Today was a big day!

With rib prep done, it was time to start clecoing the wing boxes together. Here’s the left wing box going together.

Left wing box coming together

…and here’s the left wing box clecoed together.

Left wing box together!

I must say that this is a big morale boost, just as much as completing the horizontal stab. I had to leave this set up for a day or so just to admire it. After all the main ribs were match-drilled, the nose ribs went on and were match-drilled.

Left wing nose ribs

After everything was match-drilled, it all came apart for deburring. I commandeered Ellen’s cordless screwdriver after seeing some builders use it for deburring, then realized that I didn’t have any way to attach the 1/4″-28 threaded countersink to the drill. Avery sells a gadget that does this, but I was far too impatient to wait for one.

So I headed to the place where I do my best thinking – the hardware store – and came up with a good idea for attaching the countersink. I bought a 5mm deep-well, 1/4″ drive socket and a 1/4″ drive adapter for the drill. Back at home, I drilled out and tapped the socket for 1/4″-28 threads. The socket and drive adapter snapped right into the drill and I was all set.

Deburring drill adapter

Using the drill I was able to debur both front and rear left spars and wing ribs in only 30 minutes or so. The nice thing about this approach is that I can use those long 1/4″ drive extensions laying around the tool box for deburring in hard-to-reach spots.