Silver Wings at Last

[Mark Julicher]

We are finally getting silver wings on NC43306.
Here are some photos showing our progress in Doc's hangar. Sorry about the poor quality. I'll clean the lens next time

The hoop fixture is made from three lengths of 3/4 inch electrical conduit and gas welded. With the two cross bars as stiffeners it strong enough to hold 200 lbs at any angle.

The wing root fixture is left overs from several other projects and works fine although it is no work of art. One person can turn the wing over but must be careful not to tilt the hoop fixture or the whole shooting match can tip over lengthwise. A couple sandbags on the base would help.

[VictorBravo]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

Congratulations on your progress! Go Go Go !

The hoop fixture is a great idea, I had contemplated something like that for my upcoming project.

I have an idea or two to share :

1) Eight lengths of conduit welded to the hoop fixture oriented spanwise would prevent it from wanting to lean over even when the wing was "above" the jury strut fittings.

2) Hanging the hoop fixture from the ceiling with a hook that slides around as you rotate the wing would also prevent it from tipping. Or a pulley large enough to match the hoop tube. This would work best with a circular hoop instead of an octagon, however it is do-able both ways. Of course you would have to disconnect the hook briefly when rotating the fixture past the cross-beam, but you can set the hoop down on the ground and balance it with one hand during this switch-over.

[Mark Julicher]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

Bill,
Thanks for the great ideas.
I think I'll add 4 lengths of conduit which will be enough to stabilize the wing in our case because I plan to shoot paint only when the wing is flat. The pulley idea is even better if I could find something overhead to hang it. I did not pre-plan for that where we built the paint booth but I love the idea.

I was not clever enough to make a circular fixture. I don't have a bending jig and I don't know an electrician who has one handy, so bending a circle of 240 inches circumference was a bit daunting. I'm sure someone in the tribe will tell me how to do it easily.

[mulwyk]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

Mark:
Are you using the poly fiber system?

What is that color? Rancho Silver?

[Mark Julicher]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

Bob,
Yes, Polyfiber. The photos are just the first two coats of Polyspray. Color scheme will be red with black trim in the Deluxe Taylorcraft pattern.

[N96337]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

Mark,
I made my hoops out of 1" square tubing and ran it through my slip roll a couple times until it was meeting itself... just don't try to get it bent all in one shot.....very easy and quick way to get a nice circle. Then took a couple wheels off a shopping cart and turned a notch in them with my lathe and set them on the end of the base..this connects the hoop to the root support, and it's nice and solid. One really nice thing about it is that I can clamp the hoop, twist the root fitting and close the clamp there to set the washout on the wing, and final shrink the fabric with the washout already set.. just makes a bit nicer job of it. Mine has casters on all corners so we can get done covering, then roll it right into the paint room, and back out to sand. I think I have $25 in the whole thing, and it's done dozens of wings already.
John

[VictorBravo]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

John, THAT is a beautiful setup! Wow! My hat's off...

How do you get square tubing through a slip roll? The only slip rolls I've ever seen are for rolling sheet metal into a tube. But 1" square tube??

So... how'd you get "dozens" of wings covered on that gorgeous rack with no paint blobs and multi-colored "shop camo" all over it?

What is the purpose of the extra section of curved tube and circular connector on the side of the circle opposite the jury strut fittings?

[Mark Julicher]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

WOW.
Your jig is a work of art. I need to go relieve a shopping cart of some wheels and borrow a slip roller.

[N96337]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

Bill & Mark,
The extra tubing is just for stiffening...and it was from the first hoop we'd rolled, that turned out a bit smaller than I wanted. I took a full 20' stick of tubing and just rolled it. My 52" slip roll opened wide enough to get the tubing through..and I'm sure many others will too.
I hate having stuff that you can tell the last color worked on, so I do a bit of masking before painting, and lay a tarp over the base. It only takes a minute or two. I did loan this out one time to a "cub" guy, and it came back rusty and yellow...I wasn't happy, and he heard about it.
The long tube underneath, that connects the whole works together is quite a bit overkill...it could be much lighter. The way it's set up, I can add or subtract length as needed for different wings. I use a bit of 2" square around here, so that's the dimension I used for it. I'm sure it could be much smaller, and still work just fine. The clamps are just fine threaded bolts/nuts with a plate that acts on the piece of tubing that serves as a pivot. Nothin too fancy, and mostly built out of scrap. I covered wings for years with the saw horses, and wooden X or H.... I have no idea why I didn't do this sooner...it's more than paid for itself a dozen times already, just with labor and effort saved, and it's so nice to be able to get to everything at the proper angle! Painting is really nice as well, as I can keep it verticle, and get a much nicer job.
Thanks for the compliments!
John

[Pearson]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

Mark,

If you hang your conduit from a hook above, be careful about dust and overspray falling onto the wing if the paint is still tacky. It would probably work OK if you blow or wipe it off just before spraying each time.

[Mark Julicher]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

Richard,
Thanks for the heads-up.
I had rather forgotten the overhead dust nemesis. I once directed a project where we were grinding glass parabolic mirrors 10 feet in diameter. Every time we got one nearly done the overhead crane would kick some dust down onto the polishing head - ouch - a hard lesson.

[flybikefarm]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

This is how I did the fusaloge.

[mhorowit]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

John, THAT is a beautiful setup! Wow! My hat's off...

Bill - where are you looking? - Mike

[VictorBravo]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

I'm just looking at his rotating fixture in the photos he put up.

[mhorowit]

Re: Silver Wings at Last

I'm just looking at his rotating fixture in the photos he put up.

For some reason it didn't show yesterday at work, but it shows up today at home. thanks, Mike