I started off today by pulling the peel ply off of the 7-ply bracket stock, and in turned pulled the bracket stock off of the taped-up 4130 1×1″ square tubing form.  As you can see, it came out just fine.  I just need to sand the inside, trim it up and cut it into individual brackets.

Here’s an end view shot of the 7-ply bracket stock.  Note the CAMLOC that I’ll be using the bracket stock to install.

I had to run some errands, including returning a motorcycle trailer I borrowed from a friend of mine… that took quite a few hours.  When I returned, I essentially spent the rest of the evening figuring out tweaking the component locations on the mockup instrument panel.  I think I’m really getting this panel dialed into where I want it!

I did have to make one major change so far: you can see in the lower left hand side where I filled the 2″ diameter heat vent hole back in by sanding down one of the 2-1/4″ instrument hole plugs that came out when I drilled the upper holes.  I then glued the new 2″ round plug back into place (I wanted to get this done so it would cure overnight).  The reason for doing this is that I decided the switches below the vent need to be higher for easier access, especially since the throttle handle will hinder easier access to that lower area just above the left armrest.

Tomorrow I’ll start back on the ELT mounting bracket and then probably do a lot more on this panel.  I want to get the panel to the point where I can get some serious wiring done in order to power up and check out all the instruments that I have on hand.