March to May 2022

Reinforcement strips that go around the gear strut well on #4 and 5 ribs

Gluing cap strips to the 2nd side of #4 ribs

Reinforcement strips that go around the gear strut well on #4 and 5 ribs

Six reinforcement strips for SB side radiator opening

Reinforcement strips that go around the gear strut well on #4 and 5 ribs

Six reinforcement strips for SB side radiator opening

March 12 2022 -5.0hrs - 4319.5 total. Glued gear well strips onto one side of #4 ribs as well as radiator strip on #4 SB, Glued cap strips on one side of #3 ribs. Steamed 8 more cap strips to shape. Determined that the strips for the radiator opening are not all the same, so won't be able to use all the ones I made. Started tracing out the correctly shaped strips for #3 SB rib.

March 13 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4321.5 total. Made up more reinforcement strips. Laid out cap strips for other side of #3 ribs. Trimmed to length. Ready to glue on.

March 19 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4324.0 total. Glued remaining cap strips on first side of #3 ribs, including radiator strip. Glued gear well and radiator strip on 2nd side of #4 ribs.

March 20 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4326.0 total. Sanded off glue from port #4 rib. Removed clamps from #3 ribs and made up cap strips for 2nd side of both #3 ribs and radiator strip for SB.

March 21 2022 - 3.0hrs - 4329.0 total. Glued cap strips to 2nd side of #3 ribs - port one is done now, SB still needs the radiator strips and one more cap strip. Sanded down one side of #4 SB rib.
March 23 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4331.5 total. Glued cap strip and reinforcement pieces on the remaining portion of #3 rib SB. Finished sanding down #4 SB rib. Sanded down #3 port rib.

March 24 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4333.5 total. Removed clamps from #3 SB rib and sanded down both sides. Made up the four reinforcement strips for the aft portion of the radiator duct that go on the aft portion of ribs 3 and 4 SB.

Gluing gear well and radiator reinforcement strips to the second side of #4 ribs

Gluing cap strips on 2nd side of #3 ribs - all these pictures look the same!

Gluing gear well and radiator reinforcement strips to the second side of #4 ribs

Gluing remaining strips to 2nd side of #3 rib SB

Gluing gear well and radiator reinforcement strips to the second side of #4 ribs

Gluing remaining strips to 2nd side of #3 rib SB

March 24 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4333.5 total. Removed clamps from #3 SB rib and sanded down both sides. Made up the four reinforcement strips for the aft portion of the radiator duct that go on the aft portion of ribs 3 and 4 SB.

March 25 2022 - 3.5hrs - 4337.0 total. Glued the radiator strips onto #3 ribs. Started gluing cap strips onto #5 and #6 ribs. Steamed formed more cap strips to go on #5 and #6 ribs.

March 26 2022 - 5.0hrs - 4342.0 total. Glued more cap strips and radiator strips on #4,5 and 6 ribs. While waiting for the glue to dry, made up 60 more small gussets. Only about 400 more to go! Trimmed two of the gear well strips, ready for glue. Only a few more cap strips to finish and I'll be able to start gluing more ribs onto the spar.

March 27 2022 - 3.5hrs - 4345.5 total. #3 and 4 SB ribs are finished now, except for some sanding. Glued more cap strips on #5 and 6 ribs, P & SB.

March 28 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4348.0 total. Sanded down SB ribs #3 &4 and trimmed out some last extra material. They are done now. Glued more cap strips and gear well strips onto #5 and 6 ribs, P & SB.

March 30 2022- 1.0hrs - 4349.0 total. Removed clamps from last glue job. Prepped cap strips and gear well strip and sanded contact areas on #5 ribs. Steamed cap strips for #6 ribs.

March 31 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4351.5 total. Glued gear well strip on 2nd side of #5 rib P. Glued cap strips on #5 SB and #6 P. Made up 33 more small gussets.

March 31 - 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4351.5 total. Glued gear well strip on 2nd side of #5 rib P. Glued cap strips on #5 SB and #6 P. Made up 33 more small gussets.

