Tag: Prep work

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A different kind of plane

For obvious reasons, I want the top of the new work table to be dead flat. As I set the top pieces of particle board on the bench, it became obvious that there are (and I know this already) some high spots on the frame. Obviously the 2×4 dimensional lumber I used was not perfectly straight, so no shock there. The bench was constructed on top of a bench that is pretty much dead flat, but is covered with a layer of indoor/outdoor carpet – so there’s some room for high spots to compress the carpeting. Anyway – it needs to be flattened.

I suppose a person could attack this with a sander and some really coarse grit paper to knock material off where it needs to be. It would work, but it’s inefficient and in my humble opinion might lead to a “wobbly table” scenario, where you progressively over-correct making legs shorter to try to stop a table from wobbling until you end up with a Japanese tea table on 6″ legs. I opted to plane the wood. I didn’t own a plane, so I went and bought a couple. Lowe’s had two planes on sale for good prices, so I took a risk that they would be usable. They may not meet the demands of a professional producer of hardwood cabinets or something, but they’re certainly good enough to take consistent paper-thin shavings off of a pine 2×4. One is a 10″ bench plane, the other a 3-1/2″ block plane. I’m not taking the top off of the bench to start flattening it just yet; I still need to stain and attach the fancy quilted maple veneer to the gossip bench while I’ve got a working bench. Once that’s done, I’ll slide the particle board back off and get a flat surface to screw them down onto.

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Getting the new bench ready

Since getting the bench pieces all home yesterday, I’ve been knocking out a couple of backed up tasks that needed done. Lisa needed a larger rectangular overlay for her ironing board – useful for ironing quilt tops and such. I cut out a 24″ x 56″ piece of half-inch plywood and, with he outline of the existing ironing board top traced onto the bottom side, attached some guide rails cut from 3/4 particleboard. I wish I’d used pine instead, of course.

With that done, I’m currently working to determine the best approach to staining the quilted maple veneer for the gossip bench. I tried the same red mahogany stain that I used of the rest of the piece — it really just obscures the beautiful grain patterns of the quilted maple. My next attempt will be with the same stain, applied after a wipe down with mineral spirits. A quick test on a scrap of particle board (which soaks up stain like the maple veneer does) looks pretty promising.

I’ve got the main top and one of the extension tops in place. I haven’t screwed the main top down, because the top frame is not flat. I’ll probably hit Lowe’s on Monday and pick up a hand plane to fix that. Now I’m wishing I’d grabbed Dad’s old planes when Mom was having the estate sale. At the time I didn’t see that I’d ever have any use for them… too soon old, too late smart, as Dad was fond of saying. I’m sure a new plane will require some work to turn into a really nice tool, but for right now I just need to knock some high spots off the edges of a few 2x4s. It’s not high precision work, but after all of the work and money I’ve put into this bench I’m not going to end up with a top that’s not flat. Once I get the central part flat and secured in place, I can work on getting the extensions properly aligned and get everything screwed down. I did screw one extension top in place, just so I could get the supports under it.

Along the way I’ve been thinking about how I was working over at Stu’s shop. I had the bench littered with tools and materials. I’d often spend several minutes looking for a pencil, knife, saw, or something else that was underneath or hidden behind a spar or something. Then I had a 24 x 40 inch rolling table covered with other stuff, and usually had a box of clamps sitting on top of the wing as I was building. I don’t have rolling tables here, nor do I have room for any. Time to work smarter. Rather than leaving the large shelf under the bench open to collect everything in a big jumble (it’s happening already), I want to figure out exactly what I use or will use for construction, and design some under-bench storage to make sure everything is close at hand, quickly and easily accessible, and can quickly and easily be put away.

I’ll likely want a drawer for the large number of spring clamps, though I wish there were a better solution for them. I want a carpenter’s square and a speed square hung onto the edge of the bench. I want one place for the epoxy syringes, mixing cups and stir sticks, and disposable brushes. I want both the coarse and fine razor saws close at hand, and marked so I know which is which just by glancing at the handles. I want masking tape and marking pencils within easy reach. The list goes on, but you get the picture. I figure if I do this right, I may be able to trim a month or so off the build time just by eliminating the cumulative time I spend trying to find that blasted tool I just had in my hand.

