Pietenpol-List: Rib jigs, Wood and a Goal
Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:24 am
Original Posted By: "Ryan Mueller"
Original Posted By: Oscar Zuniga
Ryan,What is Bill Rewey's 3 ft. center section concept? I missed that somewhere. Does bill sell plans and/or a drawings of how he does this? (Bill, feel free to answer directly, I'm real interested - one of my concerns about the Corvair is that it's fuel consumption makes a 10-12 gal. tank in the center section a little bit scant in terms of duration).Thanks!Kip GardnerOn Sep 1, 2008, at 11:24 AM, Ryan Mueller wrote:> Tim,>> There are many interesting ideas out there about how to build the > jig, which have all worked for that particular builder. Having > built one Pietenpol rib jig and now building the jig for the > Riblett airfoil, my opinion on the matter is to make the jig as > simple as possible to do the job correctly. I want spend more of my > time building my airplane than building the "tooling" to build my > airplane. Remember, Pietenpol was building his airplanes in a tiny > little town in Minnesota in the '20s. This only requires as much > rocket science as you make it require.>> http://www.eaa.org/video/homebuilders.html> Click on the Wood tab, and there are a number of videos dealing > with rib building to give you an idea.>> I think the way they show in the video is pretty simple. If you are > using the Riblett I am assuming you have or will be getting the > full size print from either Roman or Bill. Lay it out flat and > double check the dimensions (spar center to spar center, etc) to > make sure they are reasonably close (mine were just fine). Tape > down the full size print. Cover it with plastic as recommended. > Nail your blocks in place and start building.>> Initially I was going to not use nails/staples, and use weights > instead. But after actually trying out the stapling method I've > changed my mind. I picked up the cheapest plastic stapler they had > at the store (one of the Easyshot "forward action" staplers for > $10). If you just lightly lay the head of the staple gun against > the wood when you shoot, the 1/4" staples do not penetrate all the > way in. If you stop by an office supply store you can get a cheap > ($3 - $4) staple remover that will make quick and easy work of > taking them out without damaging the wood. It's fast, it's easy, > and it works. You don't have to worry about how much weight to use, > or about the gussets sliding around. You don't have to figure out a > clamping method.>> The additional benefit of stapling is that you can pull the rib out > of the jig as soon as you are done applying the gussets on one > side. Flip it over and put gussets on the other side, and set the > whole thing aside to dry. Although I know you aren't interested in > speed, it gives you the option. Another upside is that you don't > have to worry about the rib sticking to the jig by the time it dries.>> I bought my capstrip and ply from AS&S. I think getting it from > Aircraft Spruce or Wicks is the most convenient method. There are > those who like to find spruce of acceptable quality locally, grade > the wood themselves, and rip it down to the dimensions they need. > This is a way to do it, but I would rather just make a phone call > and spend more time building. I can't speak for the rest of the > wood to build the aircraft, but at least in regards to capstrip > material Wicks is twice as expensive as Aircraft Spruce ($0.70 per > foot vs $0.32 per foot).>> As far as building the one piece vs. the three piece wing, you can > find plenty of discussions on this in the archive, and get feedback > from those list members that have completed their own Piet to see > what they think of it. I have chosen to build the three piece, and > here is my reasoning why. A three piece wing will take up far less > space in a workshop. You can deal with ~12.5 ft panels instead of a > 28 ft wing. It will be easier to assemble. We will use Bill Rewey's > 3 ft center section concept, which will give us plenty of room for > fuel to feed the Corvair. Finally, if (god forbid) one wing is ever > damaged for whatever reason, and the other is not, you don't have > to wrangle a 28 ft wing off the airplane to repair it. Just fix the > offending wing panel.>> With all of that being said, realize these are just my opinions. I > formed them from talking with successful builders, spending far too > much time reading the archives from this list, reading everything I > could get my hands on, etc. But I have not yet completed a Piet. > Take it for what it is worth. Emulate the builders' methods and > ideas you like best that have resulted in safe flying aircraft to > get yourself into the air in a timely fashion.>> Hope that helps. Have a good Labor Day everyone!>> Ryan>>> On Mon, Sep 1, 2008 at 8:26 AM, Tim Verthein > wrote:> >> I've finally set a goal and am ready to get to work. After spending > months learning and reading it's time to get to it.>> Goal: All the ribs done by spring. Since good ol' Minnesota winter > is gonna kick in in a few weeks! I'm not looking at cranking out > ribs in a hurry. What are thoughts on jigs? I've seen lots of > nifty clamping style, etc. I'm perfectly good with doing one side > and waiting a day or so to do the other. I don't need to crank 'em > out assembly line style. Simple blocks over plans for positioning, > and nailed or stapled gussets then no need for clamps? Handiest > place to buy the wood for ribs? AS&S? Or are they way overpriced?>> At this point, planning on Riblett 612. Corvair power, since I have > Corvair motor experience (in the cars) and already have the Wynne > manual and many parts on hand. Thinking one piece wing for > simplicity.>> Comments welcome.>> Also, hope everyone who wanted Waldo Pepper got one by now. It's > entirely possible I missed someone along the way (my organizational > skills aren't the best) so if you wanted one and I missed you, > contact me off list. And for those of you (you know who you are) > Thanks.>> Tim in Bovey>>________________________________________________________________________________