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Bruce's Spitfire

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Bruce's Spitfire

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BUILDERS LOG - july to september 2021

  • July 27 to August 1st 2021  - 5.5hrs - 3747.0 total.  Its been a while since I've been able to post an update as I ran out of space on the previous page.  Still dealing with this new website editing software.  So this update covers about a week of work.  Spent most of this time installing supports up the middle of the work table, underneath the 3/4" ply to make it stiff enough to prevent it being deformed with pressure or weight from the top.  Also, it sagged slightly in places.  Was able to shim up these 2x6 stiffeners and get the table surface very flat.  Then sanded the whole table surface again, vacuumed and cleaned it, then laid the MDF on top.  Then re-leveled and checked for flat once more, then screwed MDF in place.  With the tabletop ready to go, got out the plans and started laying out for the reference line, center line, dihedral, etc.  Ran into some issues and texted Steve.  We are planning a phone call this Friday to get caught up on stuff and to help me get the reference lines setup properly.


  • August 4 and 5 2021 - 3.5hrs - 3750.5 total.  Marked a reference line on the table and started laying out the location of the spar.  Had two long phone conversations with Steve where we looked at the plans via facetime and cleared up a lot of my questions about the spar build process.  The next step will be to layout and cutout one of the spar webs and get it scarfed, glued and in position on the table.



Trial fitting the MDF on the worktop - note the spar laminates on the floor

Trial fitting the MDF on the worktop - note the spar laminates on the floor

Trial fitting the MDF on the worktop - note the spar laminates on the floor

Laying out gussets on scrap 1/4" ply

Trial fitting the MDF on the worktop - note the spar laminates on the floor

Trial fitting the MDF on the worktop - note the spar laminates on the floor

Starting on the intercostal gussets

Trial fitting the MDF on the worktop - note the spar laminates on the floor

Starting on the intercostal gussets

  • August 6th 2021  - 3.0hrs - 3753.5 total.  Cut out the full sized paper spar web templates.  Aligned them with guidelines I put on there yesterday and traced outline onto worktable.


  • August 7 2021 - 4.5hrs - 3758.0 total.  Traced one template of each spar section onto 1/4" ply and cut out with jigsaw. Trimmed up with band saw, then sanded to final shape.  Plan to use these three pieces as templates for the remaining nine pieces.


  • August 8 2021 - 5.0hrs - 3763.0 total.  Traced and rough cut all remaining spar webs from 1/4" ply.  Final sanded some of them to shape.  Still about half left to go.  No scarfs yet.


  • August 9 2021 - 2.5hrs - 3635.5 total.  Sanded all the remaining web pieces to final shape.  Now for the scarfs!


  • August 10 2021 - 0hrs - 3635.5 total.  Started to setup to do the scarfs and realized they are at a 24 to 1 ration?!  (6" scarf on 1/4" ply)  The FAA and EAA both refer to ratios from 10 to 1 up to 16 to 1, but nothing near 24 to 1?  Texted Steve to see what he did on his spar webs.  He's going to measure his tomorrow and get back to me.  I can do the 6" scarfs if necessary, the bigger the stronger - to a point - it will just take a precision setup to make them.  No hand sanding this time!  Will wait and see what Steve finds...


Tracing the web shape onto the table using paper templates

First three sections of the web cut out and sanded to shape. Not scarfed yet.

First three sections of the web cut out and sanded to shape. Not scarfed yet.

First three sections of the web cut out and sanded to shape. Not scarfed yet.

First three sections of the web cut out and sanded to shape. Not scarfed yet.

First three sections of the web cut out and sanded to shape. Not scarfed yet.

All of the spar webs rough cut out. About 1/2 of them sanded to shape.

First three sections of the web cut out and sanded to shape. Not scarfed yet.

All of the spar webs rough cut out. About 1/2 of them sanded to shape.

