Moving On

Things are looking up! Though I'm still pretty pissed about my major brain fart with dropping the compressor, I've accepted it and am moving on. I have been researching the replacement of the motor and flywheel. The motor and flywheel together pretty closely come to the cost I paid for the compressor to begin with. I ended up calling US Equipment Company, which is south of me about 90 minutes. I spoke with Eddie in the parts department and he said he doesn't have a replacment motor in stock (seems nobody else does either) but that the cost for it would be $459. YIKES!!! The flywheel is a moderate $121. That's $580 to fix this thing. He said he thought he had a new compressor that he would give me for $712. Turns out that it's a 3hp compressor (SS3L3). I have a 5hp compressor (SS5L5). I said that the cost of a new compressor is pretty damn close to the cost of just the couple replacement parts. He agreed. Their company is moving it's location and he finally talked me into taking the SS3L3 (3hp) compressor. He's giving it to me out the door for $646!!! I'll Take it! They don't want to have to incur the cost to relocate it to their new warehouse. It's brand new, unwraped from the factory. He said it would cost him the same either way by shipping it to their new location or me so I got a nice deal. Thanks Eddie! I'll take my time reparing the other one and resell it later down the road. So, if anyone is interested, let me know. I don't have a clue what shipping for it would be but just figure what it would cost sending a 450lb unit via freight.

Yesterday saw the arrival of my tool kit from Isham as well as my bench belt/disc sander. I inventoried the tool kit and there are a couple things back-ordered a week. No worries, don't need them right now. Quite a complete kit, I must say. One of the extras I purchased was an in.-lb. torque wrench. Just imagine, except for the air compressor, this kit includes almost all the tools you'll need to build your plane, which come in a 65lb box. *WHEW* I think the bucking bars and Clecos weigh half that! I looked at Sears for a belt/disc sander and thought they wanted too much for it. So I went to NorthernTool to check them out and found they had basically the same item for $40 less than Sears. At Northern, they're sold as Klutch. It's identical to the Craftsman brand except the Klutch item doesn't have the word CRAFTSMAN emblazoned on the table. I physically looked at the Craftsman sander today and yes, they are identical.

I have a small air compressor, a Harbor Freight 5 gal, 2hp compressor that I've had for the last 15 years. It's been a little trooper. It still holds up to the small jobs. Tonight, the empennage was finally started. I began with the HS-609PP rear spar reinforcement bars and HS-603PP rear spars. I cleaned up the edges on the bars, Cleco'd them into the rear spars and match drilled with a #30 bit using my little workhorse compressor.

Beginning the Horizontal Stab Rear Spar

I stopped here as I remembered I want to build my Van's tool box and the sheet metal training project from the builder's workshop. The training project is also available at Van's. I want to work on these two to hone my riveting skills. I haven't done any riveting since the workshop back in October 2011. I'm sure I'm a bit rusty and want to start off doing this project right the first time. So, the Cleco'd and drilled HS rear spar will be something to look at as the start of good and FUN things to come! I'd much rather have the new compressor in place and ready to go anyway as it will definitely be better up to the task of drilling and riveting than my little guy.

Well Folks, that's it for now. I'll check in with ya later! Take Care and Thanks For Reading!

HOBBS Meter 3.0 hrs

Isham Tool Kit

Another Item for the Power Tools Table!!

The Finished Tool Table, Vacuum Included.
They All Connect to One Power Strip.

I also purchased a new tool chest combo from Sears today. They're having a 50% off sale on some of them for the Memorial Day weekend. What a steal! I got a 9-drawer, 2-piece combo for $269 +tax. It's regularly $540. It was a good day.

First Big OOPS!

