The Murphy Builders Site

Hi Wayne (Good to hear your trip & seeing Nigel went well),

I can see how some builder would get a bit confused with the manual (go
figure). But if read carefully (between the lines you might say), there are
5 bolts to secure the strut fittings as laid out in the following sequence.

Rebel Manual - Chapter 18 - Strut Assembly

11) Drill hole out with a #11 drill. Pin block inside strut. Mark a line on
the strut that shows the center of
the block. Figure 18.2.5. (This is the *FIRST* hole drilled).

12) Mark a line 3/8

As this topic comes around again, it's appropriate to remind builders who
haven't done this yet that it's critically important to keep the strut
blocks tightly clamped -- not just "pinned"at one end with a drill bit --
at all stages of marking and drilling, inside the strut and at the drill
press. Without firm clamping, the strut blocks are loose inside the struts
and will move as you mark or drill, from hole to hole. Similarly, while
drilling the block itself in a drill press vise, the block can "roll" when
drilling near the rounded fuselage end, unless it's not only properly
aligned, but also supported and firmly clamped. Even a slight movement
during these steps can cause significant misalignment at one end or the
other of the strut! Been there. I have a series of photos of the process at
http://n254mr.com/node/165 (--thru 168) and a lengthy text description in
the message archives somewhere.

The first time I did this I thought I was being super careful, but it turned
out, not careful enough, and I had to redo the right strut and strut blocks.
Because it's unlikely anyone is going to be able to get replacements for
these expensive custom parts (struts and strut blocks) at this point, it's
all the more critical to do it right the first time.

Ron
254R


On Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 2:47 PM, Jeff Micheal
<westcoastkitplanes@gmail.com>wrote:

[quote]Hi Wayne (Good to hear your trip & seeing Nigel went well),

I can see how some builder would get a bit confused with the manual (go
figure). But if read carefully (between the lines you might say), there
are
5 bolts to secure the strut fittings as laid out in the following sequence.

Rebel Manual - Chapter 18 - Strut Assembly

11) Drill hole out with a #11 drill. Pin block inside strut. Mark a line on
the strut that shows the center of
the block. Figure 18.2.5. (This is the *FIRST* hole drilled).

12) Mark a line 3/8