I’d write this all down or draw up a plan, but I seem to have mislaid the mechanical pencil I just bought. Sigh.

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Episode V: A New Workbench

I guess I missed a chance to make this Episode IV for a catchier title. Ah, well.

Today I bought some 2x4s, did some measuring and cutting, gluing, screwing, clamping, and ended up with a new work table mostly built. I’ll try and finish it up tomorrow. The main section is 60″ long by 36″ wide (that’s roughly 152 x 91 cm for you metric folks). Each end has a 30″ folding extension, so you can have a 5′, 7.5′, or 10′ total length depending on your needs. For most of the airplane build I’ll likely have it fully extended, but it will be nice to be able to shorten it when needed.

I used the basic EAA 1000 work table plan, with a few changes. The width is increased, of course, from 24 to 36 inches. The folding extensions are another departure. I also lowered the shelf to about 4.5″ from the bottom of the legs rather than the original 8.5″. In hindsight, I kind of wish I’d made it even lower, but it’s fine. Tomorrow I’ll be adding some corner blocking to keep it perfectly square and solid. I still need to install the top (two layers of particle board) and the supports for the extensions. Those will be simple lengths of 2×4, with one end notched and the other cut to fit into the extension, Stu has a similar setup on the work table I have been using at his shop, and it’s absolutely rock steady and completely flat.

I thought long and hard about how to put retractable casters on this bench. I’ve seen a lot of different ways to do it. I had another work table, 3′ x 8′ with a setup on it that worked, but was a little more involved than I wanted. I’ve seen a few more designs on Youtube, several of which look kind of fidgety – making custom steel latches, etc. Anyway, in the process of working that out I managed to forget to re-add 1.5″ to the legs that I’d subtracted for one of the designs. Then I came up with what I think is an absolutely brilliant method, and I think it would work really well… on any workbench that does NOT have folding extensions that will block access to the end of the bench. In the immortal words of Homer Simpson…

So, I have ordered some retracting casters from Amazon that will be here tomorrow, and will cut some blocks of 2×4 for the bottom of the legs. No biggie. Perfection is the enemy of completion.

I think it’s very likely that I’ll build some sort of cabinet, shelving, and/or drawers under the top. I can only imagine how handy it would be to have all of the woodworking tools, clamps, glue, and so on right there at hand, and storage to keep it well organized and clean. That will wait until I have the bench at home and set up in the garage; that way I can cut the wood and do the assembly there. I can think of a long list of items that I will want to always have within easy reach, and more importantly have a place to put it within easy reach so I don’t end up with tools and supplies scattered everywhere.

Of course the very first thing the new bench will be used for is finishing the rebuild of the “gossip bench”. The veneer for that should arrive later this week.

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A little varnish

Picked up a gallon can of Varathane Ultimate Spar Urethane this afternoon. A gallon can is about the same price as two one-quart cans, and I figure between the wings, fuselage, and tail I’ll probably use most of it. I gave the holes for the bushings and the wood where they will go a coat this afternoon before heading home — it was a busy day cleaning out the garage and ferrying grandkids around. Tomorrow I’ll pick up some primer and hopefully get a start on varnishing the rest of the wing. I’d like to have it assembled and ready to rack by the weekend, if I can. Then I’ll need to pull down the left wing and finish it up – bushings, varnish, brackets.

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Miscellaneous work

Today came and went without mixing up any glue. I sorted out the nose plywood, then went through all of the aileron pieces and got them cleaned up, marked, and re-taped for the three remaining ailerons. I got the aileron spar web and marked it for the notches to clear the ribs, then brought it home and started cutting those notches on the bandsaw. I pulled a wingtip bow down and checked its fit; it looks like minimal trimming will be needed.

I also collected all of the aluminum pieces I had at Stu’s shop and brought them home, and cut the ends on the bandsaw. They’re all CAW2 pieces, I think — I need to dig out the rest of the pieces and get them all drilled and finished off. I’ll finish them on the belt sander and Scotchbrite wheel before priming them. My little 3D printed guide button worked great for this. I don’t recall if I described it or not, but it’s just a 1″ diameter by 1/8 thick disk, with a 1/4″ diameter by 1/8 thick nub in the center. Put the little piece in a 1/4 bolt hole, and the larger piece gives you a perfect guide for shaping the end of the bracket with a 1/2″ radius. They’re disposable if you nick or break one, and only take a little while to print up. I’ll probably print a few more in case I destroy any while using the belt sander.