More things are being delivered. This Monday, I received my DRDT-2 dimpler! I was actually surprised by this one. They were able to deliver without signature which is always nice. I dislike having to grab the door tag and drive to pick up my stuff and try to hit the location in a 30 minute window. It's quite aggrivating. I could always tell them to hold and not send out for delivery and just take my tracking number and pick things up that way. We'll see how things go further down the road. I expected this to be delivered with my tools. However, these are usually ordered and have a 2 week lead time and are shipped at the same time as your tools but from the manufacturer. My mistake. Arizona is a lot closer than Kansas so it figures that this would come a little earlier.

DRDT-2 Dimpler from Isham (PlaneTools.com)

This dimpler will make things go much more quickly and relieve the hands of cramping and getting very sore and blistered by not having to use a hand squeezer. This is one heavy piece of equipment. I've seen a lot of others users build a neat little table for this gem. I always wondered where they were getting the idea for the table setup. Turns out there are plans for the table that come with the instuctions and dimpler! Wahooo!! That's a no-brainer! I love those. That'll keep me busy this weekend along with building a little frame for the plans.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was not a real good day. My air compressor shipped from Kentucky last Friday, the 18th. I was told by NorthernTool that I would get a call from the freight company (who, at this point, shall remain nameless) a day before delivery so I could make arrangements to pick it up from the curb and get it into my garage. I had to work late supporting a conference and was not able to have my phone with me at the time. I worked until 5pm which made me late for a 5:00 appointment. When I finally got finished with my support role, I called my appointment and said I'd be there by 5:30. "No worries, you're set!" Ahh, ok, scramble back to my office, log off my computer, grab my phone and throw it in the backpack and get outta Dodge! I'm racing to my appointment, get there just before 5:30 and as I'm pulling up, my wife calls me with news that there is an air compressor sitting on the side of my garage. WHAT?! Turns out my sis-n-law signed for the compressor. Nobody knew it was coming. It was a complete surprise!

Ingersoll-Rand SS5L5 Air Compressor. Ship wieght - 450 lbs.

After I get home, I get the whole story and realize that the driver had called my cell at 4:15pm!! "Hey, this is Eddie! I'll be here 5 minutes then I'm leaving. There is nobody here to sign for this." Sis-n-law just happens to drive up when he's walking back to his truck. Ahh, just in time! Well, I had paid to have it liftgated off the truck and left at curbside where it would be MY responsibility to get it to the garage. I guess he figured he was helping a lady out so they tried to move it by pallet jack INTO the garage, where I had not made room just yet for it. Well, don't bother, the compressor stands 6' high and sits on a 6" pallet! my garage opening is just 78" and the rise of the pallet jack added just enough that they couldn't get it in, so he left it on the side of the garage. Now, the fun part! I decide to unwind a bit after work from being so hurried. I changed into some shorts and a t-shirt and sat down for a little dinner. Take my time, relax, patience (remember my discussion last post on patience?). I finish dinner, grab a soda, go outside. I start with removing the plastic protective sheeting then unbolt the feet from the pallet. I had thought to ask wife and sis-n-law for some assistance to move it into the garage. I had originally planned to have a couple guys over and snag a pallet jack from work temporarily to move this beast, had I been alerted ahead of time! This thing weighs in around 450 lbs. and is very top heavy. I figured I could rock it carefully off the pallet and have things ready for the girls to assist. Well, my first big OOPS! I rocked it one way, then another to get a feel for it. Ok, ready. I make a big swing to get a foot over to another slat on the pallet, then start to let it sit back on all three feet. It kept going. Why isn't this thing stopping? What the hell? I can't catch it and it falls backward, on the belt wheel and the motor. DAMMIT! Seriously?!? Ok, what am I going to do? This thing is like lifting dead weight and 80% of its weight is on top. I'm a pretty talented guy when it comes to moving things around and pretty creative with getting things out of a bind. Not this time. I could NOT do this by myself. I had to throw in the towel.

My First Big OOPS!
THAT will Leave a Mark!

I swallowed my pride, went into the house and confessed. Repeat after me: I NEED HELP! Remember this phrase. The ladies came out and helped me get Big Bertha upright. With the assistance I should have had to begin with, they helped me to get it into the garage. Now, repair time. I need to replace the motor or get the motor housing fixed. The fall pushed the shaft of the motor through the other side, breaking the housing. The belt pully on the pump broke and came off as well. All the fins broke both at the hub and where they connect to the wheel. I'm hoping that because the way this thing fell, the pump is ok. We'll see. I'm keeping my fingers crossed with this one. So, I'm in the process of getting assitance through NorthernTool, working with Ingersoll to see what "we" can do. I'll keep you posted.

Ordinarily, I would not post such a humiliating event. However, I'm posting Lessons Learned and will continue to do so throughout my project. At my company, lessons learned is a popular buzz phrase. It's our responsibility to alert others of the things we learn by mistake to help to keep things like this from happening and to improve processes which help in many ways. What was I thinking? What's one of the signs of a hazardous attidude? MACHO.. you got it! I can do this!! Well, I was wrong friends very wrong. Please, PLEASE, PLEASE, if you need help, ask for it. It should NOT be beneath any of us to request assistance. Don't be embarrased. We are adults. KNOW YOUR LIMITATIONS. Nobody will laugh at you. If they do, show them this post. I'm extremely lucky that I wasn't on the other end of this behemoth to sustain major injury. As a pilot, I feel I'm very safe. We can always be safer though. On the ground however, I take a risk or two, here and there. Well, the picture above shows what can and what DID happen.

I hope this valuable lesson serves you well. If nothing else, I hope I planted a little seed in your noggin so that when you come to a point in your build or doing anything else in your life, you'll stop and think about it. Maybe you'll remember this little picture and think to yourself, I'd better get help. Maybe I should wait. Please do. You'll be happy you did.

Take care my friends and Thanks For Reading!

Let the Building Begin!

Finally! Yes, I'm catching up after what seems like MONTHS of not posting. Well, it's only been since March. Things have finally gotten over the hurdles and I am moving forward. I've been waiting for funds to fall into place and it's been one delay after another. Tax refund took longer to deposit (3 weeks instead of 1). A loan I paid off took longer to actually pay off then expected (2 weeks). Then after loan payoff, I had to wait an additional 30 days to borrow again (a little confusing, I know). Now the fun stuff!

I ordered my empennage and wing kits at the same time. May 2, I was asked to snail-mail my order (not sure if this is normal) as I had a discount certificate to submit. I put a rush, 2-day delivery on that letter and it didn't get opened until 2 days after that! Delay, delay, delay. I've learned a very valuable lesson from all this ...  P A T I E N C E ! ! ! This is the first of many parts of the project that requires patience. Don't MAKE it happen, LET it happen. Hmm, did I just come up with a new quote? I'm sure someone somewhere has said those very words. I digress. I ordered the RV-7A kit with the Electric Elevator Trim Kit option and the Capacitive Fuel Sending Units option. The neat thing about the latter is there are no moving parts and they are much more accurate the the float-type sending units. I've ordered the slow build kit as I want to experience the entire process from the ground up. That's the cool part of the Experimental prospect of "learning". :P

After the Van's order, I placed my order for my air compressor. Now, I've been doing a lot of research on this as to what is enough, what's not enough and what's overkill and a waste of money. I inquired of my buddy Ron Duren about his Home Depot Husky compressor. He said he's been very happy with his purchase and if he was given the chance, he'd do it again. I studied that and others in the range but decided I was going to move up in the chain. The thought on this is that someday, I plan to paint the outside of my house and more tank is better. So, this will work for the entire RV project and everything else in my life. That said, I settled on an Ingersoll-Rand air compressor from NorthernTool.com. FREE SHIPPING! I have to wait a couple weeks as it's coming from the factory. It should arrive the week of the 21st along with my tools.

