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Yesterday I took my fuselage and all the steel bits to be sandblasted and painted. As a result I was in the shop all day today, taking advantage of having space and doing a good cleaning and sorting...something that was desperately needed. I was cleaning up the table where I have all the plans, templates, manuals and assorted papers and it just suddenly hit me. I'm done fabricating steel! I can't begin to describe the feeling that I just got a few minutes ago knowing there is a slight glimmer of sky at the end of the tunnel. Engine cowl, door skins and wing to fuselage fairings need to be done along with a lot of other details. BUT, the steel is done. Keep after it...one bite at a time.
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As much as I like to build stuff from scratch, I think a BH from scratch would have done me in. As I learn more about metal working maybe I will give scratch building a go.
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Great feeling isn't it! Good move hiring out the sandblasting, one of my least favorite jobs so far. Didn't mind painting the tubing myself.Comment
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Yeah, being winter up here I wasn't looking forward to bringing a freshly-blasted fuselage home on these roads and then have to deal with the painting. I don't have access to a 20ft enclosed trailer and a 24ft U-Haul would be about $100 for one hour's worth of transport. The person doing the work does oilfield work and has a shop set up specifically for blasting and painting. He gave a very reasonable estimate for doing all the work. I had the Superflite System 7 SF80 metal primer and he will topcoat with Sherwin-Williams Acrolon 218 HS Acrylic Polyurethane. And yes, he has done aircraft fuselages and parts before. He came highly recommended from people I trust.
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Congrats on your mile stone, nothing like big progress to urge you on!!!Comment
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