Side panels misalignment

[Wael Hazin]

Hello members,

As you can see from the pics, the left side panel has about 1 to 2mm gap while the right side seems to be aligned with the front casting. I don’t want to sand the front casting to try and align this gap. The other option is to place a spacer between the left panel and the front casting. As always, your input is always greatly appreciated and I’m not sure what to exactly do here. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Regards
Wael

[Dave Nadin]

Had the same issue with my chieftain, front casting , i was looking at a mis alinement of 5mm, before you start. Ensure that the hull box, lower front & upper front castings are set to a centre datum line. Then use packers to bring the side plates flush along the surface joint. Please do not be surprised if the opposite side is protruding by the same amount. a bit of fettling needed, close any gaps using a metal filler compound. This is the chieftain way LoL
cheers Dave n

[Wael Hazin]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply! What do you mean by packers? Sorry, if this is a dumb question

Regards,
Wael

[Robert E Morey]

Hi Wael,
A few fitting options:
1) File off casting to match flat plate. Re-texture casting if needed.
2) Somehow bring flat plate flush to casting (slot mounting holes for flat plate perhaps)
3) Try to split the difference - A little of 1 and 2 on both parts
4) Fill the difference with a putty like Milliput? May take a lot depending on mismatch.

Not sure that helps?
B

[Richard Goodwin]

Hi Weal,

The simple solution is to use some washers between the inside of the plate and the casting until it aligns with the outside. This is what we mean by packing out. If you know how much you need to shift the plate by to make it level with the casting, you could use an offcut of sheet ali of the right thickness with holes drilled in the appropriate place to enable the screws to go through. Hope this helps.

[Wael Hazin]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for the clarification! That’s what I thought it meant but just wanted to make sure. That is also what I plan on doing. I was just concerned by the amount of missalignment. I just hope this doesn’t propagate to other places.

Regards,
Wael