HANDS ON
Materials List: 0.040 soft aluminum sheet
1/16-inch soft aluminum sheet
1/4-inch OD 6061-T6 by 0.049 tubing
( 10) 1/8-inch stainless steel Pop rivets
( 2) 10-32x1/2 raised head 1/8-inch machine screws
( 4) soft flat-head solid rivets
Spark Plug Tray
BY CHUCK BURTCH, EAA 10213
THIS MECHANIC’S ALUMINUM SPARK plug tray is an easy project with
practical application. This tray is a homebuilt tool and has never
been made for sale. It is simply a nice sheet metal project to help you
hone your skills prior to making any actual airplane parts, and it will
help you keep your spark plugs organized so you know you’re putting them back in the correct cylinder.
The project and its instructions were put together by Larry
Howell, EAA 397245. Larry heads up this project at the EAA Air
Academy along with Jim Olson, Don Tyler, and Billy Mitchell.
Academy students build them in less than three hours!
The tray has four parts—top, bottom, base, and handle. We use a
0.040 soft aluminum sheet for the top and bottom. The base is also
soft and is of 1/16-inch-thick sheet. The handle is 1/4-inch outside
diameter 6061-T6 by 0.049 wall tubing. The
top and bottom are riveted together with 10
1/8-inch stainless steel Pop rivets. The handle is held on with two 10-32x1/2 raised
head 1/8-inch machine screws. The base is
held with four soft flat-head solid rivets.
Cut the three aluminum sheets to size
and dress the edges and corners so nothing
is sharp and there aren’t any nicks. Lay out
the holes in the top sheet and center punch
them. You will have 10 1/8-inch, 12 7/8-inch,
and two 3/16-inch holes. We punch out the
1/8-inch and 3/16-inch holes with a
Whitney punch.
The 7/8-inch holes are drilled on a drill
press with a good quality step drill of 7/8-
inch maximum diameter. (Remember to
observe all safety rules, especially on the
drill press. No loose clothing; tie back long
hair. Use a slow speed and keep clear.) It
pays to drill partially through with the last
step and turn it over and finish from the
opposite side. It can be re-centered with the
step drill by inserting in the hole and lowering the drill press quill. The sheet should be
held with a vise grip-type drill press clamp.
Center with the drill in the center punch
and clamp and so on. Keep yourself clear,
take it slow, and you will have less cleanup of
the holes when complete. We use a small
