Section 18 - Fuel Tank (ribs, stiffeners, zee-brackets, skin)

Lots of little tasks were completed on the left fuel tank:  deburred the tank ribs (edges and holes); dimpled the rib flanges; cut, deburred and dimpled stiffeners; cut, deburred, countersunk and riveted nutplates to zee-brackets; deburred edges and holes of tank skin; cut, drilled, deburred and dimpled j-channel stiffener; and, dimpled tank skin.  NOTE that all internal structures (e.g. ribs) were dimpled using Cleaveland Aircraft Tool tank dimple dies, which dimple slightly deeper to accommodate a thicker layer of Proseal - not sure if this matters, but since I bought those dimple dies, damnit I'm using them! Any task that did NOT involve proseal was welcomed (I'm dreading the mess, and time constraints; thus, I'm still finalizing the plan of attack).

Tank ribs, completed - I didn't feel like spreading them out (again) to photograph ... but, they're done:

Section 17 - Outboard Leading Edge (fabricated wing stand/cradle)

Fabricated a wing stand from an RV-10 drawing from Mouser's website (http://mouser.org/projects/rv-10/wingassembly.html).  I changed a few dimensions to fit the RV-14A, including shortening the length to 8' (like Shawn did here: https://myrv14build.blogspot.com/p/wing-cradle-coming-soon.html), using a slightly different method to bolster the center posts that hold the carpet, and making those posts 18" long (instead of 16") to better hold a 20" carpet width with a 1" overlap at each end.  After a few days, and a total of about 5.5hrs, this stand is (mostly) ready to hold the wings.  Original drawing from Mouser:

Sections 17 & 18 - Outb.Lead.Edge & Fuel Tank (riveted leading edge to spar; light lens; started fuel tank)

It's been 2.5 weeks since I last updated the blog ... but, I've accomplished a few tasks during that time, as well as did a few non-build items (Sun 'n Fun; work retreat; kids' activities; etc. etc.) that took more time than usual away from the RV-14A.

I finished the outboard leading edge, which involved a lot of new skills when working with the plexiglass light lens. From reading the forums, many builders have had to repeat this step due to lens cracking, mostly at the drilled holes.  It involves using #30 and #27 plexi-bits (60deg point), and drilling VERY slowly.  The pneumatic drill is too fast, so I used my Dewalt cordless drill on the slow setting. Cutting the edges was a dilemma that I researched for quite some time - do I saw, route, melt? A 1.5" diameter plastic-specific cutoff wheel for my Dremel seemed to work well, and was what some folks use (others use different cutoff wheels).  Plastic EVERYWHERE, including a small, hot piece that went into my eye (even with eye protection over my regular glasses) - that was my fault; I was looking right over the work and my eye protection was slipping.  Lesson learned.

Used pneumatic squeezer to rivet bottom aft rivets on outboard leading edge to main spar: