Another window and More Bolts

So, a few hours were spent drilling the bolt holes for the copula steel. It is time consuming and not fun.
We are going through some drill bits.

I moved on to the south side window.
They are aluminum and pitted.
I used an aggressive wire wheel to remove the bulk of the pitting and then moved to a fine wheel to make the finish look nice.

 The screens look nice too!

Window Frames and Windows

TOO much time is being spent trying to drill out the holes that do not line up.

I really regret having the new steel prepunched.

It would have saved so much time if I just drilled them AFTER they arrived.

I have started adding bolts to the holes that did line up or that I was able to drill.

I did put a bead of sealer behind the plates to help keep water out.

My hopes are that the interior will be very nice so I want to keep out any and all water.

I have a feeling that is going to be a real task.

 

Drilling the plates was a pain.

The plates themselves were not so bad, it was the steel inside the caboose that makes up the support structure.

I burned up 2 expensive bits in 4 holes!

There has to be a better way. 

 

We also had to grind off the square portion of the underside of the bolt head.

I could not get the head to sit flat enough to seal.

When I tried, I was breaking the bolts.

We heated the bolts to remove the zinc treatment. I will go back and grind off the letters on the heads of the bolts later.

 

WINDOWS 

 

 

I removed the windows from the copula and want to repair and clean them.

The frames of the windows needed help first.

I had to weld a repair into each of the frames. The North side window frame required less repair. The North side needed the entire bottom cut off and a new piece of steel, the full length of the frame.

 

 

 

The repair looked really good.

I just might be getting this welding thing down!

 

So I moved on the aluminum windows themselves.

 

They had sealer around the perimeter. It was a mess.

I removed the seal and then banged out the high spots so we get a good seal on the newly straighten frames.

 

 

After I cleaned them, I had to straighten the dents in the screens.

They turned out great!

 

next I wanted to clean the frames. I used a wire wheel and it did a nice job.

I also made the choice to try and paint the frames.

 I used a special primer that is formulated for Aluminum.

 

I was going top keep them white but I thought that will still look dirty ,... quick.

So I went with black.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Day for Flying Steel

Saturday started with removing the covering from the side of the copula and getting the steel panel ready to be lifted in place.

I wire wheeled the panel and used a good primer to seal the areas that would be covered by the lip of the opening.

 

After priming the panel, we attached a hoist flange

 

We had the holes pre-punched in the panel. That was not the best idea.

Four holes lined up on the entire panel.

 

 

Thanks to George, We were able to not only place the east side panel but we were able to remove, prime the opening, and place the west side panel too.

George is a good friend.

 

 

Yes, I do windows

The next part of the project involved the windows, or two of them.
I have decided to continue to work toward sealing up the exterior and the three roof surfaces are complete,
Now I need to start working my way down.
The next major part will be the sides of the copula.

I spent a bunch of time removing the rivets from around the plate that the window was mounted to.
It was a time consuming process.
Each rivet had to be cut and then punched out.

 

The rot was too bad. We have to replace the steel around the window.

 

 

 

That window was heavy!

 

 

 

 

 

This piece of steel was a mess.

 

 

Time to cover this hole till later in the week

 

 

I put a few bolts in the skin because it was separating.

 

 

 

   

I was able to salvage the window frame. I removed all the rivets and patched the bottom where the rust was too bad.

 

 

Now I have started working my way down the side.

I will be replacing a portion of the roof too.

 

 I have gone through some cut off wheels.

 

What a mess.... but...not for long.