  • August 12 2021  - 2.5hrs - 3758.0 total.  Steve checked his spar and he's got 6" scarfs, so that's what I'll put on mine.  Spent about an hour yesterday trying to rig up a jig for the belt sander and gave up on it.  Tonight I made up a jig for the little hand router.  First try was too steep of an angle, but second try looks like it will work.


  • August 13 2021 - 4.5hrs - 3762.5 total.  Messed around with the router jig quite a bit more and did some more testing with the belt sander.  Finished scarfing two of the pieces. Only 18 more scarfs to cut!


  • August 14 2021 - 5.0hrs - 3767.5 total.  Scarfed 8 more ends. That puts me at half way!


  • August 15 2021 - 5.0hrs - 3772.5 total.  Scarfed 5 more ends.  5 left to go.  I've gone from the outboard ends of the web moving inwards so the scarfs are getting substantially larger and taking longer to do.  My jig is too small for the last 4 scarfs so I'll either have to re-make it or make the scarfs with the belt sander.


  • August 16 2021 - 2.5hrs - 3775.0 total.  Did last scarf that will fit in the router jig. Did one of the remaining four scarfs with the belt sander.  Turned out fine, just took a long time.  Have another smaller belt sander with some extra very coarse belts.  Maybe for the last three I'll knock it down close to shape with that one then final shape it with the bigger, finer grit sander?

Hand router jig for making scarf angle cuts

Will need to adjust the guides slightly, but this angle is making the 6" scarf I'm trying for

First test only gave me about a 4 3/4" scarf

First test only gave me about a 4 3/4" scarf

Will need to adjust the guides slightly, but this angle is making the 6" scarf I'm trying for

First test only gave me about a 4 3/4" scarf

Will need to adjust the guides slightly, but this angle is making the 6" scarf I'm trying for

Will need to adjust the guides slightly, but this angle is making the 6" scarf I'm trying for

Will need to adjust the guides slightly, but this angle is making the 6" scarf I'm trying for

  • August 17 2021 - 2.0hrs - 3777.0 total.  Went and bought some new belts for the sander and made the last three scarfs FAST!  Big difference when your tools are sharp, even if its just fresh sandpaper.  In retrospect, it would have been much faster and easier if I'd just used the sander to make all the scarfs, just like I've done with everything else up to now.  Anyway, that's all the scarf joints on both webs done and ready to be glued!


  • August 18 2021 - 0.0hrs - 3777.0 total.  Spent an hour or two putting away tools and cleaning up the shop and worktable in preparation for gluing the web scarfs together.  Reviewed the plans and instructions one more time to be sure I'm doing the right thing at the right time.


  • August 19 2021 - 2.0hrs - 3779.0 total.  Got out the paper templates for the webs and triple checked everything with the plans again.  Final positioned the webs and held them in place with weights then made up a bunch of blocking pieces from scrap MDF and used a brad nailer to tack them to the worktop to hold the webs in position for gluing.  Marked alignment marks on all the blocking to use for verifying exact position for gluing.  Laid out the non-stick pads for the glue areas and located and placed clamping plates at each joint location.  Ready to glue!


  • August 20 2021 - 3.5hrs - 3782.5 total.  Decided to glue one of the joints, but it went so quick and easy I just went ahead and glued them all.  So one of the webs is fully glued now.  Will see how it turns out tomorrow after the glue dries.


  • August 21 2021 - 4.0hrs - 3786.5 total.  Removed completed web from jig and started sanding down the glue joints.  Stopped sanding as the glue was still a bit soft.  Made up a rack on the side of the table to hold the completed web while I started on the next one.  Laid out the 2nd web components on the table and adjusted the blocking to fit.  Happily the jig was almost identical.  Variations caused by how the web pieces were sanded to shape.  Overall dimensions are identical.  Prepped the new pieces for gluing.  Ready to glue them together.

Doesn't look like much, but that's all twelve pieces of the front and back spar webs fully scarfed, stacked, and ready to be glued.

Doesn't look like much, but that's all twelve pieces of the front and back spar webs fully scarfed, stacked, and ready to be glued.

