RV-9A Wing Construction Log

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Bolt removal... gap fairings

Ok.. yes.. I'm concerned about my broken bolt. My plan is to go back and replace all the bolts that I have torqued with new ones.. this is the best course of action.. and bolts are cheap.

Why did it break? I over-torqued it. I admit it. I do have a torque wrench but I didn't believe it. 20-25 inch lbs of torque IS NOT A LOT! I thought my torque wrench was a bit out, so I gave it a little extra turn. I've learned my lesson.

BUILDERS: Don't take torquing your bolts lightly! My research indicates that builders really need two torque wrenches. A small one and a larger one. Make sure you also know how to use it.

So.. on to the bolt removal. I stopped by a tool store and picked up an ez-out. I took the head of the bolt that had a little bit of the shaft left. I flattened the end of the shaft and put it in the drill press and drilled a hole down the center. I put that back in the hole and used it as a guide to pilot drill the hole in the broken off part. Then I threaded in the ez-out and the bolt came right out!! Whew!

With fresh bolts and a new torque wrench, I installed the brackets and bellcrank. I also spent some time riveting the flap gap fairing on the right wing. I think I can finish up the fairings on both wings this week.

Bolt head drilled to use as guide.
Picture of hole in bolt shaft after drilling.
Backing out the bolt
Sucess!!

(Time: 2 hours)

- posted by Matthew @ 10:04 AM