April 1 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4354.0 total. Glue gear well strip to 2nd side of #5 SB. Glued cap strips on #6 ribs.

April 2 2022 - 3.5hrs - 4357.5 total. Glued last needed cap trips on #6 SB rib. Started gluing strips onto #7 ribs. Sanded down #5 ribs and #6 rib P. Steamed some more strips to be used on #7 ribs. Removed support jig from port wingtip and slid rib 2 thru 6 P into place on the spar. Double checked size and position of where the steel gear plates will clamp to the front and back of the spar. Will temporarily clamp #2, 3 &4 ribs out of the way of the (yet to be built) gear plates, and start gluing the ribs to the spar starting with #5 on each side and progressing outwards.

April 4 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4360.0 total. Glued more strips onto both #7 ribs.

April 6 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4362.0 total. Sanded down rib #6 SB. Steam bent enough strips to finish both #7 ribs and do all of both #8 ribs. Put jig support back under port wingtip and re-levelled the spar. Started aligning #5 and 6 port ribs to prepare to glue them to the spar.

April 7 2022 - 0.0hrs - 4362.0 total. Spent about a 1/2hr fiddling with getting the bandsaw bed perfectly level again, to use as a platform the laser levels for positioning the ribs. Didn't count the time.

April 8 2022 - 1.5hrs - 4363.5 total. Setup blocking and clamping for gluing #5 port rib to the spar. Once again I amazed at how exactly things fit. The rib sits, before aligning it, to within 1/8' of where it needs to go and when clamped to the rear face of the spar, the leading edge of the rib is within 1/16th of on inch of where it needs to go.

April 9 2022 - 4.5hrs - 4368.0 total. Glued #5 port rib to rear surface of spar. Glued remaining strips onto #7 ribs. They are finished now except for sanding. Made up shims and reinforcement strips for #5 rib. Made 42 more intercostal gussets.

April 10 2022 - 4.0hrs - 4372.0 total. Glues nine shim and reinforcement strips to rib #5 port around spar attachment area. Glued first cap strip to one of the #8 ribs. Re-leveled bandsaw bed again and aligned rib #6 port to spar. Clamped into position, ready to glue in place.

April 11 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4374.0 total. Glued rib #6 port to spar. Glued two more cap strips onto the #8 ribs.

April 13 2022 - 1.0hrs - 4375.0 total. Sanded down both #7 ribs. Sanded down glue joint on #6 port. Laid out #8 ribs for more cap strips.

April 14 2022 - 1.5hrs - 4376.5 total. Made up strips and shims for #6 port rib to spar joint. Picked up some of the raw steel material that will be used to make the gear legs. Placed orders for most of the remaining material.

April 15 2022 - 3.0hrs - 4379.5 total. Ordered the last piece of steel stock. Glued the nine strips around rib #6 port and spar. Also glued another spar cap onto one of the # 8 ribs.

April 16 2022 - 3.5hrs - 4383.0 total. Slid rib #7 port onto spar and clamped into position to glue. Laid ruler across all three ribs (5, 6 &7) and #6 was too high at the back and too low at the front. Remeasured again and sure enough, it was glued on in the wrong angle! Its been a real issue trying to use the bandsaw table as the reference point for measuring everything as I still need to use it as a saw, and even with the feet locked, it still moves. Went and bought a sturdy surveyors tripod and set it up in a permanent location then relevelled everything one more time. Confirmed that rib 6 was wrong so cut it off the spar. Detail trimmer works amazingly well for this. I had to cut all of the glue joints out of the fuselage and redo them way back when, so I'm pretty experienced cutting this loose like this. Cleaned up the old joint and prepared to glue it back in place - correctly this time!

April 17 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4385.5 total. Glued #6 rib port onto spar again. Used a plastic syringe to inject thickened epoxy into the joint. Verified measurements about ten times. Used a lot more clamps to insure correct spacing and alignment.

April 18 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4388.0 total. Glued #7 port rib to spar. Glued two more cap strips to rib #8 port, which is done now. Still two more cap strips to go on #8 SB.

