I needed a panel ground plate as discussed in this forum recently. In my
panel setup, fewer than 10 ground connections are needed on the panel side of
the firewall, making the commercially available units overkill.
So, a ground connector was built asing a 1.5 inch by 3.25 inch scrap of 35
mil brass salvaged from an equipment nameplate. Lines were ruled along the
long edges 1 cm from the long edges and center punched at 1 cm intervals.
Holes of 5/32 diameter were punched at each of these points. Then the brass
was cut from the edge tangent to each of these holes, leaving 16 tongues, each
1/4 inch wide; faston connectors can be pushed over these tongues. The tongues
were tinned using a torch and solder, then they were bent up at an angle so
the strip could be bolted down to the firewall while allowing the fastons to
be pushed into place.
A 1/4 inch brass bolt is used to attach the strip and make the through
connection, plus a 6-32 bolt to prevent rotation. An extra brass nut was filed
round and also filed to approximately match the thickness of the firewall.
This is used as a spacer embedded in the firewall to prevent crushing when the
bolt is tightened, as suggested in "The AeroElectric Connection". A smaller
ground plate (6 tongues) was included on the engine side to provide ground
connections there.
The price was right (free) although it took a while to fabricate (as usual).
However there was no delay waiting for delivery from a supplier.
John A044
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