Hi Gang,
Well, finally got my right wing tank back, fully repaired and signed
off. What a bitch to fix. My tank, being an early SN, was fully
soldered to gather. The only rivets used were on the baffles. All
edges were soldered. The old patch was riveted on, but has leaked most
of it's life. I wanted the new patch soldered into place, so's not to
worry later. Couldn't use a torch, as when the end heated up, it'd melt
the solder around the edges, doing more damage than good. The other
problem, was that the welder (certified repair shop) had to purge the
tank with argon, to keep from meeting his maker. This argon, being
under slight pressure, kept blowing the solder out of the patch. The
shop finally fabricated a very large soldering iron. Since there was no
flame, he eliminated the argon, and then the repair went quite smooth.
On pressure test, we found another small pin-hole that he repaired. Now
it's on to the paint shop, and back to the A&P for install.
I was figuring a big buck bill. Wrong, it seems as Bruce, the
welder, has known my parents for many years. Even though I didn't know
that when I walked in his door, we soon became friends. When I picked
up the tank and asked for the bill, he wouldn't accept any Payment. I
didn't know there were truly any nice people around anymore, but I think
he fills the bill. He says he'll be happy to repair any other tanks,
but his pricing structure has changed now.
Now, how to get to be good friends with the A&P.Larry
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