Frame installation: Day 2

The second day of the frame installation saw the primary focus being on bolting the frame down to the girders, so as to ensure nothing could be pushed out of alignment with the rest of our work above.

The mag drill in position to drill the mounting holes for the stanchion.

A great deal of eyeing up, measuring and double checking followed, to ensure the frame WAS, in fact, in the correct position. We then marked round the foot of each stanchion, as well as drawing through the mounting holes to give the location of the hole.

The marking out is obvious, as is the lack of clearance for drilling...

Sadly, the shape of the stanchions, depth of the holes etc precluded the use of the mag drill directly through the holes... So, once everything was marked up (and double-checked), we once again jacked the frame down to one end of the box, along the girders, to allow the mag drill to be positioned, ready to drill the holes we required. Because of the clearances, we could only drill half the holes at once, before having to move all the frame back the other way...

Positioning the rubber pads underneath the stanchions

Fortunately, this part went well, and once the stanchions were back in place it was time to add the rubber packers underneath. This was accomplished by rocking the frame forwards, then backwards, feeding the rubber sheets underneath. The rubber accommodates the metal to metal interface, adds a bit of sound deadening and anti-vibration. The underside of the stanchions were originally designed to sit on a timber beam...

Installing the remaining quadrants, section at a time, between the stanchions.

Finally, the rest of the quadrants were put into place, with mating faces being cleaned up to ensure a good fit. The accuracy of the drilling became apparent at this point, with a handful of holes requiring attention the following day.

The last quadrant going in to the frame.



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