General Tips

These Size guides are from some other website
Drill Size Guide
Screw Number Machining Table
Bolt Torque Table - From Van's Chapter 5
Proseal
Close-Quarter Dimpling
Non-Metallic SCAT Tubing
Torque Wrench Extension
Jacking the RV-10
Fitting those hard to reach washers
Brake Lines - External To Fuselage
"Smoking Rivets"
Tire Balancing
Proseal:
Store proseal in the freezer when you're not using it.  If you do this, you'll get probably at least an extra year of shelf life out of it.  You'll need probably 2 total cans to do a whole RV-10.  You use it on the control surfaces, the fuel tanks, and on some areas of the fuselage.   Use it on your heater control boxes to seal the gaps in the boxes.

More info on Proseal from John C.:
Proseal Semkit Label
Units come in 6 oz. prepackaged and ready for mixing.  We use them like candy.  The Gray, PR-1826 is a faster setting (15 minute) and the Dark Brown, PR-1422 (30 minute).  In the Semco gun, these are a sweetheart to apply and keep clean. We can squeeze from a 5/16 bead all the way down to a 1/16”. We use MEK for wipe up. We spread with popsicle sticks for fillets and butt seams. Every single inspection cover and fuel cover gets sealed after installation.  I could never endorse a sandwich baggy again after just one use.  However, that said, I would still double cover my hands with disposable gloves.  I have been told it’s for aerodynamics but it takes paint well and disappears from view from the cabin windows.  I noticed the FlameMaster people have Semkits as well.

And even more info from John Cox on 3/2/2007: (edited for brevity)

ProSeal is a high quality PolySulfite Thixotrophic (Sticky Sh1t) made exclusively by DeSoto, a division of PPG. Van's "Flame Master" product though a "Knock off" form of such a quality product.

There are four distinct reasons for failure in application.
1. Expired product.
2. Improper mix procedure... John G. you can chime in here.
3. Improper atmospherics like humidity or extreme temperatures.
4. Operator error in the installation/application.

This is the glue that holds airliners together.

The product you are using, (which I would venture to say is not my beloved Proseal) comes in paintable "A" (like syrup) and extrudable "B" (like old toothpaste). Properly applied I can create a convex 1/4 fillet as small as 3/32" of an inch, and then apply a fillet spoon to convert it to a near flawless concave seam of beauty. In bead sizes larger than 3/8" in the hands of an epileptic (no offense intended) I can take a disgusting irregular "sloppy" bead, Mist it with Isopropyl Alcohol and while using a cheap latex glove convert it into a smooth final product. The alcohol evaporates without altering the catalyzed bead.

Within minutes it can be cleaned with alcohol. Within hours it requires MEK (which you better know what you are doing). We NEVER ever use Toluene although we have it cause it alters and adulterates the final chemical, cured composition. My beloved Proseal is paintable, it is removable (but a real BITCH) and sticks to any and everything that is clean.

Regarding fixing tank leaks
Now as to pulling a vacuum, nothing could be further from proper technique. A vacuum (negative pressure) causes atmospherics to enter from outside of a tank. It leads to bead failure. I guess a slight positive pressure could help wick Polysulphite into a fayed seam from within the tank but using correct procedure is always recommended. The slightest excess in either Negative or Positive is going to reform your pristine tank into a new beast. Proseal can be laid over clean, previously applied and cured substrate. The secret is getting it to the specific area of the leak.

This is Experimental Aircraft Manufacture so you boys and girls have fun playing with chemicals and toys of dubious result from your chemistry
http://corporate.ppg.com/ppg/aerospace/default.htm
http://www.ppg.com/prc-desoto/pdf/sglssary.pdf
Simply the facts. Flame-Master is not "ProSeal". It is a knockoff copy of the product spec. Think of facial tissue and "Kleenex". Cellophane tape and 3M "Scotchtape".

Every good Sheetmetal Instructor can give you a complete lesson in 10 minutes. Mediocre ones never do. Now installing Wet Rivets (those with rivets coated in this damn stuff) takes a little longer. Every good riveter can do wet rivets. Great riveters do it faster and cleaner.

Close-Quarter Dimpling:     This tip is provided by Lucky Macy, and is a fantastic tip!
Close Quarters 8- 32 dimple method   (originally posted at: http://home.comcast.net/~luckymacy/rv8.html)
"I'm almost ready to take the plane to the airport and just now I learned how to easily dimple 8/32 holes that I couldn't get my hand squeezer in to do. This way beat using a regular flush head screw and nutplate to overcome the same problem on the thicker fuel tank material. The instructions don't want you to countersink the holes if you can avoid it and this did the job great."

Non-Metallic SCAT  - Thanks John C.
If you're putting SCAT in around an AHRS, you may want to consider this non-metallic wound SCAT tubing:
http://www.flexfab.com/Products/Aerospace/Lightweight-ducting/ultra.htm

Torque Wrench Extension - Thanks Jim McGrew  #40134

Jim writes:
"I just came across a great idea that I want to share with the group. There are a few times that a torque wrench won't fit on the nut/bolt (namely engine mounting bolts, prop nuts, supporting the starter/alternator wires on the engine case). Instead of purchasing expensive extensions or welding something up I found that if you take an ordinary combination wrench and put a bolt/nut with washers through the closed end you have a perfect extension. And you get to keep your wrench intact. See photo below."

