Category: Workshop

Searching for Hangar Space

I’ve started searching for a place to do final assembly. My two leading choices right now are at Nashua Airport and Fitchburg Airport. Both have larger “community” hangars. In my mind I pictured getting a private T-hangar, but I guess those are pretty rare, and even then, they are...

Tail Stand

With all the weight in the rear fuselage, I’ve been using a couple of wood blocks to support the tail on top of the work bench. However, it’s not very robust, seems like a waste of good bench space, so I decided to build a tail stand. I used...

Updated the Paint Booth

Now that fall has arrived, I have fewer opportunities to prime parts outside, especially during the week, so I occasionally need to prime a part inside my garage. I decided to update my paint booth a bit, adding a suction fan and a filter to control the dust and...

Research into Flush Rivets and a Nice Workshop Upgrade

EDIT 8/5/2020: the AK41H rivets identified below won’t work. See my later post regarding the side skin install. Last winter my garage was far too cold to work in, especially during January and February, and the garage doors were too leaky to justify heating the space, which is about...

Fuselage Skin Rack

As I started inventorying the fuselage skins, I realized that I didn’t have a good place to put them. I found some unused space above my garage door and improvised a shelf out of reclaimed wood from the shipping containers for the wing and empennage. I’m now complete with...

Wing Rack, and Step Skin Solution

I put together a wing rack this week following plans from an EAA article. I had most of the material already, so it didn’t cost much – the straight sections are 2×4, 2×6, or 4×4 pieces of lumber I had laying around, while the gussets were made out of...

All the Comforts of… Work?

I decided I needed a more comfortable chair to sit on while I work. Here’s a pretty nice drafting chair from Amazon that I just got today. Also notice, just behind the chair, I bought an anti-fatigue mat to stand on while I’m working....

Work tables 99% done

I spent a few hours today finishing up the work tables, they look good! I added some retractable casters to make them easier to move around. The last 1% is a attaching some vinyl fabric over the MDF tops – I’ll get that done during the week. Really hoping...

Work tables progressing

Tonight I chopped up a bunch of 2×4’s needed for the pair of work benches. I deviated slightly from the plans – mine will be 6′ long (instead of 5′), 3″ taller (since I’m tall!), and the tops will be 3/4″ MDF rather than plywood. I’m also covering the...

Getting set up

I picked up materials this weekend to make my workbenches, following plans from EAA Chapter 1000. Still some work to do to transform my garage / wood shop into a metal shop, but I’ve still got a week or two before the fun starts. Also received a few more...