Tip bow wood screws

[Zac Weidner]

I cannot find any reference to the screws that attach the brace channels to the tip bow in the drawings nor any type of wood screw at Aircraft Spruce or Wicks. What is used for this application?

[JohnW]

Zac, this info is ABSOLUTELY on Drawing 14623, clear as a bell. There is a callout on the "Panel Assembly- Wing" drawings at the very extreme left edge that points an arrowhead at the Tip Bow and says "Tip Bow Inst. 14623". Piper did this a lot, and it is NOT "merely" (or even "necessarily") a part number. The "Inst" means "Installation Detail". Actually , in "piece/part" cases, the Drawing Number IS the part number! SOMETIMES they don't even do the call-out, and you can STILL find a drawing that shows detail by ignoring a p/n's dash number. This Drawing set is not 100% complete, but it is AWFULLY DAMN GOOD.

[Steve Pierce]

Zac, I think John is referring to drawing number 14323 which does not call out the wood screws for the 4 channel braces from the tip bow to the spars. I use a short #4 wood screw from the hardware store since that is what I have removed from some originally installed tip bows.

[JohnW]

Ah, you are absolutely correct, Steve (well, "about both my [ongoing] typos", and that the callout for the tip bracing attach screws is NOT on the drawing that I referenced). "Guilty" of "thinking I know too many details, and I SHOULD HAVE CHECKED that THESE fasteners are included with ALL THE OTHER ones that ARE on that Dwg. But I KNEW that the callout for these screws was SOMEWHERE, and it is. Also "MY" recollection says these screws that I have removed from "original Piper stuff" were slightly LARGER that #4, but I HAVE seen many tips that had been replaced now and again that DID have #4s there, and they seem to work just fine.

They are correctly to be located on Dwg 12483 or 14407, and found specifically in Note 1 on that (those) dwg. The text for Note 1 is as follows: "Use #3 wood screws where fastening braces (Dwg 12252) to wood and #4 Type B tapping screws where fastening to spars unless otherwise noted." "#3 wood screws simply refers to "hardware store, commercial grade" fastener. Piper used steel ones, and they rust in and will never back out, because of the rust.

I'll be paying closer attention to "fat- (and "light-) fingering" important things like Drawing and Part numbers in the future. Guaranteed.


[edit:] Oh dear, there I go again... everybody KNOWS that #3 wood screws are SMALLER THAT #4 wood screws. I'm such a screw-up!

[Steve Pierce]

Now that you mention it I do remember a long time ago finding some #3 brass wood screws and using them till I ran out. I'll have to look for some more. Thanks for the heads up on the other drawings. I knew I had seen it somewhere before and you jogged my memory. :shock:

[Zac Weidner]

Thanks for the info. I was looking for them at aircraft hardware suppliers but I only need one (seem to have lost one somewhere along the line) so I will just run to the hardware store.

Thanks a lot.