To get a little practice with the process and tools of sheet metal construction, I built the little tool box practice project that Van’s sells. This turned out to be a wise decision. I read some about the process, but found that there were some major holes in my knowledge and abilities.
First, everybody will tell you to get organized before you just jump in and start building. Clearing a small area off of my otherwise cluttered work surface isn’t going to cut it. Tools and pieces hide underneath each other and periodically slide off onto the floor.
Second, read the instructions, and then read them again. Figure out exactly what they mean. If it isn’t exactly clear, do not cut or drill until it is perfectly clear. If you can’t figure it out, ask somebody. A phone call or email for advice is much, much quicker than ordering new parts. The real risk is that you never know you did something wrong and it causes a safety hazard later on.
Third, make sure you know how to do each operation. What tool should you use? Why? How much is good enough? Too much? Is there any way to do something that could make the part unusable? What are the criteria? This becomes really important when drilling and riveting. When is a rivet good?; when is it ugly, but serviceable; when does it need to be replaced; and when should you just toss the whole part and start from scratch?
Fourth, if something can move, it will, and if it does something bad is going to happen. When squeezing rivets, the piece will twist and turn every way imaginable to give you bent or lop sided rivets. When bucking, add that the rivet gun will slide around and either damage the rivet head or the piece your riveting. It will happen. It will always happen! Clamp or jig down the part before drilling or riveting!
Fifth, when done with an operation, don’t just set the piece aside, go back and inspect it critically. Is it really airworthy? Be honest with yourself. If in doubt, bring in somebody experienced to look it over. Looking at how my toolbox came out, I know I’m going to make mistakes. I don’t know if anybody else ever set flush rivets with universal dies installed backwards or not, and I’m a little too embarrassed to ask. They don’t look bad, if you don’t mind the rounded shop head. . . . (Let’s just not do that one again shall we?) The point is, mistakes will happen, but I must learn to recognize them, and while learning how to minimize them, also learn how to correct them.
Well, I still have the control surface practice project to do, so I have opportunity to test what I’ve learned.