| 27 | Spar Position/Interference with Top Capstrip | 2/14/2006 |
| | When drawing out the brace and spar locations I paused to think about the dimensions of the spar. One piece wing plan has 1" spar, 3 pc. wing plan has a 3/4" spar. A member of the Piet list advised me to center the 3/4" spars on the centerline for the 1" spars in the plan. That seemed obvious after I heard someone else say it. Sometimes I overthink the simple things.
The other thing is the rear spar (3/4" x 4 3/4") as drawn on the jig will not fit between the upper and lower capstrips. The 2 options are to shave a little chamfer off the spar to the angle of the top capstrip or build the jig and adjust the curve to allow it to fit. We're only talking about 1/16" or so and my feeling on the spar (as it is the backbone of the plane) is the less you mess with it the better.
NOTE:
The plan shows a place for a spruce wedge at the top of the rear spar. Not only is there no room but the spar is larger than the plotted space between the capstrips. |
| 26 | Bending Jig Done | 2/12/2006 |
| | Today's blizzard gave me time in the shop to make some headway on the rib building process. I need to put a piece of bent capstrip on my rib jig to draw the contour of the rib so I figured getting the rib jig done was the first order of business. I mounted the jig on a piece of MDF and added a clamp on the end to catch the ends. They don't really add to the bend. I just put it on to keep the loose ends together and possibly prevent warping.
Man hours: 3 |
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| 25 | Rib Jig | 2/12/2006 |
| | I redrew the pattern on a larger piece of MDF to accomodate the clamps. I also want to add some angle iron to keep it straight and flat and in a single plane. My pattern is for the 3/4" spars which I drew onto the jig. While drawing in the braces I noticed that there is interference between the rear spar and the capstrip. The plans show that you should have a gap that you fill in with a wedge/block. I put a post out to the Piet forum for ideas on this. I double-checked my measurements and they match the plans. I've heard that one of the plot points on the plans is low, which would create the problem I'm seeing. When I steam a piece of capstrip and set the bend, any low spots should be apparent when I lay it over the drawing. I need to shorten the steamer first so that I don't steam the whole capstrip, just the section with the steep bend.
Man hours: 2 |
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| 24 | Steamer Modification | 2/12/2006 |
| | I talked to a few people and looked at other steaming/boiling setups and I decided to cut my steamer down so that I only affect the area with the steep bend. I made a cover for the pipe that will allow the straight part of the capstrip to stick out. This way I don't apply moisture where it's not needed and hopefully reduce the risk of warping.
Man hours: 1 |
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| 23 | Productive Weekend | 2/5/2006 |
| | This was a reasonably productive weekend. I put together a prototype of the clamp I plan to use on the rib jig. It seems to provide enough pressure without "killing" the glue joint. Also built the bending jig based on a design I scribbled on a pad. Since the capstrip will come out of the steamer and go straight to the bending jig I put a coat of poly on it. I think 3 coats will be good enough to keep the bender from absorbing moisture. It's slow but happening one little step at a time.
Man hours: 4 |
| 22 | Observation... | 2/2/2006 |
| | Even with the encouragement and company of the Piet list/forum, this is a deeply and intensely personal project. You dream about it, contemplate it, envision it and in the end it's you and your tools and your materials in the shed doing the best thinking and work you're capable of to make the best plane you can. Time is completely irrelevant and remaining true to the vision is all that matters. I feel overwhelmed at times that there is so much left to be done, but at the same time, exhuberant having discovered this idea and committing to it. |
| 21 | Wood's Here | 1/30/2006 |
| | The box was a lot smaller than I thought. I ordered all the capstrip for the wing ribs and a little extra. The box is only about 6' x 5" x 5" but I guess that's right now that I think about it. It's pretty light too. The box with the gusset ply is rescheduled for tomorrow. |
| 20 | Steamer "Runnup" Test | 1/28/2006 |
| | I felt like firing up the steamer so see if it was going to actually do it's job so I popped a can of butane in the camping stove it uses, put some water in the pot and turned it on. 10 minutes later steam was billowing out from under the cap. I think it's going to work fine.
Man hours: 0.5 |