SonexBuilders.net

I've finished all the wing ribs and spacers (W14-02,03) and have cleco'd the forward rib, spar, 2 spacers and aft rib at one location. It's time to up drill this assembly and wondering if there are any tips/tricks to this, since the ribs don't allow very much room to get the drill in place. I hate to bend the rib enough to get my drill in place, although I do have a "tight fit" 90 degree drill attachment which would minimize bending the rib flange.
How have others accomplished this?
Also I'm not looking forward to riveting all these ribs since the small angle "button" (used to get into tight spots with the rivet gun) will have to be used. Does anybody have any words of encouragement before I start?
I've searched the list for tips but didn't find any posts that mention this.

12" long extension drill bits make things way easier. A couple bucks per bit.

For riveting, I modified the head of my riveter and fabricated some small wedges with a hole in them that allowed me to get the riveter in at an angle.

Some pics of what I'm talking about on my blog:

http://www.rynoth.com/wordpress/waiex/2 ... ompletion/

Note that my modified (sliced up) riveter head failed when I had half a dozen rivets to go, but I had a spare.

I have not started the Waiex wings yet - but I have drilled in some ribs. I like the long drill bit/ flex the rib away technique. For rework where you can't flex the rib I favor the snake drill, and choose the angle drill 3rd.

http://bcove.me/fv0l3le0 You might try this method for tight places where you can't get the riveter at 90* to the hole.If you happen to have 2 riveters you can modify one of the tips.Worked like a charm for me :D
Mike

Thanks fellas for all the tips. Sometimes I get hung up on details, worried about making a mistake.

Paralysis by analysis is the enemy of the homebuilder. There is a happy medium, but it is better to make and correct a few mistakes than to make no progress. Fortunately for me, I never make mistakes. Except for the hockey stick, lower longerons, a couple holes where the turtledeck rivets to the fuselage, the missing bend in the Y tail mount angle, and all the other ones I have forgot.

I learned more about forgiving my own mistakes while building my Sonex than I ever imagined I would.

First few mistakes kept me awake at night. Now even the big ones just make me a better builder. (That's my story and I am sticking to it)

Awesome, I'm not the only one with an ever expanding scrap pile :)

Drilling went fine and most of the riveting went well until ribs 1,2 and 3. No problems riveting the center holes but the last hole on the rib closest to spar caps is very difficult, as the available room for the rivet gun diminishes as the spar cap gets wider as you get closer to the root. I'm surprised I haven't read any posts about this.
I've used all the tips regarding grinding the rivet gun nose to access small areas but it was still very difficult. Tomorrow I'll finish the rib riveting, quickly I hope, then start putting the wing skins on.

The white circles on the photo indicate the most difficult rivets to pull.

Hi Darick,
hate to say it but I think these were a non-event when I did them.. I used a combination of standoffs and bend mandrels to get the access.
The rivet standoffs were made from 1/4" bolt sections. I drilled a hole in the centre of an old bolt and then cut it into slices around 1/4" thick with one angle face. Still had enough purchase on the bent mandrel to pull them. This gave adequate clearance from the spar bits.
The only downside was being aware of where the standoff went after the rivet was pulled!

Cheers
Tony