Smoothing the razor sharp edges on the F-1201A
firewall upper with a Scotch-Brite wheel on the pneumatic grinder.
As with other Van’s models, the RV-12 utilizes a simplistic system to attach the cowlings to the fuselage by way of hinges. The fuselage receives one half of the hinge pieces and the cowlings receive the other half …. removing the hinge pins, easily separates the cowlings from the fuselage.
The upper firewall assembly supports four hinges which need to be cut from hinge material. The F-12116-L&R mid cowl hinges are created from two 4 1/4" hinge pieces. The F-1201J and F-1201K upper cowl hinges are made from 25 1/2" and 12 1/2" pieces of hinge material respectfully. The hinge pieces that were too long to fit the throat of the band saw were first rough cut with a hacksaw to a slightly larger than required size, then final cut using the band saw and deburred on the Scotch-Brite wheel.
Finished upper and mid cowl hinges for mounting
the engine cowling onto the upper fuselage assembly.
About the time all the hinges were cut and deburred, the heater in the shop ran out of propane which abruptly terminated the “region of bearability” both burners on the heater were barely creating. The temperatures today were plummeting, so it was off to the propane supplier to refill all the tanks … which will certainly be gone by the end of the weekend if I work in the shop during this latest Artic blast.
