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The Log of the Wee Beastie - April, 1998

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4/23/98 - Bought a cheap welder truck for the tanks. It works to move the tanks, that's all. Also picked up an electric metal shear (Milwaukee #68) that was on sale. I'm ready for the aluminum now!

4/19/98 - Finished grinding the tube tips and everything fitted in the jig very nicely. Just a little loose for expansion, but the ends weren't TOO loose. Started tacking the side together with a #2 Smith tip and 4130 rod. The first few tacks were TERRIBLE! I had forgotten how to weld already! After a few, I started to get the feel again. Had to stop halfway for two reasons (1) I wanted to allow time for a fire watch on the wood jig and it was getting late, and (2) it suddenly dawned on me that my hoses from the tanks won't reach the aft fuselage! ARGH! Time to get a cheap tank truck! I just love these little moments of discovery.

HOURS = 3

4/18/98 - Grinding fishmouth tips on tubing. This goes a lot slower than I thought it would. I was getting so finicky about the way the tubes fit, that I ended up spending about 15 minutes per end!

HOURS = 4

4/11/98 - Finished up the tube cuts for the fuselage. Had fun trying to duplicate the second lower longeron bends. With only two bends, one can be approximate, but the second bend has to be on the money. Lucked out - they match. Top longerons are now .075 all the way to the tail (change from prints). I then tagged each piece and stored for assembly later - had to go to work another weekend <sniff>.

HOURS = 3

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