Another Small Bump In The Road Less Traveled

Why is it always late in the week when I discover problems that can’t be resolved over the weekend? Case in point, I thought I had the dimple die issue totally resolved until I felt it prudent to see how the new dies would work with the wing and vertical stabilizer ribs. Previously, I tested the fit of the dimple dies using the vertical stabilizer’s rear spar and there were no clearance issues. Much to my surprise, when  testing the clearances using the wing and vertical stabilizer ribs, I discovered the radius of the dies were about 1/32" or so to wide. If one were to dimple using them, the female die would mar the area on the rib where the transition is made from the web to the flange.

 Here one can see when the female die (top) is squared up with the hole in the wing rib the female portion of the die would deform the web/flange transition when squeezed … not good.

Bob Avery to the rescue … Late in the afternoon on Friday I called Avery Tools and described the issue to Bob who suggested a few fixes. Sure, I could just remove some of the metal from one side of the female die on a grinder or bevel the base of the die … but then it becomes yet another thing to keep an eye making sure the die does not rotate with use. The decision was made to have Bob turn down the female dies decreasing the radius by 1/32” or so on a lathe … no need to turn down the male dies since only the female dies are used on the underside where the clearance issue is. Glad this is all getting sorted out now and is only a small speed bump. There are plenty of metal parts to prep so progress can still be made while waiting for the dies.