Hoisting Points #2

This is the last of the Hoisting Points updates.

I spent the last few hours putting the last two hoisting points together, then grinding all the welds flat and rounding edges on everything before giving it a coat of paint.  Tomorrow I'll be finishing of the rear dome and putting the motor and elevator system back on.

This weekend I'll make a start on, and hopefully finish, the mounts for the batteries.  After that I've got to make, and mount the throttle; mount the elevator and diving plane controls, and finish of the ballast release mechanism.  Once these are done I can paint the interior (only the front and back for now) then I can start work on the conning tower; hatch, windows and electronics, etc.

Fig. 1.  The left point ready to weld.

Fig. 1.
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Fig. 2.  The left side welded.

Fig. 2.
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Fig. 3.  The right side welded.

Fig. 3.
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Fig. 4.  All done!

Fig. 4.
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Hoisting Points #1

This evening I finished off two of the four remaining hoisting points.  The two I finished are the ones at the front.  Tomorrow night I'll finish off the the last two at the rear.

Fig. 1.  Marking out the pieces to cut.

Fig. 1.
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Fig. 2.  The two pieces are cut to shape.

Fig. 2.
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Fig. 3.  The two hoisting points that need reinforcement.  Each point will need to hold at least 200 kg and the current weld at the edge is two weak for that.

Fig. 3.
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Fig. 4.  I used a wire brush in the drill to scrap away the paint so it could be welded.

Fig. 4.
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Fig. 5.  Both parts have been ground at the curve so they can fit over the existing weld and they are now ready to weld in place.

Fig. 5.
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Fig. 6.  I  cleaned up the welds along the whole ballast tank brackets to make them look a little nicer.

Fig. 6.
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Fig. 7.  The other side all cleaned up to.

Fig. 7.
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Fig. 8.  The left side clamped in place.

Fig. 8.
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Fig. 9.  Welding and ready for a clean.

Fig. 9.
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Fig. 10.  Both sides welded and cleaned up ready for an undercoat of paint.

Fig. 10.
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Fig. 11.  Done.

Fig. 11.
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Rear Dome #2

This afternoon I finished off another two panels.  There are two more to go and that will be my job for Friday.

Fig. 1.  The first segment all cleaned up and ready to weld.

Fig. 1.
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Fig. 2.  The top half is complete and the lower half is about to be tacked in place.  It was really hard to weld around the tight corners of the Elevator & Diving plane rig's brackets.  In hind sight it probably would have been a good idea to weld the panels on before the brackets.  Oh well, there's always next time.

Fig. 2.
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Fig. 3.  Segment one complete.

Fig. 3.
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Fig. 4.  Segment two in production.

Fig. 4.
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Fig. 5.  My fancy clamping rig.  It's awkward to setup, but it does the job in holding the edges down enough so I can tack weld them.

Fig. 5.
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Fig. 6.  Segment two tacked and ready to have the final weld.

Fig. 6.
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Fig. 7.  After about three hours a piece, both segments are welding and painted.

Fig. 7.
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