Doesn't look like much, but that's all twelve pieces of the front and back spar webs fully scarfed, stacked, and ready to be glued.

Fitting the blocking around the first spar web

Doesn't look like much, but that's all twelve pieces of the front and back spar webs fully scarfed, stacked, and ready to be glued.

Doesn't look like much, but that's all twelve pieces of the front and back spar webs fully scarfed, stacked, and ready to be glued.

Scrap MDF tacked to tabletop to hold webs in position for gluing

Doesn't look like much, but that's all twelve pieces of the front and back spar webs fully scarfed, stacked, and ready to be glued.

Scrap MDF tacked to tabletop to hold webs in position for gluing

  • August 22 2021 - 3.0hrs - 3789.5 total.  Glued second spar web together.  Went much faster on this one as I knew what to expect.  Spent about an hour making more intercostal gussets.  Still a lot to go!


  • August 23 2021 - 1.5hrs - 3791.0 total.  Removed clamping from glue job. Cleaned up a bit. Sanded the glue joints on the top side of the web.


  • August 24 2021 - 2.0hrs - 3793.0 total.  Flipped over the second web and sanded the glue joints on that side. Modified the bracket on the side of the table to hold both webs and put the second web on there along with the first.  Removed all the jig blocking material and sanded down the whole table by hand to get it completely smooth again. Checked for level and found some very minor adjustments that need to be made to get it perfectly flat and level.


  • August 25 2021 - 0.0hrs - 3793.0 total.  Spent about an hour and a half working on leveling the table.  Taking longer than I thought.  Still not done.


  • August 28 2021 4.5hrs - 3797.5 total. Took a while but I finally got the table level and flat. Started planning out the blocking for the spar laminates.  Ripped some 8ft 3/4" MDF into 3 3/8" wide strips to use as jig plates.  Spent about a half hour getting the table saw blade exactly at 90 degrees and started laying out where the blocking would go when I noticed a measurement looked wrong.  After a lot of remeasuring I've confirmed that I located one of the wingtips about 3/16" higher than the other on the jig table.  That means that the webs are built with this error in them.  After much rechecking and remeasuring I got out one of the webs, clamped it in place and confirmed that I left enough extra material around the edges of the web material, so that along with a very slight amount of flexing, they will still work after correcting the mistake.  Erased the lines I could and used some paint to paint out the ink lines on the table and will re-draw them in their correct location once the paint dries. 


  • August 29 2021 - 4.0hrs - 3801.5 total.  Measured and redrew spar web reference line in correct location. Got out one of the webs and confirmed it had no problems fitting in the corrected location.  Laid out jig strips for laminate jig and made up 37 jig blocks from 2x4 scraps, using table saw to flatten the two needed faces at exactly 90 degrees. Made up a drill jig and pre-drilled all the blocks with countersunk holes.


Second spar web glued together

Blocking standing loosely in place while layout is planned.

Used paint to "white out" the old lines.

Used paint to "white out" the old lines.

Blocking standing loosely in place while layout is planned.

Used paint to "white out" the old lines.

Blocking standing loosely in place while layout is planned.

Blocking standing loosely in place while layout is planned.

Blocking standing loosely in place while layout is planned.

 

  • August 30 2021 - 2.5hrs - 3804.0 total. Made up some doublers for part of the jig as well and joiner plates for connecting some of the strips together. Covered one of the long joined strips with clear packing tape. Was planning to put packing tape on the table top, but thought I'd try covering the whole thing in plastic. Went and bought some 4mil plastic, wiped the table down with damp cloth to remove any remaining dust and rolled out plastic sheeting.  Its got some nasty fold s and wrinkles.  Spent some time messing with a cool iron and heat gun, but nothing is working very well.  Not sure if I'll end up using it or not.


  • September 3 2021 - 3.0hrs - 3807.0 total. Gave up on the sheet plastic.  Over the last couple of days spent some time trying out some clear contact paper.  Tested various mold release materials and finally decided to just go with the packing tape that I had originally planned to use.  Applied tape to the table areas that will have contact with the laminate glue. Also covered the two long jig strips with packing tape.  Glued stiffener doublers onto jig strips.


