DonZinger
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2013
- Posts
- 1,649
Moose,
I made long cuts, but unlike my electric valve installs, I did not cut out "pieces" of the belly skin. Just long cuts.
At Home Depot I can get "white plastic cardboard", which are my words for the black belly skin.
So, I cut a piece 4" wide and as long as the sheet of plastic cardboard, I think the sheets I can just go in and buy are 24" x 36" so I cut a strip 4" x 36".
I use strips of blue masking tape to lay out 2" from each side of the cut. Then I have a location for my strip of plastic cardboard.
I use 1/2" sheet metals screws that have a "washer like" head. So a phillips screw pan head that extends 1/16" out from the pan head, so close to 1/2" in diameter. I can post a pic later on if need be.
Since this is a cut in the belly skin I never plan on opening again, unlike the electric valve locations. I got a small squeeze tube of clear liquid nails at my local Ace Hardware.
I start my cuts in the belly skin at a place where I can use clamps to get it back in place, so at the location of a cross member.
So cut ends clamped back up in place with Irwin squeeze clamps, blue masking tape in place, screws and cordless drill handy, squeeze tube of liquid nails open and ready....I put a nice bead of the liquid nails all the way around the strip about 3/4" in from the edges.
With help from "she who must be obeyed" we put the strip up in place and start putting screws about 1/2" in from the edges of the strip, every two inches.
Since I began using this process for closing up holes or slits I've made in the belly skin...haven't had one come loose yet.
Make sense?
Pirate
Gents - not to hijack, but the material is called cloroplast.