This evening I continued to work on the canopy. I used my angle grinder and sanding disks to sand the center weld on the canopy bow. I then used a maroon and then a gray Scotch Brite disk to smooth the aluminum. There is still work to do on this weld before it is painted. I then match drilled the holes in the front angles to canopy frame, deburred the holes and installed LP4-3 rivets. I also used the deburring bit and countersunk the holes for the gas strut to the canopy attachment screws.
After riveting the angles I installed the gas struts to the canopy frame. These struts are attached using flat head screws. Thus the reason for the countersinks. The screws go thru the frame and thru a machined aluminum bushing. The busing goes thru the end of the strut. There is a note in the drawings about orienting the struts correctly or they will not function properly and will wear out prematurely. I checked to make sure they are oriented properly. After installing the gas struts the instructions say to cut off the end of the screws so only 2-threads protrude from the end of the nut. I used a hack saw and a file to cut off and clean-up the end of the screws.
After attaching the gas struts I attached the canopy latch handle stop. This is a small piece of 1/8" thick aluminum that is riveted to the inside edge of the rear canopy bow. I used the Scotch Bite wheel to clean-up and deburr the edges of the latch handle stop. I also deburred the holes in the part. I marked the bow, drilled and deburred the holes and riveted the stop in place.
Next I worked on the canopy fore and aft attach angles. I deburred the edges of the angles after removing the blue vinyl film. I laid out the holes and drilled the holes in the short leg of each angle. I then deburred the holes and prepped and primed the angles.
