After celebrating Easter at church, I bid the family a brief leave and headed for the shop to continue the installation of new hardware on Biscuit's boom - just a couple hours and then back to celebrating. The brief time today was first spent on continuing the effort to salvage the pin and gooseneck toggle. The stainless steel gooseneck toggle and pin were in great shape, only seized to the aluminum gooseneck casting. So to that end, I first attempted to hammer out the pin using the flat edge of a bolt, and after soaking in BP Blaster for a couple of days. I did get the pin to move about an eighth of an inch, but that was it. I then turned to a cut-off disc to move remove chunks of the casting and to allow generated heat to help displace the dissimilar metal weld that had taken place. So this was an iterative process: hammering and cutting / heat application. I finally was able to hammer the pin through the old and degraded casting, and it was in very fine shape. After removing the pin I sanded the surface and then performed a test-fit in the new gooseneck casting - perfect fit, with freedom of movement! I assembled the pin through the new gooseneck fitting, applied the washer, spring and cotter pin to capture the spring. The gooseneck is able to be maneuvered as it should in the new casting, and so at this point I set it to the side and continued work on the other boom fittings,

First up, a small cleat just inside of the outhaul fitting. I used a prior and existing hole, pre-drilling it and then tapping for #10-24 machine screws. Once I completed that, I inserted the screw and marked the location for the second machine screw. With the mark on the boom, I used a metal punch to create a divot to pre-drill in. I used various drill bits to sneak up on the #25 bit for #10-24 tapping. Once tapped, I cleaned the surface of the boom, tapered the fasteners holes on the bottom of the small cleat and rough-up the surface of the bottom of the cleat. Once the cleat was wiped clean, I applied a bit of SikaFlex 291-lot to the bottom of the cleat, then applied Thread Locker to the fasteners, and screwed the cleat down. I wiped off the squeeze out bedding compound and completed the install of the cleat.

I then moved to the small jam cleat - opposite side of the boom and inside a second small cleat (to be installed). Again, in this location I used a previous hole - the second being patched while I was restoring the boom itself. I drilled and tapped the existing hole for #10-24 machine screws, located the jam cleat onto the boom, and then marked and pre-drilled this new hole. I wiped the surface clean and applied Thread Locker to the fasteners, and sent them home. This completed the small jam cleat installation. Family was calling, so I closed the shop and headed home to finish the Easter celebration.

Upon arriving, I decide a quick sand and varnish session would be possible before I was noticed - close, but no cigar! I sanded the various interior components with 320-grit, wiped them clean with acetone, and applied another coat of vanish to the fiddles and cover plates. That wrapped up a quick Easter Day on Biscuit.

Total Hrs: 2.5