More Forward Fuselage (Firewall)

The other day I started drilling out the #40 holes to #30.  Getting ready for the final construction of the firewall.

After correctly sizing the holes I deburred the holes and all the edges of the aluminum angles and filler shims.




The order of engine enamel paint came in from Aircraft Spruce so I primed all the Firewall parts with it.  All the aluminum parts.  Not the stainless steel firewall.

My motor mount is white so, I used black on the Firewall parts.

I let them dry overnight.  Before Cleco-ing and riveting the parts together, I wet the mating surfaces with paint, and just before it set, we finished riveting.



The paint will help to prevent moisture from collecting between the surfaces by means of capillary action.  (Thanks for the idea Jerry.)
 

I constructed a fixture on the bench to hold the Firewall firmly while driving rivets.

My friend Tom R. came over and assisted setting rivets.

Looks pretty good.  I like the circular brushed finish of the stainless steel.

The lower aluminum angle attaches to the forward fuselage floor and bracket assembly.  The whole assembly will then rivet to the Firewall along with the lower engine mount brackets.

The next step will be to mount the Firewall in the front of the plane.  Not sure how to do that as yet.

Here is a shot of the lower aluminum angle and floor.  I drilled the pilot holes in the floor and angle.  The center most hole is an alignment hole that will aline with a hole in the Firewall.

The outer ends of the angle need filler shims to adjust for the floor.

Last thing I did tonight was to start assembly of the forward fuselage floor "H" frame.

So, I am making slow but steady progress.  There are a lot of sub-assemblies in the forward fuselage.

Tomorrow I will clean the shop and regroup for next week.         Brian