RV-9A: Left Fuel Tank - 8/7/2006
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 Just to dang hot to work!
Even after insulating the garage and putting in a portable air conditioner, it's just too hot to get anything done in the evenings after work. This is as low as I could get the temperature inside the garage with the insulated garage door down. PHEW! So I decided to concentrate on gathering tools for the completion of the left tank.
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 Bought a tube flaring tool from Averys
According to the instructions, fuel lines need to have a 37° flare on the end in order to seal properly. You can't use an automotive flaring tool because they make a 45° flare.
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 Bought a tube bender from Home Depot
The instructions say that you need a tubing bender, but they don't say what type. After emailing a few other RV builders, I decided to go ahead and get both types, the tool bender tool shown here and the spring type benders. That way I'm covered no matter what. Update: 6/01/2011 I used this thing once and didn't like the way the tubing looked, so I never used it again. I did almost all my tube bending with my bare hands. On occasion, I used the springs in the next picture, when I was working with really tight turns.
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 Here are the spring type tubing benders
I also got these from Home Depot. They're just around ten bucks.
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 Bought a 3/8 inch crowfoot wrench set
I found in the tools section of the instruction manual where it talks about using a torque wrench on the tube fittings. I'll use these crowfoot attachment on the torque wrench to get the proper torque setting. According to the instructions, for 1/4 inch tubing it’s 40-65 inch-pounds, and for 3/8 inch tubing it’s 75-125 inch-pounds. UPDATE 12/30/2006: I just found out that if you use an extension on your torque wrench, you are supposed to calculate a different torque number (was that in the instructions??). Here's a link to Torque Wrench Extension Calculator.
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 Bought a 90 Degree Threaded Drill
I found out that Brown Aviation Tool recently purchased a large lot (over 300 pieces) of surplus used Jiffy brand 90 Degree Threaded Drill Motors from a major west coast aircraft factory. These drills usually cost around $450 new. I got these one for only $155. I checked out when I received it. It seems to be in perfect condition.
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