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I bought a partially finished kit at I have determined that the wing pivot pints and lower pins on the wing attachments are too loose. The stub wing skins are already installed. Is it possible to reem out the existing holes without removing the wing skins

How about larger pins ground to fit the existing holes?

That my work for one side but the other side is out of round.

Drilling the wallowed-out bolt holes to the next AN (oversized) bolt size has been done in the past. You'll want to ensure that operation goes well because you won't have enough meat left to oversize again.

Jeff

I really think the pivot bolts will work ok. The ones I’m more concerned with is the lower main spar pins that retract with the handle. How much larger has these been drilled out to. I think the oversized pins I have seen are around .404, I would need to go bigger then that on one side.

Onex Wing Pins...…..?

Check out www.airward.com for "oversized" wing pins for the Onex. Dave Ward in California sells a whole array of products for the Sonex and Onex including hardware kits.

The "oversized" wing pin kit comes with an adjustable reamer included. There is a kit for the "main pivot bolt" and there is also a kit for the main "locking pin".

You will have to open up the inboard wing skin to gain access to ream out the holes for the larger pins. You may need to only replace one of those pins......or maybe both pivot AND locking pin.

This will not be an easy fix but it IS doable. Good luck.

Gordon...….Hummel 2400...….Onex 0024

Gordon is correct. I had to ream mine oversize and had new pins made. Sonex now has some oversize pins. Don't know how much over.

Hi Darrin,

I don't know how much experience you have drilling out SS rivets. Just in case you have never had to drill a large number of SS rivets out, it can be easy are hard depending on technique.

Drilling stainless steel is much like drilling titanium. So, use the proper drill bits (for example cobalt), and most importantly the proper drill speed. The worst thing you can do is grab a high speed drill and spin it on the rivet head. That will instantly work harden the surface of the rivet and make it 10 times more difficult to drill out.

I have had the best luck with cobalt bits, light to medium pressure, and medium slow speed. Keep the bit cutting. Don't let the bit just spin on the surface. Too much pressure will cause the bit to grab and spin the rivet in the hole. If that happens and you have access to the shop head, a small vice-grip on the shop head is in order. If you don't have access to the shop head about all you can do is tilt the drill and let it "chew" the factory head off the rivet.

A machinist might be able to give you exact drill speeds based on SS feed speed and drill bit diameter.

If you haven't had to do this before I would advise that you grab a couple of pieces of 0.025, rivet them together, and practice a bit before you start lifting the skin.

Best of Luck,

Wes

ACS sells a tool specifically for removing blind rivets. Looks much the same as a removal guide for AN rivets, except it has a serrated tip that keeps the rivet from spinning during the drilling process.

Their part number is: 12-03368

Thanks