Riveting the Left Tank Ribs – Part 2

Got a lot done tonight! I finished up the larger riveting job on these inner ribs.  I had three left from the last session, so I finished those last three up tonight. Heres the timelapse:

My tools were already ready to go from the last session, so I jumped right in by removing every other cleco from the ribs, and cleaning any dried sealant with a drill bit and deburring tool.  Then I mixed up 10 grams of sealant to use on the dimples for the rivets, and swirled a tiny bit of sealant in each dimple.

Then I stuck the rivets in the holes (these were soaking in MEK to clean them first of course).  The sealant holds the rivets in the holes really well which is a plus.

I did the bottom side first, in all three ribs, then bucked them, checking the shop heads to make sure they were set correctly.  Once I had the bottom done, I flipped the tank over and did the same for the top side.  Then I went back and removed the last clecos, and followed this same procedure to finish up all the holes.

After getting each set of rivets bucked, I’d go back and wipe what little sealant squished out with a paper towel and MEK to keep the mess down.  Once they were all set, I mixed up another 40 grams of sealant to use to make the dollops on the shop heads.  I grabbed my filet spoon and used it to make nice dollops on the tails of the rivets. This was enough to cover the ribs I left on the last session.  The left over sealant I had from getting all the dollops done, I used to touch up the filets and gooped up a nice batch in the nose of each rib to reinforce this section.  I had plenty left over so I had plenty to work with.  I eventually had everything nice and covered and touched up, and tossed about 5 grams or so of sealant.

I’m glad to get this milestone knocked out.  Its looking pretty good, and I am ready to finish these tanks.

After that, I cleaned up my tools, and work area and called it a night. I’ll let this cure overnight, then it’ll be time to start sealing the end ribs and accessories.  Those are decently fun work sessions.

Google Photos Link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Pjcg6f1CTq4hzCpt9

Hours Worked: 2.5

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