Once I got the flange made and shaped the way I wanted it, I then needed to rivet it to the forward side skin. I postioned it on my workbench near the edge and clamped it in place. I marked the position of the holes and drilled through both the skin and the flange at the same time. After drilling the first hole I used a cleco as another way to hold everything in position. I used a 2nd cleco in the second hole and then drilled the rest of the holes.
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I used a similar method for drilling the holes for the cover panel and the flange. For instance, after the first hole was drilled, I used a screw and a nut to hold the position of this hole while I drilled the second hole and used another screw and nut while I drilled the remaining holes.
The nut plates were way to tight, so after a call to my friend and technical counselor, I used a tap and carefully opened them up slightly. If you over do it and make the nut plate too loose, just simply use pliers to squeeze it back to the tightness needed.
I took everything over to my friend's house and used his dimple die and rivet squeezer to put everything together.
I was not pleased with the gap around my cover plate, so I made them over again. My second attempt is better, but I won't be winning any Lindy awards with them either. It certainly looks hand made to me.
I'm glad I made these access panels and I'm glad the work is done.
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