April 27 2022 1.5hrs - 4389.5 total. Sanded down glues joint on aft side of spar at rib #7 port. Made up the shims and reinforcement strips for rib #7 port.

April 29 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4391.5 total. Glued the shim and reinforcement strips to rib #7 port.

May 2 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4393.5 total. Glued last two cap strips to #8 ribs SB. Now both #8 ribs are done. Just need to be sanded down. Sanded recent glue joint on spar to port #7 rib and used extra glue to add nice big fillets.

May 4 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4395.5 total. Sanded down glue joints on #8 rib port. Removed port wing jig support, slid rib onto spar, re-installed jig and re-aligned everything. Clamped rib into exact position as called out in the plans. Unfortunately it doesn't line up with the rest of the ribs, It about 1/4" too high on the spar. I've checked the measurements and alignment about five times and it still seems wrong. Will take a break and try again later.

May 6 2022 - 0.0hrs - 4395.5 total. Pulled the wingtip jig support, put the next two ribs, #9 and #10 on the spar to compare alignment. re-aligned and leveled the jig support. Spent about two hours aligning and measuring the ribs and pretty much verified rib #8 , when installed as specified, was about 1/4" out of alignment. Decided to try position the rib where it looks like it should go, then seeing how far it is from the plans, and attempt to figure out how the mistake could have been made. Moved the rib to where it looked right, measured its alignment - and its where the plans said it should be??!! Either there was a disconnect in the time space continuum, or the laws of physics changed. I'm completely baffled as its now exactly where the plans say it should be, and its aligned perfectly with all the rest of the ribs? I'm going to bed and will check reality again in the morning!

May 7 2022 - 0.5hrs - 4396.0 total. Spent about 3 hours messing with measurements and readjusting the laser level. Finally came up with a location for the rib that I'm happy with. Mixed up a small batch of 5 minute epoxy and used it to tac the rib in place. Have been thinking about trying this for a while. Appears to have worked as planned. Need to steam some more cap strips. Looks like I'm going to run out of cap strip material. Need to order some more.

May 8 2022 - 5.0hrs - 4401.0 total. Steamed more cap strips to shape. Sanded down #8 rib SB - its done now. Glued shim and reinforcement strips onto rib #8 port around the spar. Glued first cap strip onto rib #9 port.

May 11 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4403.0 total. Glued 3 more cap strips onto the #9 ribs.

May 12 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4405.0 total. Glued all four cap strips onto the other sides of both #9 ribs. Pulled both #10 ribs out of the stack to be ready next.

May 14 2022 - 4.0hrs - 4409.0 total. Sanded down rib #9 port. Slid it onto the spar and realigned. Have gotten much faster at doing this now. Aligned rib on spar and tacked in place with five minute epoxy. Once it dried, sanded down joint then made up shim and reinforcement strips. Glued them in place.

May 15 2022 - 4.5hrs - 4413.5 total. Sanded down rib #9 SB. Steamed 8 more cap strips for #10 ribs. Am running low on cap strip stock. ordered what I hope will be enough and also ordered material for intercostals. There's a LOT of them! Glued 4 cap strips to one side of both #10 ribs.

May 16 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4416.0 total. Removed clamps. Sanded glue spots from edges of rib. Glued remaining 4 cap strips onto other side of both #10 ribs.

May 18 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4418.5 total. Removed clamps. Sanded down #10 port rib and slid onto spar. Realigned spar in jig, clamped rib in place and tacked in position with five minute epoxy. Measured, cut and steam bent eight more cap strips. Pulled both #11 ribs out of stack and prepped for cap strips.

