Purchases

Reamers and 3M wheels

I wanted to get #30 and #40 reamers for a while. I also have a single 2″ 3M wheel, and since I’m “saving” money for the move to California I decided to buy another 2″ wheel and a smaller 1″ wheel. I have two C-Frames. I purchased one when I started and a second came with the set of tools I purchased later. I’d like to resell one, but unfortunately I lost one of the parts, the ram that accepts the dies, so I ordered it as well.

Respirator

When using the P60G2, you want to be very careful about the fumes. That’s why it’s recommended to use some sort of downdraft table or spray outside when able. Even with that, a respirator is still needed to protect from the Zinc Chromates.

I purchased the 3M 7512. It’s a half mask N95 and Organic Vapor mask.

First Batch of Primer

Here in Cedar Rapids we have probably six Sherwin Williams stores in the area. Four household stores, one automotive, and one commercial. I started out looking for the P60G2 at the automotive branch. I gave her the name and explained what it was and the gal gave me a look like I was crazy and said they don’t carry it. I then drove over to the commercial branch, gave them the name and what it was and they also said they didn’t carry it. Frustrated I went on with my errands.

The next day I made a few phone calls to some of the other stores in the area. At one I got this really helpful gal, she looked and said if I special ordered it they would have it there in 3 days. Nice! But she also said the commercial store should carry it. I told her I had already visited them and they said they didn’t carry it. She was surprised but thought that they must be confused, so she said I should call back and request to special order it from them since as a commercial store they will get priority to the industrial products over the household stores.

Another phone call was made, this time to that same commercial store that I already visited. I requested to special order it and… They have it in stock! What the heck! Ok, I tell him I’ll be there in 15 minutes. I arrive and get to the front, tell them what I need, and how am I not surprised, “We don’t carry that.” Well yes you do! The two employees walk to the back and sure enough, they do! 1 gallon of P60G2, 2 gallons R7K44 arrive in hand. They stated that they didn’t recognize it by the name, they just know it as “industrial wash primer for aluminum.” *Facepalm* I had said that the first time I was here…

Welp that’s part experimental aircraft building, sourcing products..

Harbor Fright Paint Stuff

I needed quite a few things from Harbor Freight for painting. Spray gun, hose fittings, air filters…

Final Payments of Empennage and Wings

It’s finally here! The empennage is in the crating process and the wings are set to follow next week. I made my final payments to Van’s and the kits should ship mid-May. I’m planning on moving out of my small apartment and either renting a house with a garage or a hanger at the airport. My names been in for a hanger for almost a year, and last month when I checked I was #2 on the list. Needless to say I need to make a decision pretty soon because I’ve got about 600lbs of parts about to be shipped!
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Empennage and Wing Kit

My first real order!
I initially put 25% down, and will pay the remaining 75% when it ships. The expected lead time is 7 months.

Van’s Order – More Practice Kits

After ordering more tools and going through them, I’m getting more and more excited to start building. The hardest thing for me is where to build. Ideally I want to build in my apartment, why? Cheap, comfortable, and accessibility. The problem is the noise of the compressor and riveting. Now that I have a pneumatic squeezer the only problem is the compressor. I’ve looked at the ultra quiet compressors from California Pneumatics, but I’d like to avoid buying another compressor unless I have to. I’ve ordered this next practice kit to try the squeezer and see how noisy a process this would all be.

Used tool set

I originally purchased only the tools to do the practice kit. But since I’ve decided to build, there are many more tools needed. Van’s has a list of tools needed for the practice kits and for building here.
I found someone on VansAirforce.net (VAF) selling a set of tools they had purchased, most of which were from the Isham tool kit. They were asking $1000 for the set, which I thought was very reasonable! I tried to calculate the actual value of the tools based on what I had seen them sell on VAF, my guess was around $1500. The Isham tool set new is about $2000. Here’s the pictures he had post of the tools.



His profile said they were in Kansas, only a 5 hour drive. After communicating with the seller I found out he had moved to California. I estimated shipping would be around $100, so I offered $1100 if he paid shipping. By this time, a few people had replied to his thread expressing their interest in purchasing.
Thankfully he accepted my offer! With a purchase of this amount, I wanted to use PayPal for their buyer protection service. I ended up sending him $1150.

Since I still want to maintain an accurate list of tools and money I’ve spent, I’ve listed the tools individually with their estimated used price. Many of the tools were new in package or unused, for these I’m using what the value would be to sell rather than the retail value since I didn’t buy from a store. If I could find the retail price, I’ve added to the name.

This top item, “adjustment”, that is used to correct the total estimated value with what I actually spent.

Small additions

I needed some small stuff, part of it for aircraft building and part of it for electronics work which eventually will be aircraft tools!

A little something extra

I’m also a member of a flying club that has a Cessna Skyhawk. When flying cross country I like to use my phone as a secondary source of navigation because it can be easier to use that the Garmin 430. I’ll also use my phone for podcasts or movies or something to keep my mind occupied. The Skyhawk has a 28 volt cigarette lighter plugin, but no USB ports. I wanted to order an adapter anyways, so I tacked on a few Cleco clamps I wanted to try.