  • September 4 2021 - 4.5hrs - 3811.5 total. Covered center jig piece with tape. Was planning to put screws through face of jig plates into blocking, but thought I'd try using pocket holes from the backside instead.  Got out the pocket drill jig and ran some tests.  Turned out good so went ahead and drilled two pocket holes in each of the 37 blocking pieces.   Had to go get some more pocket screws.  Aligned jig pieces, screwed blocking to tabletop and jig pieces to blocking.  Turned out very straight and strong!


  • September 5 2021 - 6.0hrs - 3817.5 total.  Read through the procedures for making the spar one more time.  Made up some clamp blocking and radiused the edges. Got the laminate pieces up on the worktop again and sorted through them.  Decided which ones will be used for which position and labeled them.  Started cutting them to length.  Attempted to mark the rib positions on the jig, but ended up with about a 2inch error in location if I worked from the inside towards the out vs going the other way?  Need to figure out what that's about.  Used a long piece of spare laminate and did a test steam bend.  Much easier than I had thought it would be.  Its only a 6 degree bend.  I've done tougher bends in the aft part of the fuselage.  It looks like getting all the laminates steam shaped in preparation for gluing won't be a big problem.  One issue though - is that many of the laminates are warped a little.  Not twisted, but have a slight bend when laid flat.  Planning to try steaming that out of one of them as a test.


Trying to smooth out 4mil sheeting

Steam bending a test piece of spar laminate

Spar laminate jig and blocking installed

Spar laminate jig and blocking installed

Steam bending a test piece of spar laminate

Spar laminate jig and blocking installed

Steam bending a test piece of spar laminate

Steam bending a test piece of spar laminate

Steam bending a test piece of spar laminate

  • September 6 2021 - 4.5hrs - 3822.0 total.  Removed test piece from clamps.  Didn't hold the bend as much as expected, but it can be pulled into the corner with clamps now, where it couldn't before being steamed. Wanted to get all the laminates cut to length, but was still unsure about the measurements.  Went over the plans and remeasured all the rib locations again and found a couple more measuring errors.  Now I'm off by about 1/4" instead of almost 2".  Close enough that I felt comfortable cutting the laminate pieces.  Have them all cut to approximate length, labeled and marked for centerline and bend areas. Started to setup for steaming of first actual laminate.


  • September 7 2021 - 1.5hrs - 3823.5 total.  Setup and steamed laminate #9 and clamped into the jig to cool.


  • September 8 2021 2.0hrs - 3825.5 total. Removed clamps from steamed laminate.  The angle isn't enough.  It springs back too much.  I can use clamps to pull it into the jig, but it takes a lot of force.  I'd like to see if I can get the bend to be closer to the final desired 6 degree angle so there won't be so much stress built into the laminates.  Made up a couple of large wedge shims from a 2X4, fixed into the jig and steamed the test piece of laminate and clamped onto the shim.  Will leave it overnight and see how it looks tomorrow.


  • September 9 2021 - 2.0hrs - 3827.5 total.  Removed test piece from clamp.  It stays at 8 degrees now.  Bending without the extra wedge it was at 3 degrees.  Measured the wedge and it has increased the angle used for steaming to 12 degrees.  Much happier with the 8 degrees that can easily be opened up to 6 when gluing as opposed to 3 degrees that would take a lot of pressure to clamp into 6 when being glued.  Went ahead and steamed laminate #9 again, this time with the wedges.  Will leave it clamped in place overnight.


  • September 10 2021 - 1.0hrs - 3828.5 total.  Removed clamps from laminate #9 in jig.  Left side now has 9 degree angle, right side is 7 degree.  Difference is due to how it was clamped.  I'm happy with both of them.  Steamed laminate #8 and clamped it into jig nested inside #9.  Will leave overnight to cool and dry.


