It's freaking cold outside, and the garage doesn't want to stay warm. I've done some very rudimentary cordoning off of the section I'm working in (plastic dividing the garage, and various things over the rafters to keep the heat from escaping too fast.) The cold still prevails, but I bundle up, and it works out ok.
It was great getting more experienced with the bandsaw, and the part-making process. I would recommend doing these parts early in the process for anyone else making the Sonex (if I have the credibility to recommend anything at this point)--the parts aren't complicated, there's lots of them, and they involve three basic processes that you'll be doing a lot--cutting, deburring and polishing. No bending or drilling for these, but that's probably a good thing. You blast them out in a few hours. (For reference, the parts are W14-02 and W14-03 in the plans--they're spacers that go between wing rib pieces.)
I put tonight's parts in labeled ziploc bags, for preservation and identification (mostly for the latter). I think this will work well for all of these small parts.
The bandsaw is worth it's weight in gold.
More metal on the way - December 6, 2006
I finally found a local source for 6061-T6 in the .025" thickness. Erickson Metals. ( http://www.ericksonmetals.com/ )
They were less expensive than Wick's, and will deliver for $25! I probably saved $400 on this order by going local.
So tonight I had to make way for a shipment of eleven 4'x12' sheets of aluminum. I did "phase 2" of the garage reorganization, and built a storage rack for the aluminum sheet. The outside air temperature was in the high 20's tonight, so it was very comfortable in the garage (unlike the last week or so).
I now probably have enough metal to keep me busy through the winter (easily). Once this metal is cut out, bent, drilled, etc., I'll move on to the angle aluminum pieces. Then assembly will begin. It sounds so simple, and will take so long!
So long! - Bill
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