I orderd my Isham tool kit from PlaneTools.com which should arrive the same week as the compressor (hopefully). I'm pretty happy with everything you get for the money, the LIFETIME GUARANTEE in addition to the 2 particular tools included in the kit; the DRDT-2 dimpler and the pneumatic rivet squeezer. These two tools alone will save countless hours and muscle fatigue. I ordered a couple other things in addition to the standard RV tool kit; a 0-600 in.lb. torque wrench and a sheet metal nibbler. I also added a few things to the tool kit which are options such as additional Clecos, bucking bars, yokes for the rivet squeezer and extra drill bits. Sometimes I have a habit of breaking bits so I doubled that order.

The other tools I've been acquiring are a bandsaw, bench grinder, bench sander (belt/disc) to add to the drill press and bench vice I've already got. I built an additional, smaller, roll-around bench to accommodate all those mounted tools. I'm not happy with the height as I made the normal height table from the EAA Chapter 1000 plans and then added 3" locking caster wheels. Now the bench is a little high. I'm considering shaving the legs down a bit to accommodate the added height, maybe... um.. about... 3" or so. That sound about right? That's if my math is correct. I might have to get one of those scientific calculators those engineer-types use. ;)

Well, my emp kit arrived this past Monday, the 14th, before FedUp left a tag on the door requiring attendance & a signature. I arrived home too late that day to take the tag to the distribution center. The *bleeping* driver didn't leave a time on the tag so I had to call about the attempted delivery time... 12:45. Got it! The next day I went home for lunch at 12:00 in hopes I'd catch him this day. I arrived at the house at 12:15. DAMMIT! Another tag on the door, attempt #2!!! I called and found out this attempt was at 11:30! Seriously!?!? Can I NOT catch a break here? Oh yeah... oooohhhhhmmmmm  .. PATIENCE! Ok, I'll get to the distribution center to pick it up this time! ARGH! NEXT time, I'll plan ahead and have the packages that are on the little truck held at the distribution center and I'll get them myself. Unfortunately, Van's didn't send me an e-mail with a confirmation/tracking number so I would expect something. I'll talk to them next time. The wings will come in about 7 weeks and they'll be on the BIG truck, because they're real heavy, 2 crates at about 200 lbs each!! Ahh, I can't wait!

I've been getting the shop cleaned up, re-organized and workbenches built. I moved the Cooper to the outside elements so I'll have room to build. The first kit will only require 1 part of the 3-car garage. As soon as space starts filling up with parts, I'll kick another car to the curb so I can spread my wings! Uh, get it? :) Here are some pics of during and after. You saw earlier of the before. It's still a work in progress as I won't know how the space provided will work until I get started.

The Cooper is Out. Starting the Cleaning,
Organizing and Straightening Process

EAA Chapter 1000 Work Tables in Progress

Completed Work Tables

I Added the Drop-Down Wheels for Better
Movement of the Tables Around the Shop

My Rivet Back Plate. It Measures 14"x24"x3/8".
Got it at a Local Metal Shop for $35!

The Smaller, Roll-Around Table
with Benchtop Tools Mounted



WAHOOO! Parts Arrive. All the Builders Like
This Print on the Box. FedUp Guys Are
Always Curious :)  "A Real Airplane?"

There It Is!
The First Builder Pic of the Project
Handsome Devil!

Like a Jack-in-the-Box, the Spring is Released!
It's so Cool to Finally Have Your Own Parts
to Touch and Feel!

More Parts, Inventoried and All Accounted For

And the Glue (Rivets & Hardware)
That Bind Everything Together

Ok! So let's get those tools in and get some parts drilled, deburred, cleaned, primed, riveted and assembled!

Thanks for all your patience my Peeps! I'm sorry things got so stale here looking at a site that seemed to be going nowhere. The brakes have been released and the gas ever-so-gently applied. Onward. What's the word of the day Kids? P A T I E N C E !  A little goes a long way. Whenever things aren't going quite your way, stop, step back, close your eyes, take a deep breath and slooowwwly let it out. Count to 10. Heck, count to 30 if it helps but ... don't rush! Take your time and be patient.

Take Care and Thanks For Reading!

HOBBS Meter - 3.0 hrs