Highwing Build - dreynol

Thanks Chris, I went through the plans and made sure everything was updated to the latest revision.

I’m still in the process of setting up my workspace, and came across something interesting: just how much aircraft spruce overcharges in some cases.

The 1/4-28 right angle drill attachment is:

As far as I can tell, they’re all the same tool.

I knew ACS wasn’t cheap, but a $240 markup is obscene

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It looks like the ACS one has a bronze gearbox housing, the others may be plastic? They may all work fine.

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True - I missed that.

Looks like the spruce product is from here:

But I’m still glad I looked around - I can buy 8 spares before I catch up to the one from spruce

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They are both valid approaches. I think mine is from Aircraft Tool Supply, it has an aluminum head. I bought it about 37 years ago.

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Travel’s kept me from doing as much as I’d like, but I’m making some incremental progress with the elevator root assembly - it is drilled out to #30 as of this morning.

I’ve used the granite countertops in my kitchen to check that the ribs are aligned, and it is pretty much as close as I think is possible - they’re maybe a 32nd off.

A few (potentially obvious things I’ve learned so far):

  • HSS bits are fine for aluminum, but the cobalt bits are MUCH better for steel
    • This isn’t shocking but I didn’t have any cobalt bits on hand initially & ordered some after getting annoyed with the HSS. 100% worth the extra few cents per bit
  • C-Clamps with furniture pads are incredibly useful - thanks for the recommendation in one of your videos @ddeford !
  • I’m on the taller side, and built one of my workbenches with a 40" high top - this is as nice as I thought it would be

I’m not planning on priming everything, but want to do something for where I’ve drilled out the holes in the steel horn. Any recommendations on the best way to handle that?

At Schweizer Aircraft they used to dip rivets in paint and set them wet, for critical parts.

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No prob. Glad someone’s getting something out of those videos.

Some black epoxy spray paint would work, but @Bryan_Cotton’s suggestion seems like a good one. I’ve never heard of such a thing, but it seems like it would work really well.

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Yep, I think I’ll pick up some Rust-Oleum tomorrow - liquid for this use case and spray if needed elsewhere.

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