  • September 11 2021 - 2.5hrs - 3831.0 total.  Removed clamps from laminate #8.  Had to repair jig where some of the blocking had torn loose during the clamping process yesterday. Steamed and clamped laminate #7 into jig inside laminates 8 and 9.  Another section of the jig tore loose this time.  Will need to reinforce these sections.  Its right at the corner and the point where all the stress is placed on the jig.  Also made 31 more gussets while waiting for the board to steam.


  • September 12 2021 - 2.0hrs - 3833.0 total.  Repaired and reinforced the jig where it had come loose in a couple of spots.  Made 25 more gussets.


  • September 13 2021 - 2.5hrs - 3835.5 total.  Decided that the bend on the right side of the laminates that I've already done wasn't quite what I wanted so have started re-steaming just that side.  Started with laminate #9 and re-steamed the right side.  Its in the jig to cool overnight.  Made 47 more gussets.


  • September 15 2021 (Battle of Britain Day!) - 1.0hrs - 3836.5 total.  Removed clamps from laminate #9, re-steamed #8 and re-clamped it inside #9 in the jig.  Traced about about 25 more gussets, but haven't cut them out yet. 

All laminates cut to approximate length - ready for steam forming

All laminates cut to approximate length - ready for steam forming

All laminates cut to approximate length - ready for steam forming

Two tea kettles steaming both bend locations simultaneously

All laminates cut to approximate length - ready for steam forming

All laminates cut to approximate length - ready for steam forming

Test steam bend with added wedge to increase angle

All laminates cut to approximate length - ready for steam forming

Test steam bend with added wedge to increase angle

  • September 17 2021 - 2.0hrs - 3838.5 total.  Re-steamed one of the bends in laminate #7 and clamped it inside #8 and #9 in the jig to cool.  Cut out and finished up the gussets I traced out earlier.  That's all the larger gussets done, now only about 600 more of the little ones to make!


  • September 18 2021 - 4.0hrs - 3842.5 total.  Steamed laminate #6 on both sides and clamped into jig inside #7, 8 and 9. That's all the lower laminates steamed now.  Several of the laminates are warped on one end in the flat plane.  I'd like to see if I can steam the warp out of them.  Got out one of the cutoff pieces with a significant warp in it and steamed and clamped it straight, with a slight shim to over bend to allow for spring back.  Will leave it overnight and see if it worked.  Made 42 more small gussets.


  • September 19 2021 - 5.0hrs - 3847.5 total.  The test piece of laminate straightened a little, but not as much as I had hoped.  Did some test clamping and am satisfied that the gluing and clamping process will take care of the flat warps, when the time comes. Removed bottom four laminates from jig and clamped together so they will keep their bend.  Shifted them out of the way and positioned upper five laminates to be ready to be steamed.  Steamed #5 and clamped to the jig, and a couple hours later steamed #4 and clamped inside #5.  Spent some time with the plans determining how much material will be needed for blocking - its made from built up laminations of extra spar material.  Need one batch of 13 pieces about 25" long and another batch of 15 or 16 pieces the same length.  Cut 13 pieces 25" long and cleaned them up with the sander, ready to laminate.


  • September 20 & 21 2021 - 2.0hrs - 3849.5 total.  Spent some time on the phone with, and visiting various epoxy suppliers and have picked up a large supply of epoxy, thickener, rollers, etc.  Have some other supplies on order that should arrive before its time to start gluing.  Put the word out to the local EAA guys that I need to borrow a bunch of large clamps and several have offered to loan me some of theirs.  Went to steam another board yesterday and found that my electric kettle had sprung a leak and is unusable.  Spent quite a bit of time looking locally and on-line for other electric kettles, then suddenly thought about looking for some type of steam generator instead.  Was shocked to find they make them, they're cheap, and they had three at the local Lowes!  Went and picked it up last night and rigged it up tonight, steamed laminate #3 and clamped it to the jig inside #4 and 5.  This steamer works WAY better than the electric kettles.