BUILDERS LOG - March TO May 2022

Reinforcement strips that go around the gear strut well on #4 and 5 ribs

Reinforcement strips that go around the gear strut well on #4 and 5 ribs

Reinforcement strips that go around the gear strut well on #4 and 5 ribs

Gluing cap strips to the 2nd side of #4 ribs

Reinforcement strips that go around the gear strut well on #4 and 5 ribs

Reinforcement strips that go around the gear strut well on #4 and 5 ribs

Six reinforcement strips for SB side radiator opening

Reinforcement strips that go around the gear strut well on #4 and 5 ribs

Six reinforcement strips for SB side radiator opening

Gluing gear well and radiator reinforcement strips to #4 rib

Gluing cap strips to the first side of #3 ribs

Gluing remaining cap strips to the first side of #3 ribs

Gluing remaining cap strips to the first side of #3 ribs

Gluing gear well and radiator reinforcement strips to the second side of #4 ribs

Gluing gear well and radiator reinforcement strips to the second side of #4 ribs

Gluing gear well and radiator reinforcement strips to the second side of #4 ribs

Gluing cap strips on 2nd side of #3 ribs - all these pictures look the same!

Gluing gear well and radiator reinforcement strips to the second side of #4 ribs

Gluing gear well and radiator reinforcement strips to the second side of #4 ribs

Gluing remaining strips to 2nd side of #3 rib SB

Gluing gear well and radiator reinforcement strips to the second side of #4 ribs

Gluing remaining strips to 2nd side of #3 rib SB

Steaming more cap strips for the ribs

Starting on #5 ribs

Stacking ribs everywhere to allow gluing lots of little pieces to use up all the glue in the batch

Stacking ribs everywhere to allow gluing lots of little pieces to use up all the glue in the batch

Made 60 more of the small gussets

Last strips on #6 SB rib and starting on both #7 ribs

Made 60 more of the small gussets

#5 SB and #6 P

Last strips on #6 SB rib and starting on both #7 ribs

Made 60 more of the small gussets

Last strips on #6 SB rib and starting on both #7 ribs

Last strips on #6 SB rib and starting on both #7 ribs

Last strips on #6 SB rib and starting on both #7 ribs

#2, 3 &4 ribs pushed to side, 5 & 6 ribs sitting loosely in place (port side)

More strips on #7 ribs

Rib #5 port glued to spar. The nine reinforcement strips and shims are ready to be glued in place.

Rib #5 port glued to spar. The nine reinforcement strips and shims are ready to be glued in place.

Strips and shims glued in place around rib #5 port

Nine reinforcement strips and shims ready for #6 rib port

Nine reinforcement strips and shims ready for #6 rib port

Nine reinforcement strips and shims ready for #6 rib port

Nine reinforcement strips and shims ready for #6 rib port

Nine reinforcement strips and shims ready for #6 rib port

Oops! Trailing edge of rib #6 too high

Nine reinforcement strips and shims ready for #6 rib port

Oops! Trailing edge of rib #6 too high

Forward portion of rib #6 too low

Cutting the glue joint away on rib #6

Cutting the glue joint away on rib #6

Cutting the glue joint away on rib #6

Cutting the glue joint away on rib #6

Cutting the glue joint away on rib #6

Rib #6 cut loose from spar

Cutting the glue joint away on rib #6

Rib #6 cut loose from spar

Gluing #6 rib port to spar again. Lots more clamps this time!

Gluing #6 rib port to spar again. Lots more clamps this time!

Ten shim and reinforcement pieces for rib #7 port

Gluing #6 rib port to spar again. Lots more clamps this time!

Last cap strips glued to #8 rib SB

Last cap strips glued to #8 rib SB

Nine shim and reinforcement strips for rib #8 port

Nine shim and reinforcement strips for rib #8 port

Reinforcement strips glued to rib #8 port

Nine shim and reinforcement strips for rib #8 port

Three more cap strips glued onto #9 ribs

Three more cap strips glued onto #9 ribs

Nine shim and reinforcement strips for rib #9 port

Reinforcement strips glued to rib #9 port at spar joint

Reinforcement strips glued to rib #9 port at spar joint

Reinforcement strips glued to rib #9 port at spar joint

Reinforcement strips glued to rib #9 port at spar joint

Reinforcement strips glued to rib #9 port at spar joint

#10 port rib tacked in place with five minute epoxy

Reinforcement strips glued to rib #9 port at spar joint

#10 port rib tacked in place with five minute epoxy