Shop: Workshop prep.

Set up the band saw and obtained lumber for EAA Chapter 1000 Workbenches.  I had Lowe's cut the plywood to size.  It will be so nice to have some work surfaces.  This is hard on the knees and back.

Wings: Builder number and wing kit ship date.

Got my wing kit order verification papers today.  My builder number is 140059.  The ship week for the wings is slated for 8-Apr-13.  Some logistics need to be planned to get the two giant crates off the truck and into the house.  Van's shows the crates to have the following characteristics:

• 141"x12"x12", 181 pounds
• 96"x32"x12", 220 pounds

That'll be a good time.

Shop: Computer setup.

Naturally, I need a new computer for the build.  I put together a fairly cheap system that should have enough juice to get through a few years of my needs:

• Intel Desktop Motherboard LGA1155 DDR3 1600 mini-ITX - BOXDH77DF.  Smaller is better.  No need for additional cards or other peripherals
• Intel Core I3-2105 dual-core processor 3.1 GHz, 3 MB cache.  Nothing excessive, but nothing with a handicap either.
• Kingston HyperX Blu Red Series 2x4 GB 240-pin 1333 DDR3 SDRAM.  Enough to manage video editing if I don't want to use my office machine
• Microsoft LifeCam Studio 1080p Webcam (for time lapse) with 32 foot USB active extension cable for placement anywhere
• IN WIN BP655.300TB3L Black Steel / Plastic Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case.  Small and has USB 3.0 ports on the front.
• Microsoft Right-Handed Comfort Mouse 6000 for Business, Black.  Wanted two right thumb buttons to make web navigation easier.  Wired means no worries about batteries.
• Microsoft Wired Keyboard 200 for Business - Black.  This is going to get beat up so go cheap.  $8 with two day shipping.  How was that profitable for Amazon?
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
• 500 GB primary and 640 GB secondary hard drives.  Both recycled from other machines.  No need for speed here.
• Recycled Cambridge SoundWorks SBS36 computer speakers from an old Gateway
• Need my tunes:  The Current, KEXP, Digitally Imported and some bhangra
• HP LP2065 20" LCD monitor (was sitting around unused).  1600x1200.  That should be okay.
• Quality desktop wallpaper.
• Put together a neato mouse pad on 20-Feb-13.

Many thanks to Ed and his incredible RV-10 website for saving me time on finding good time lapse software:  booru WeCame 2.0.  You can read about his setup here.  I've found that Movie Maker chokes when using more than 300 images.  So each day is assembled as a series of movies, stitched back together with Avidemux.  This lets me avoid running the videos through the compressor again with all of the associated loss artifacts.

The two hard drives will be more than adequate for my space needs.  The 640 GB drive is merely to serve as a location to make occasional system images of the primary 500 GB drive.  Every month or so I'll copy the image to another isolated location so I can minimize how much data I'd lose if bad things happen.

I created a spreadsheet (using OpenOffice) to work through how much space my time lapse video would require.  If I assume 1,250 hours of building (probably too low), at one image every 10 seconds, that's 450k images.  The typical image size is 390 kB at the compression I've set.  This gives 171.39 GB of images.  With a frame rate of 0.03 s/frame (lowest Microsoft Movie Maker will go), that leads to a 3.75 hour movie.

Total computer cost:  $531.31

Update 7-Jan-18:  This computer served its purpose well.  It has been re-purposed and now is in the employ of my mother, allowing her to surf to the web comfortably.

Update 17-Feb-18:  The time lapse video of the build which I made for myself (not publicly shared) is composed of exactly 468,829 files occupying 223 GB of disk space and 576 folders (each folder represents the files from one day of work).  That captured 1,953 hours of the the 2,196 hours of building.  Thus the time lapse endeavor documented via video 88.9% of the build.

Shop: Tools and more tools!

My RV-9A friend hooked me up with a bunch of tools from his build.  I still needed to buy the major ones plus a number of other smaller ones.  My goals were to have quiet tools that minimize my need for elbow grease.

I went with these big boys:

• DRDT-2 dimpler
• Fein 9-20-25 Turbo-II 9-Gallon Wet/Dry Vacuum with Auto-Start
• Turbo I/II floor brush body 8ZHZ9, part 921151K13, SKU 156122
• Floor insert-Turbo I/II 9LK78, part 921152K13, SKU 156124
• Makita MAC2400 Big Bore 2.5 HP Air Compressor 
• This thing is so quiet!  I can't even hear it upstairs when it's running.
• Lightweight Airhose Kit (2)
• Air Pro PUR-14X050 1/4-inch by 50 Polyurethane 250 PSI Air Hose
• Mini quick-connectors (2)
• Craftsman 2.5 amp 9'' Band Saw
• Craftsman 10 Bench Drill Press with Laser Trac reg 21900
• Shortly after I bought this, Sears discontinued the model. 
• Replaced 16-May-13 with a Skil 3320-02 because the former drilled oval holes.
• Ryobi 6 in. Bench Grinder
• Replaced 27-Mar-13 with a JET 577101 6 inch Industrial Bench Grinder.
• That Ryobi was so out of balance that everything on the table went for a walk when it was on.
• BESSEY 4-in Cast Iron Workshop Vise

And these smaller guys:

• Kobalt 4-Piece SpeedFit File Set
• Nicholson File Cleaner
• Nicholson 5-1/2 in. 6 - Piece Assorted Hobby/Craft Mini File Set
• Irwin 3-Piece Unibit with Cobalt #2 Unibit
• General Tools Fraction+ 6 in. 3 Mode Digital Caliper  
• Clecos (3/32" and 1/8")
• 3M Low-Maintenance Half-Mask Organic Vapor, P95 Respirator Assembly, Medium
• SuperCut 37113 62-Inch 3/8-Inch by 0.014 by 24 T.P.I. Three Wheeler Carbon Tool Steel Bandsaw Blade 
• 3M Professional Earmuff and 3M Clear Plastic Chemical Impact Goggle
• Outlet strips
• Workforce 100 ft. 16/3 Extension Cord (not for more than 10 Ampere loads)
• Bayco 150 ft. 16/3 Cord Reel
• Scotch-Brite wheel
• Clamps (quick and slow) 
• Tooluxe HVLP 0.5 mm Mini Gravity Feed Air Spray Gun - Aluminum Canister 
• Shop Head Rivet Gauge Set
• Special angle counter sink cutter #10x82
• 360 degree swivel pop rivet tool
• Royal multi-burr tool with 5 blades
• #40 and #30 cobalt drill bits, 12" and "normal" from Avery
• Swanson Tool Company 8-in Mitre Square
• Etc., etc.

Here's a great page on tools for a build by Mike Bullock.

Total tool cost thus far:  $1,866.61

Update 17-Dec-15:  The Avery family retired and the business was subsequently shut down.   Thus links to their website are no longer valid.  I tried to update as many of those links as I could with alternative sources.

Fun Stuff: Motivational mousepad.

I just had to have an interesting mousepad for the shop's computer.  So, here's what I came up with.

Wings: Wings ordered!

Wings ordered!

I didn't need those $7,520 anyway, right?