINDSHIELD FRAME

By Paul Stadler, EAA 7463

1459 Acheson, San Diego 11, Calif.

If anyone has ever worked with plexiglass for their windshield and canopy, they will know how cumbersome it can be in attaching it to the frame. The holes are usually large enough to allow for the rubber bushings, yet too close to the edge to avoid cracks. The bolts are usually too tight to allow for expansion and contraction, and yet you want a tight cabin with as little noise as possible? Why not try this next time? Drill a series of Vs in. holes around the edge, spaced

IVi in. apart, and dull the edges of the holes with fine

sandpaper, working also between the holes and the outer edge of the plexiglass, both inside and out. Lace with 1 in. fiberglass tape, but keep it loose. Then mix a small

the print through to the wood, slightly smaller than the blocks, then put a drop of Bond-Fast on the blocks and nail them to the jig board. The blocks will help hold the print and the plastic tight to the jig board. Now you can start to build your ribs. You will find that any glue that is pressed out of the joints cannot stick to the jig, due to the plastic cover under the rib. You will also find that your rib is easily removed from the jig. • SPORT

AVIATION

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