Building tips and hints

[dholly]

Thanks Lowell, I am a fan of K.I.S.S. technology! Clamping the spars together with the garrotte to keep the ribs immobile worked very well. You can't see in the previous pics, but I ran a strip of painter's tape down the length of the spars to note the rib location, which I then used to mark a position line all around the spar. I just left that tape in place. Figured if I lost the position line in the Hysol I would still had a good reference handy. I would add that I tried wrapping tape around the tube at first as a position line, but found it difficult to get perfectly square. Simple solution... just wrap a piece of paper around the tube, align the edges, mark away and remove. -Viola- a perfectly square position line around the spar!

[MotReklaw]

Just some really great tips. Thanks for making this a 'sticky'

[jiott]

Crooked False Ribs & Tail Ribs:

I found that quite a few of the plywood false ribs and tail elevator ribs were not straight. Some were pretty bad. I found that if I wetted just the concave side with water, the fibers in that side would swell and push the rib straight. With a little help gently bending with my fingers I was able to straighten all the bent ribs, even the worst ones. When they dried they stayed reasonably straight.

Jim

[dholly]

You will need to clean up your aluminum spars before you glue your ribs. Many builders use Scotch-Brite™ cleaning pads. These work excellent to clean, finish, grain, denib or defuzz aluminum, and may be used by hand, with a hand pad block, or on an in-line sander.

If you are going to use Scotch-Brite™ pads to clean aluminum spars, only use the maroon color pads (item #7447). They are manufactured with a very fine grade aluminum oxide grit abrasive. Do NOT use the gray pads (item #7448), as they contain silicone carbide grit abrasive.

The silicone carbide could break down and stick in the aluminum causing corrosive stress points, very much like marking aluminum with a pencil (which is why we only use ball-point or felt tip pens when marking on bare aluminum).

[P Morel]

I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with this idea. I really didn't like the idea of having the panel shock absorbers in view on the front of my panel. I manufactured standoffs, mounted the shock absorbers and flush riveted them to my panel.

[jtpitkin06]

Clothes Pin Clamps - All Models

Clothes pins are cheap clamps but they don't open wide enough or get in close for most applications. A few seconds on a disc sander remedies both shortcomings and will convert a clothes pin into a handy clamp for just a few cents.

Sand the handle ends on the inside so the jaws will open farther.

If needed for close clamping, sand the nose inside and outside to make a “needle nose” clamp.

Picture: Top clamp has needle nose jaws and shows wide opening when modified, second clamp has shortened handles, bottom clamp is stock clothes pin.

JP

[cap01]

another version of the clothes pin clamp . dissamble and reassemble with the wooden parts upside down and the spring installed backwards . clamps well

[896tr]

With all of the time that I have been out of work I really appreciate the tool tips and am always looking for a less expensive way to get some of them. I made my own stitching needles out of metal coat hangers. I flattened the end with a hammer and drilled a hole for the lacing cord. Flattening the end made the needle too wide so I used the grinder to thin it down. The pointy end was also done with the grinder. Someone you know will have old metal hangers that they will give away for free. Nothing better than free tools!

[HighWing]

The home made needles are a favorite. I used them in both of my projects. One side benefit and the driving force behind my initial use is that the hangar wire (or welding rod) is bendable. I tried modifying one of my store bought needles and broke it. I found the soft wire with custom lengths and bendable to be essential when lacing the partial rib under the fuel tank and in other places where I inadvertently routed such things as the pitot tube line in exactly the wrong place or going around drag anti drag fittings.
Lowell

[Dorsal]

Simple method for remote mounting pressure sensor.