| 203 | Fin and Rudder Fore/Aft Tapering | 2/23/2009 |
| | I've done this for the horizontal stabilizer and both elevators now. I think I tapered all the pieces for the rudder and fin in about 40 mins and I wasn't hurrying and they turned out great. I clamped my long Permagrit tool to the top of the tablesaw with the coarse side up and just worked the piece over the top of it. After several test fits and iteratively returning to the Permagrit tool the ends are level with the pieces they mate up to. Some final sanding with a finer grade and back they went, one by one, to the jig. Rabbet cutting will be next. This part of the plane has caused many a builder to scratch his head, me included. In retrospect it was easier than originally anticipated.
Man hours: 1 |
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| 202 | Fin and Rudder Jigged | 2/19/2009 |
| | After drawing out the points and lines for the placement of each of the pieces in the fin and rudder, I set the pieces on the jig and screwed down all the positioning blocks. The only trick is the curved piece at the top of the fin. I have a piece of spruce that is milled to the center thickness of the widest dimension (rear). I will laminate and then cut to shape on the bandsaw. Finally I will taper the front of it to the thickness of the inner center of the leading edge after rabbet is cut. Now that I've been through the stabilizer and the elevators, I know exactly what to do. Hopefully, that will eliminate the analysis paralysis I suffer from frequently.
Man hours: 1.5 |
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| 201 | Glued the Rest of the Stringer Capstrip - Elevator | 2/16/2009 |
| | I just finished putting the last of the stringers on the elevators and sealed the deal with T-88. Now all the construction is done. What is left now is the trimming of all the gusset overhang, rounding the trailing corners, shaping and rounding the edges and final sanding.
Man hours: 0.5 |
| 200 | Fin and Rudder - Redo | 2/16/2009 |
| | It was Monday morning, Presidents Day. I layed in bed thinking "If only I had looked more closely at that wood before I decided I was done and cleaned up and put away all the tools. Maybe the wood I had would be good enough. Just setting up and tearing down takes 2 hours." Ah, why bother with maybe. I got up, bit the bullet, and turned the garage into a Pietenpol factory again. The other piece of wood I chose had a very tight end grain and left me happy that I withstood the temptation to lower my bar. I ripped a 16' long piece roughly 1.5" x 1.75". That gives me enough wiggle room to shave off any warp with the jointer. Even if I start with a perfectly straight piece, once you rip a length with the tablesaw, I almost always have some truing up to do. I trued up 2 flat sides which you can see sitting on the jointer, and then made the other 2 sides parallel. After a careful inspection I picked the places to cut/plane down leaving me with some nicely dimensioned items. The planer gives you extreme precision you won't get from Aircraft Spruce.
Man hours: 4 |
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| 199 | Elevators Flipped and Ready for Capstrip | 2/15/2009 |
| | I removed all the pinch clamps from the jig, pulled the elevators out, flipped them, and fastened them down with shims bringing everything up 1/8" higher than before to clear the capstrips. Instead of using the clamps, I realized it could be a whole lot simpler if I just use plywood blocks (from the disassembled clamps) to clamp the top to the bottom capstrip to hold in place. Cut the capstrips to size and set in place. Did the scuffing and vacuuming so tomorrow morning I could get an early start, glue them in and get the elevators out of the jig and start setting up the jig for the vertical empennage.
Man hours: 1.5 |
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| 198 | All Vertical Empennage Milled to Dimensions | 2/14/2009 |
| | Pulled out one of the 2" x 6" x16' boards and ripped a piece roughly 2" which was a lot of waste but gave me piece of mind that I would be able to shave off any warps. Had to build a makeshift outfeed table to single-hand the operation since noone was around to be the "outfeeder". Just inched it through the pre-historic table saw, marked off the pieces slightly oversized, and cut it into 3 more manageable sized pieces. Made a flat side with the jointer, then used the table saw and planer to get right down to the exact dimensions. Would have taken half the time if I didn't have to tear down the outfeed table and attach to the planer, level it, and then take it all apart when I finished. Just when I thought I was done I found a piece with a questionable spot in it. Will do it all again in a few days and cut some new pieces.
Man hours: 8 |
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| 197 | Capstrip Glued - First Side | 2/12/2009 |
| | First side was glued uneventfully in about 30 minutes.
Man hours: 0.5 |
| 196 | Elevator Stringers Clamped in Place Without Glue | 2/11/2009 |
| | Dismantled the jig removing all the clamps. Measured out the position of each stringer, mounted pinch clamps, and ensured a good fit of each piece. Everything is ready to go. Glue tomorrow.
Man hours: 3 |
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