I spent some time trying to determine whether the wing walk pieces will be of any use to me or not. The plan sheet and plywood supports all seem to be made for some earlier version of the wing. The notches on the supports don’t work (or even come close to working) with the root blocks on the main spar or rear spar. The forward plywood bits are too long, and even if cut off don’t match the curve of the wing ribs. There are supposed to be three installed forward of the spar — but that would only work if I removed one of the false ribs. I still don’t know what I’ll do for the wing walk. I do know that 1/4 plywood for the rear portion would need some curve in it, and I’m not sure about that. The plan notes say to nail it in place until the glue dries… ::shrug:: This is why I’m considering a laminated layup with some wood and maybe a layer or two of carbon fiber.

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More aileron work

With a week or so off in there due to both my wife and I having COVID, things have been progressing. I got one of the torque tubes measured and cut for the wing. The plywood bits for the nose of the aileron ribs all got drilled out. Looking at how to do the aileron build brought up some issues, though. The plans say to glue and clamp those in place — the challenge is in how to do that, exactly. The clamping anyway.

In order to make the job a bit less complicated, I glued up the plywood sandwiches for the two ends and the middle, where the locking pins will install. I spread some epoxy and threaded the pieces onto the cutoff piece of torque tube to get them all perfectly aligned – and they were tight. With everything aligned perfectly, I shot a few 1/2″ 23 ga. micro pins to keep everything stable, then added spring clamps and took them off the tube so they wouldn’t end up glued to it.

Next day I ran those and the 1/8″ ply pieces on a spindle sander with a 3/4″ drum on it to enlarge the holes a bit. I wanted a slip fit on the tube for the thicker pieces, and a more “roomy” fit for the 1/8″ pieces. Those were supposed to get 1-1/8″ holes in the first place, but I missed that part in the instructions and we drilled them to 1″.

Realizing that the wing now can’t sit flat on the steel rail due to the trailing edge of the wingtip bow not being tapered to match the wing, I took care of that as well. Only the last couple inches of the bow need to be tapered. I started with a little razor plane that Dad used for model airplane work to shave the bow lamination and corner block down very close to the contour I wanted. I then finished it up with a sanding block, and I’m quite happy with the result.

Everything is ready now to get the plywood pieces glued into place. I’d have done it today, but as I was about to mix up the glue I was reminded that it was time to go pick up the grandkids, which turned into dinner and a late arrival home.

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Still hacking away at it

Rear spars built, and tip supports added. Now building the tip supports for the main spars. At some point I need to get some AL stock and see if I can find my box of 4130 tubing to see if I’ve already got bushing material. Then I will need to drill the holes for the attachment and strut/wire fittings before starting wing assembly.

The spars don’t look terribly complex on the plans, but there really is a lot of detail work involved. It’s dragging on longer than I had hoped since it’s a trip over to Stu’s every time I want to get a little work done. I think I may need to take a little more structured approach to this — study the plans, then make a punch list for each trip so I don’t waste time while I’m there trying to figure out the next step.

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Spar update 10/11

Last night I did some work to get the parts ready for the wingtip bow supports on the rear spars. I ended up not gluing them on, since I’ve got to think a little more about how I’m going to clamp the pieces together. I did get the stiffeners glued to the rear face of the upper rear spars.

