Saturday, May 19, 2012

Captive Audience

Finally got the captive studs from McMaster that I'd been putting off purchasing for awhile. So I bit the bullet and decided to try them on the skins first. Nobody on the forums had replied that they tried them on the skins. They were mainly used for the dome. But I figured its the same 2 layer principle with the skins, so why shouldn't they work? I'll use them on the JAG hinges for the front doors, the coin slots and of course later on the various dome pieces.

I used the coin slots as the guinea pig. After marking the holes with pencil first, I attempted drilling the first hole solely off the mark. I'm not sure if its the drill, the bits or me that suck, but every time I try to drill something, it glides off center even when I center punch a guide. I had barely started the first hole when I thought of a better idea. I clamped the coin slots in place very gently and protected the outside with a rag since they are already painted. Then I proceded to drill the holes out with a 7/64th bit using the slots themselves as a guide. I removed the slots, bore the holes out a tiny amount so the 4-40 captive studs went through the holes easily, and then sanded the slag off with some 120 grit sandpaper.





Next, I proceded to see how flush the captive studs would be. Loose they still stick out a bit. But once they are tightened from behind with a nut they pull into the aluminum a good bit, not entirely but pretty good. I countersunk the next three holes very lightly to see if it improved the flushness at all. It didn't seem to make much of a difference. These photos make it seem much worse than reality, they only stick out maybe a millimeter. I guess a good macro lens will do that.




So after all four were in, I put the outer skins on loosely with binder clamps. I think with a good clamping during the gluing phase, you won't even be able to tell that the studs are under there. Again the photos make the gap look worse than real life. There is no visible bulge in the outer skins, and the coin slots will cover these seams anyway. So, I think I'll use the captive studs on all the other necessary spots. Thanks to Pangborncc & CuriosMarc for the captive stud tip. Now I just wish I hadn't already spent some money on regular 4-40 screws. Oh well.



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