Original Posted By: "R deCosta"
Del,We are building the one piece wing and have installed the L.E. in one pieceas well.One person, three 3" c-clamps, and two bungie cords (24" long), 28 1 1/2"drywallscrews and T-88 glue was all it took to install the L.E. . Oh, yes, and two36" 3/16" wood dowels. The drywall screws are to hold the L. E. in placewhile the glue drysand are then removed. The holes are opened up to 3/16" and the wood dowelsareglued in place. It makes a neat arrangement.The L. E. can be solid or a groove cut on the backside to lighten it up.This is whatwe did and the weight is reduced about by half over the solid L. E.The L.E. back side was cut out on the radial arm saw to a "U" shaped groove.Thiswas done first and then they were scarfed together to a 30 foot length.The front side was rough cut next, two triangular pieces being removed, andwill be finished shaped now that it is installed on the wing.A set of wooden plugs were cut, one for each rib station, out of 3/4" thickcedar andshaped to fit in the back side of the L.E. . The curved shape was taken fromthe endof the L. E. so that the curved shape of each would match. These plugs weregluedat each rib station along the L. E. back side.Now the neat part, dry attaching the L. E. to the wing. Place one c-clamp atthe end ribdown low and about 2" back from the front of the blunt end of the rib sothat the back or closed end of the c-clamp is jutting forward to form aledge for the L. E. to set on. Lightly attach the clamp. Go about 1/3 of theway down the wing and attach anotherc-clamp and the third one about 2/3 of the way down. Clamp them in the sameway toprovide a little ledge for the L. E.Lay the L. E. on the upper surface of the wing with the front up. Place theL. E. closeto the edge yet keep it from slipping off and attach the bungie cords at the1/3 and 2/3of the wing, looping it over the L. E. Now you can slide the L. E. intoposition withoutdropping it. Adjust the L. E. so that you have excess at each end of thewing.Drill a clearance hole in the L. E. ONLY, at the end rib station first andthen drill a smaller hole in the front of the rib to keep from cracking thewooden brace. Then installa drywall screw in place to hold the L. E. on. In this fashion, all the woodscrews areattached to the L. E.Back out all of the screws and start gluing from one end and work to theother. TheL. E. is simply pulled out so that the glue can be applied between the riband the L. E.at each station. The screws are set lightly and when the glue is dry, willrelease with afirm twist of the screw driver. Then drill out the screw holes to 3/16",cut the dowelsto length and glue them in place.All in all, a neat installation.Rodger ChildsOne piece wing 95% complete________________________________________________________________________________