  • September 22 2021 - 0.5hrs - 3850.0 total.  Steamed #2 and clamped to jig inside the others.  Started setting up an "epoxy station" with all the supplies to get ready for the big glue marathon.


  • September 23 &24 2021 - 0.0hrs - 3850.0 total.  The local EAA guys have all pitched in and loaned me a bunch of their clamps.  Spent a couple hours yesterday and today inventorying, marking and cleaning them up.  Sorted and arranged them for easy retrieval.

180 of the large gussetts and 66 of the small ones done

Scrap laminate steamed and clamped flat to see if it will remove the warp

Re-steaming one of the bends on laminate #7, clamped inside #8 and #9

Re-steaming one of the bends on laminate #7, clamped inside #8 and #9

Scrap laminate steamed and clamped flat to see if it will remove the warp

Re-steaming one of the bends on laminate #7, clamped inside #8 and #9

Scrap laminate steamed and clamped flat to see if it will remove the warp

Scrap laminate steamed and clamped flat to see if it will remove the warp

Scrap laminate steamed and clamped flat to see if it will remove the warp

  • September 23 &24 2021 - 0.0hrs - 3850.0 total.  The local EAA guys have all pitched in and loaned me a bunch of their clamps.  Spent a couple hours yesterday and today inventorying, marking and cleaning them up.  Sorted and arranged them for easy retrieval.


  • September 25 2021 - 1.5hrs - 3851.0 total. Steamed laminate #1.  That's all the laminates steamed!  Cut some more laminate scraps for blocking between the spar beams and glued some of them together, both to make the blocking piece, but also as a test of hoe the laminates will glue together.  As warned in all the writeups on making this type of spar, the laminates like to slide around a LOT once they are slick with glue.  This is going to take some work to do right!  Texted Steve yesterday about some questions on the spar build and we had about a two hour phone conversation today about it.  He sent me several great photos from his spar build that, if he agrees, I'll post here.  Confirmed that I am going to have to make a jig for the upper laminates as well as using the existing jig for the lower ones.


  • September 26 2021 - 4.0hrs - 3855.0 total.  Took sample laminate glue job out of clamps and, sure enough, they had slid around more than I thought.  Definitely need a vertical clamp when doing these.  Clamped all five upper laminates together and removed from jig.  Moved upper and lower laminates off to the side of the jig to allow room to layout the upper laminate jig. Did a little more reading and a lot of head scratching and determined the best way to add the upper laminate blocking onto the same jig table.  Laid out the profile line on the table, made up blocking and drilled countersunk holes in blocks for mounting to table.


  • September 28 2021 - 2.0hrs - 3857.0 total.  Spent a couple hours last night picking up driver bits, screws, tools, etc.  Drilled pilot holes in upper laminate blocking.  Tonight got all the upper laminate blocking located, covered in packing tape, and screwed into position on the table.  Now need to figure out the vertical clamping.


  • September 29 2021 0.0hrs - 3857.0 total.  Spent about 2 hrs measuring and laying out how to do the vertical clamping using All-Thread and 2x4s.  Made up a parts list and quick inventory of what I already have.  Will need to pickup the materials to build this clamping method.


  • September 30 2021 0.5hrs - 3857.5 total. Picked up all-thread, nuts, washers and 2x4s.  Cut the all-thread down into 42ea 1 ft pieces.  Started cleaning up the ends to insure the nuts can start.

Just some of the clamps the local EAA chapter members have loaned me for this project

Just some of the clamps the local EAA chapter members have loaned me for this project

Just some of the clamps the local EAA chapter members have loaned me for this project

Dried test block - glued multiple laminates at once, they slide around!

Just some of the clamps the local EAA chapter members have loaned me for this project

Just some of the clamps the local EAA chapter members have loaned me for this project

Laying out the upper laminate portion of the jig

Just some of the clamps the local EAA chapter members have loaned me for this project

Laying out the upper laminate portion of the jig

Cleaning up the threads on the ends of the all-thread after cutting

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