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  • Hi Fellas, I have a little more progress to report today, I spent all day today sand blasting my fuse and control system parts. Tomorrow Im planning on cleaning and hopefully start painting again. Im going to shoot it with several coats of primer and a top coat. pic to come soon.

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    • Frank
      Frank commented
      Editing a comment
      How do you do your sandblasting? Why sandblast? Why not just sand, or hit it with a wire brush? ... asking for a friend ​​​​...

  • Hey Frank, I use crushed glass and a sandblasting rig from horrible freight. I find that it does a better job cleaning the metal and it can clean spots you cant get to with a wire wheel, I do use the wire wheel too, it is good for removing carbon after welding. Its a lot of hot sweaty work but the end result is worth it. you also need a good air compressor, Mine has a 60 gallon tank with a 220vac motor. ill post pics when im done.
    Last edited by davzLSA; 09-03-2021, 08:32 PM.

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    • Frank
      Frank commented
      Editing a comment
      I've seen the HF sandblasting cabinets. 😀

  • Frank if you can do it buy a deluxe fuse from Mark ready to go, it will save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

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    • Frank
      Frank commented
      Editing a comment
      We shall see. Buying a complete fuselage at the appropriate time could still be part of the pay-as-you-go approach. But so far I really like scratch building. I figure I will learn the hard way.

  • I found that blasting got the funky stuff out of the nooks and crannies around the weld beads. I couldn't get it clean there with any other methods that I tried. One option is to rent a big 100cfm compressor from the local tool rental place and do it all in one day. Just pick a day that isn't hot!

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    • Another question, Dave. Are you doing the internal corrosion protection with oil? Or is that done at the factory?
      Frank Forney
      Englewood CO
      https://eaabuilderslog.org?s=FranksLSA
      EAA Chapter 301

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      • davzLSA
        davzLSA commented
        Editing a comment
        I have not done anything to that affect yet Frank, I have been thinking about it but I may wait until everything is painted and covered. I have read where if you do it before then then the oil will seep out through pin holes in the welds over time and make it very difficult to get a good paint job. That might be a good question to put out on the forum to the guys that have flying airplanes.

    • Hey Fellas, I have progress to report. I am finally finished blasting and cleaning the fuse. I also blasted and cleaned the control system parts as well. It was a lot of work but I think it will make for a good paint job. After I got done with the blasting, I went over the fuse and used my angle grinder with a wire wheel to get all of the carbon at the weld joint that the blasted did not get. I wiped everything down with lacquer thinner to get rid of all the oils. Tomorrow will be paint day. Im going to shoot it with several coats of stewart's epoxy primer then top coat it with their insignia white. Ill have pic when I get done with that. Hope ya'll like the pics.
      You do not have permission to view this gallery.
      This gallery has 20 photos.

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      • I had 30 pics so here are the last 10, Oh I used 26 50lb bags of crushed glass. It was about $9 per bag much cheaper then the glass beads which do a great job but they are $45 for a 25lb bucket. That would work in a blast cabinet but not so economical for blasting a fuse.
        You do not have permission to view this gallery.
        This gallery has 10 photos.

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        • NCLSA183
          NCLSA183 commented
          Editing a comment
          Dave, the quantity and quality of your photos will be a huge asset to all of us that hope to be at this stage, in the future. Same goes to the other members who have given their time to upload photos and document their progress. It's kinda like having multiple LSA's under construction in the neighborhood and we can drop-in unannounced to checkout the progress and ask questions. Now... where's the mini-fridge, Dave??
          Mitch

      • Dave

        Looking good!

        I might have missed them looking through your photos but I think the last thing I welded on was a mount for the ELT and the associated antenna. You might have done that already but if not you might want to look at it.

        I made the mount from a drawing I was able to get for the ELT I planned on purchasing. I didn't actually buy the ELT until final assembly of the plane.

