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Rebuilding Tips

Crash

GONE WEST
Nikiski Alaska
A couple of tips that have helped me in rebuilding my Cub. Doing the tear down of my Cub I started at the the spinner and worked back from there(you need a place to start). Get a box of Zip Lock sandwich bags and a permanet marker. Put all the screws, bolts etc. for a given assembly in a Zip lock and lable it i.e. "landing gear bolts", "spinner screws", "wing attachment bolts" etc.. I assemble each bolt with it's nut and washers just as it came off the plane before putting it in the bag. This way you'll know what type of nut (heat or nylock) was on the bolt along with how many washers (thick or thin). Some time when you're wanting a break from painting or something, sit down with all your bags of bolts and an AN bolt size guage and make a list of all the hardware in each bag. Then go on the internet and place an order with Aircraft Spruce. In two days you'll have a 10 lb box show up with all the hardware for your plane. Replace the hardware in the zip lock bags with the new stuff (assembled, like for like). When you get ready to re-assemble the plane, it goes a lot faster with all the marked bags containing the correct hardware for a given assembly. Be sure to always use "AN" or "Mill Spec" hardware on your certified aircraft. Crash
 
Great post Crash. I don't ever start a project without a couple of boxes of different size ziplock baggies. Didital camera is nice too. I take a picture of every part before and after I disassemble it. I set up a picture file and I label them all for future reference. My problem is I can't stick with one type. I just got done with a Super Cub and now I am completely re-skinning a Luscombe. The time it takes to do all of this it helps to have a picture to go back too cause it might be a year before that part gets reassembled.

Have a lot of shelf space too. It helps to be able to see everything instead of being boxed up.
 
Jeesh.........you guys are boring.........that's not near as exciting as digging through boxes and boxes of parts and hardware a year later and wondering where the %^)*$ it all goes.
 
cubdrvr said:
Jeesh.........you guys are boring.........that's not near as exciting as digging through boxes and boxes of parts and hardware a year later and wondering where the %^)*$ it all goes.

Especially if you took more than one airplane apart...
 
... or bought a project that came with a box of (mostly Piper) parts labeled "miscellaneous".
I've bought parts that I already had, and replacements for worn parts I recognised, only to find out that I wasn't going to need that part anyway. Great post through -- I am starting to kit sub-assemblies as I figure out all the pieces and it very helpful to fill out the kits in one big order.
 
Rebuilding Tip

As parts come off the plane I inspect each one and decide weather it's going back on the rebuilt plane or needs some rework or be replaced. I deal with it right then an there. I have 5 gallon buckets labled "Gloss White", "Black" and "Red" for powder coating. If the part would pass for new once it's powder coated I drop it in the appropiate bucket. If it needs replacing I get the new parts needed and put them in the bucket so I only have to make one trip to the powder coater. The porject moves much faster this way. Crash
 
I get shipping tags from the office supply. They are 4 3/4" x 2 3/8" tags with a wire. Great for marking parts for future reference.
 
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