Up until now everything I’ve done with the spars has resulted in parts that were still interchangeable. Main spars are identical and fore/aft symmetrical, so there’s no right or left side. The rear spars are not fore/aft symmetrical, so now I have a left and a right upper rear spar. I had to take just a few minutes extra to make sure everything was properly oriented before attaching those stiffeners, or I could end up with two left or two right spars. Needless to say, there are some extra pencil markings on them…

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The easy way to manage T-88 epoxy

I’ve seen all kinds of methods people use to mix up their T-88 epoxy. The manufacturer says to mix the resin and hardener (Part A and Part B) 1:1 by volume, or 100:83 by weight – which are the same thing. Plenty of videos on YouTube and EAA Hints for Homebuilders show various methods, and I’ve read some pretty involved threads on various homebuilding message boards. Some squeeze out equal lines of the two parts. Some cut the bottle tips to different sizes and squeeze out for a measured amount of time. Some have built scales to measure out by weight. Some do it in graduated mixing cups, like the little medicine cups that are easy to find. Some just use “TLAR” – or, “That looks about right”. You can buy T-88 in twin dispensing cartridges that automatically dispense and mix the glue — but it’s something like six times the cost of buying it in bottles, and of course you’re going to waste some each time when you throw out the mixing tube.

I have a bit of an aversion to not measuring epoxy accurately, and estimating and hoping for the best didn’t seem to me like a good plan when building an airplane. I know the precise ratio isn’t super critical; even System Three says that. Still, though, why guesstimate or get “close enough” when it’s so easy to get an exact amount?

I bought some 60cc catheter tip syringes through Amazon. They’re cheap and disposable, though I’ve reused mine a number of times. I fill one with Part A and one with Part B, and usually use a permanent marker to mark the cap for the Part B (darker) syringe, just so I don’t accidentally mix the caps up and ruin some epoxy. I’ll fill them just past the 60CC mark, then stand them tips-up overnight to let all the trapped air bubble up to the top, then squeeze a little back into the bottle or jug until the plunger is exactly on the 60cc mark. Pull the plunger back just a bit to get a little air in the tip, and cap it.

By doing this you can very accurately measure both parts to mix up any desired quantity of glue, from 2 cc up to 120 cc. Gluing plywood spar webs to spar caps? I’ll mix up 20 cc at a time, 10cc from each syringe. Building ribs? About 8 or 10 cc of glue will do two wing ribs, so 4 or 5 cc from each syringe. When the syringes are empty, you can either be a cheapskate like me and refill them, or just toss them in the trash if they’re too grungy to re-use or if you’re Daddy Warbucks and don’t care about the cost. I’ve got two pair of syringes that I use, and each has been refilled probably six or eight times. I just ordered some more syringes, since these are getting a little sticky and I want to keep fresh ones on hand. I use them for other things as well, so it’s never a bad idea to have some around. You also don’t want to run out of glue before you’re done building for the day, so I try to always have at least two sets filled.

Note: Pay attention to the quality of the syringes you buy. The first few I bought were made by B-D (Beckton-Dickinson) or Brandzig, are nice heavy duty plastic, are marked with 1 cc graduations, have good caps, and are generally high quality. The next batch I bought are thin, lightweight, shorter, marked with 2 cc lines, and are generally cheap Chinese crap. I’ll toss these after the first use and chalk it up to a lesson learned. As is almost always the case, it’s better to spend a little extra for good quality.

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Workshop assessment and kit inventory

I met with Stu over the weekend to figure out where and how we’d set up the spar assemblies. I was concerned about the lack of any long workbenches in his shop. He’s primarily set up for building cabinets, and most of his work tables are smaller, low to the ground, and on casters. As it turns out, one of the tables has folding extensions that make it 9 or 10 feet long. The top is very thick, heavy, rigid, and very flat — he uses it to mount rails and a sled for a router to flatten large slabs of wood. He put threaded inserts on the edges of the table where a set of heavy welded steel rails can be attached. With those installed, there will be a built-in straight edge for blocking and clamping the spar caps. It’s not something I would have thought of; the “normal” practice is to lay out a chalk line and nail wood blocks to locate the spar caps during assembly. I think, however, that this setup will be more than adequate for spar construction. I may need to build a matched-height extension for the wing assembly, but that’s a decision for another day.

The wing kit contains no hardware at all. Fortunately it looks like all of the hardware required is made from readily available material and requires simple manufacturing. It’s all flat aluminum stock, some 4130 tubing for bushings, aluminum tubing for aileron torque tubes, and so on. No brake, lathe, welder, etc. required yet. Some of the material I may already have on hand, in fact. The rest can be ordered or even found locally.

While I was there, I grabbed a few pieces of rib capstrip so I could finish off the last of the false ribs. I made two on Sunday, and set up two more this morning.