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        • davzLSA
          davzLSA commented
          Editing a comment
          Hey Brad, I actually have a pad welded in for that behind the cargo compartment but when I welded in the last fair leads for the rudder cables it was clearly going to be right in the middle of the rudder cable so ill be looking for somewhere else to put the ELT. I already have my ELT. I have not registered it yet though.
          Last edited by davzLSA; 09-04-2021, 09:15 PM.

      • Great work Dave !
        Nev Bailey
        Christchurch, NZ

        BearhawkBlog.com - Safety & Maintenance Notes
        YouTube - Build and flying channel
        Builders Log - We build planes

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        • Hi Fellas, I got a little painting done today. I got the fuse primes and all the parts for the control system. Finally finally im at the fast build state with the fuse. That don't mean its going to get built fast though. There's still a million things that have to happen. But it is a mile stone for me. Hope you all like the pics.
          You do not have permission to view this gallery.
          This gallery has 5 photos.

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          • sbmurphey
            sbmurphey commented
            Editing a comment
            Looking good Dave, and at all of those tabs and fittings! That is taking a lot more time than I ever expected. Congrats on reaching the quick built phase!

          • Sir Newton
            Sir Newton commented
            Editing a comment
            That is awesome. I am happy for you!

          • Frank
            Frank commented
            Editing a comment
            Thanks for the high resolution photos, great for reference. Great work!

        • Im happy to be of help Frank, Im going to use your method for bending angle for my wing ribs and I know are a million little pieces of angle that need to be bent. Im hoping to get the aluminum for my wings in the next couple of weeks. ACS keeps changing the date on my delivery.

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          • Hey Mitch, Im glad you like my pics, Don't look too closely though my fuse is far from a excellent example of what an LSA is supposed to look like. I highly recommend you check out BTAZ and Stinger and of course Mark and Bob's LSA''s for some really fine workmanship, As far as a fridge I have a full size one in the older part of my shop. It great for keeping cold beer or water in..

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            • NCLSA183
              NCLSA183 commented
              Editing a comment
              Absolutely Dave! My gratitude was meant for those guys as well, and the others. As I've stated before, in other posts, I have been following the forum for almost 4 years and those guys have been a big part of the LSA neighborhood and I have visited their virtual workshops many times. I've learned things from BTAZ and Stinger that I plan to implement on my own project some day, and from many others. I've not seen an LSA in person but I don't need to in order to appreciate it and know that it will be perfect for my needs. I did own a '42 J-3 for several years in the early 90's and the LSA should be it's younger, stronger and more capable brother. I wasn't inspecting or critiquing your work. Just admiring it and your commitment. The main point was to let you know that all the photos from all the different angles will help myself and others to get a better visualization of where all the pieces belong. And I understand THAT is pretty important.
              Mitch

          • Hey Fellas, got some progress to report today, I finally got the aileron pulleys fitting and the brackets welded in place, I was really dreading that job, it took about 10 hours to get both sides done. It was one of those deals where you have to trim and fit and trim and fit until you got it where you wanted them. And then they are still not perfect. But the pursuit of perfection is probably the thing that keeps most airplane from ever being finished. So off I go!!! Hope you like the pics.
            You do not have permission to view this gallery.
            This gallery has 7 photos.
            Last edited by davzLSA; 09-25-2021, 05:41 PM.

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            • Sir Newton
              Sir Newton commented
              Editing a comment
              I love the pictures. 1 picture is worth 1000 words. You just posted 7000 words.

            • Frank
              Frank commented
              Editing a comment
              Great work Dave! Maybe someday I will face the same challenge. You made it a little easier with the photos!

          • Im glad you like them Sir Newton

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            • Hey Guys, Big day today in DavzLSA progress. Got my aluminum for my wings today. It was a 600lb crate and a long tube crate with the cap strip. More update to come.
              You do not have permission to view this gallery.
              This gallery has 1 photos.

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              • Frank
                Frank commented
                Editing a comment
                I'm excited for you Dave! With your factory ribs and spar webs, and with your previous experience in wing building, you'll be up and away before too long!
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