"You'll need to set your torque wrench to the appropriate setting when using an extension. If you don't trust yourself with a calculator here's a website that will do the math for you: 
 
http://www.norbar.com/torquewrenchextensioncalculator.php
 
This is too easy, but I struggled with a few of these before I came across this idea, so I figure it's worth sharing."



Jacking the RV-10

I just thought I'd throw this out there.  It works great, and was pretty cheap.  Not everyone will want the project, but the result is great.
The bottle jacks were from Harbor Freight.  $39.99each.  The "C" angle and 3/4" square box tube steel were from a local steel supplier for a total of less than $44, with the exception of the 3" I.D. steel Pipe that I cut from scrap.   The jack pads are 1" or so thick, aluminum, milled to just accept the jack into them.  Grade 8 bolts get recessed and go through the jackpad, and the pad screws into the tiedown area under the wing.  A buddy of mine, the one who helped me use his mill to cut my panel, did the jackpads for me.
The jack stands were made with this parts list:

2ft. C-angle steel, 3" wide - Quantity 2
10.5" C-angle steel, 3" wide - Quantity 4
22"  3/4"x3/4"x.125" Box Steel legs - Quantity 8
3" I.D. Steel pipe, 1/4" approx thick, about 3-4" long - Quantity 2

I cut it all with my Harbor freight steel chop saw (el cheapo).   Then I cut angles in the 2 ends of the legs.  Then just used a welding magnet to hold it together while I welded it up.  As you can tell by my welds, I'm no expert.  This is the first real project I ever did using a wire-feed welder, using my Miller unit that I got at OSH a few years ago.  I couldn't wait to use it, but started with way too much power, so it looks sloppy, but it's plenty strong.   After I got done welding, the 3" ID tube around the top of the jack had a tiny gap between it and the jack, so I filled it with flox and epoxy.  Then, since the steel was unpainted, and the jacks were just orange, I thought I may as well waste some time and paint them blue.  The cheapest jacks I could find were something like $219/ea online, and I can only imagine what the shipping was.  These were a total of about $80 + $11.00 shipping from HF, and then the steel, so under $125 for the pair.

     

The jacks I used were from Harbor Freight, and here are the details:
3 TON SUPER HEAVY DUTY LONG RAM HYDRAULIC FLAT BOTTOM JACK

Enormous Stroke for Big Jobs.  Ideal for use on hydraulic cranes, engine hoists, and a wide variety of applications for mechanics, truckers, farmers, and off-road enthusiasts. Enormous 20'' stroke for jobs requiring a large lift. Baked enamel finish. 1 piece handle.

    * Capacity: 3 ton
    * Max. Height: 44-1/2''
    * Min. height: 24''
    * Stroke: 20''
    * Shaft diameter: 1-7/64''
    * Pinhole size: 5/8''
    * Weight: 27-1/2 lbs.

ITEM 36468-2VGA
Price: $29.99  (at the time of writing this)

Here are some shots of professional ones:

 


Fitting Those Hard-to-Reach Washers

Albert Gardner came up with this great way to make a washer wrench from a popsicle stick.  You can buy actual washer wrenches, but if you  want to save money or just need one in a pinch, this looks like a simple way to go.




Brake Lines (external to fuselage)
I've heard before that people have had problems with the brake line coiled around the axle leg.  The coil gets flexed on landing and the repetitive flexing work hardens the aluminum tubing, causing it to crack, and your brakes to fail.  Because of this, when I did my brakes, I put a coupling in the aluminum tubing about a foot from the bottom, and ran high pressure braided teflon hose from that point.  This made for a nice coil that will never break from flexing.  Improving on this idea, I have recently replaced the lines with braided teflon all the way from the fuselage to the brake, eliminating 2 more possible nuts that could leak.  This was partially prompted by a report of another RV-10 that almost suffered a complete brake line failure due to flexing of the gear legs up by the fuselage.  The overall length of hose required to do this is 44" which includes the fittings on the end, but I forgot my measurement between measuring them and ordering them, and ordered 46" which also worked.  So anything between those 2 lengths should work out, but mine are 46"  You can see my lower brake hoses, both my original 1/2 teflon, and my recent upgrade to all teflon, in the pictures HERE.

Smoking Rivets
A good Matronics Excerpt by Noel Simmons

Tire Balancing

After 330 hours of flying, it was finally time for new tires.  I have had a shimmy between 35-40mph on landing since I started flying with wheel fairings, so I decided to take a tip from a couple other people and invest in a tire balancer to see if that would fix it.  Indeed, it seems that by balancing my mains, my shimmy is almost completely gone!   Read here for more info.

Below, is a picture of my tire balancer, available at Marc Parnes Products. The DU42 model is made for Ducati motorcycles and the cones uses on this model work perfectly with the RV-10 Cleaveland Wheels.



Proving that the balancer design isn't as critical as balancer quality, below are phots of Vic's balancer that he got off eBay, with an auction title of:
"THRUSTER PRECISION STATIC BALANCER"  from "thruster-king".  Any good balancer should do, provided it uses the proper cone sizes.