Let's talk about the wood parts

[mhorowit]

I usually have at least two different operations on the project going at once; at the moment, removing rust at the storage area, and something I can take home.

I've been eying the wood parts that came from around the top edges of the cockpit. Most look straight forward - I can use the old pieces as templates and my old aileron spars as wood sources. However, there are other pieces that are formed to fit tubing on one edge and are rounded on the opposite edge.

Before I find some unnecessarily convoluted way way to build those pieces, how did you fabricate them? - Mike

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Let's talk about the wood parts

Time for you to get to know your friendly router. You will need a fairly inexpensive router table (the stiffer the better) but don't scrimp on the router. You will use it a lot and a high torque plunge router with the parts to put it in the table is what you want. Once you are over the shock of the cost of the router and table it's time to look at bits. Bring smelling salts.
There are lots of other ways to do the job but the router is probably the best.
Now for the really good news. I need to make the same parts for my 45 (which has the skylight). I'm not ready to start yet (I have GOT to get the 41 back in the air!) but lets get together and see how many of our parts are the same. My dad and mom have moved to a retirement community and dad gave me his really nice router and table (which I just pulled out of storage last week), a heavy (and I mean HEAVY!) cast iron table saw I just put back together yesterday in the hangar (still needs to be set up and rigged), and finally I have all the wood parts from the 41 (which are somewhere in the barn and need to be dug out.
Hank

We will need to make drawings of all the parts. Someone out there is going to have a plane with no wood to restore.

[mhorowit]

Re: Let's talk about the wood parts

Time for you to get to know your friendly router. You will need a fairly inexpensive router table (the stiffer the better) but don't scrimp on the router. You will use it a lot and a high torque plunge router with the parts to put it in the table is what you want. Once you are over the shock of the cost of the router and table it's time to look at bits. Bring smelling salts.
There are lots of other ways to do the job but the router is probably the best.

I have a small routing table

Now for the really good news. I need to make the same parts for my 45 (which has the skylight). I'm not ready to start yet (I have GOT to get the 41 back in the air!) but lets get together and see how many of our parts are the same. My dad and mom have moved to a retirement community and dad gave me his really nice router and table (which I just pulled out of storage last week), a heavy (and I mean HEAVY!) cast iron table saw I just put back together yesterday in the hangar (still needs to be set up and rigged), and finally I have all the wood parts from the 41 (which are somewhere in the barn and need to be dug out.
Hank

We will need to make drawings of all the parts. Someone out there is going to have a plane with no wood to restore.

Mine's a '47. Don't know if it makes a difference.
I can easily outline each of the pieces and send you a full size; just a matter of finding butcher paper. Some of the pieces are broken, but in most case there is a matching piece, or one can visualize what the end of the piece would like.

That's the approach I was thinking of, but as I tend to find the hardest solution I was looking for other approaches.

Let me know how you wish to proceed - I have no objection to you doing the routing I'll help on the cost of the router bits and you can keep them. Let
- Mike

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Let's talk about the wood parts

Since I have yet to see two fuselages EXACTLY the same (year doesn't seem to matter as much) we are probably going to have to make the parts slightly long with the tube half round routed in, then custom trim the tops to fit the fuselage. (Band saw or jig saw and belt sander time) Are you interested in the skylight too? Mine was a factory experiment with two triangle windows with one leg along the wing root and the apex at the center of the cockpit roof.
I will start pulling the wood parts and tracing them so we can compare.
Hank

[mhorowit]

Re: Let's talk about the wood parts

Are you interested in the skylight too?
Hank

Still up in the air. It would give more headroom. I'd like to see what welding (of tabs) is required of the STC so that I can change my mind. Also, Bill was working on a skylight several years ago and don't recall how that came out. - Mike

[Ragwing nut]

Re: Let's talk about the wood parts

At least the 47 should be sparse on wood like the earlier ones. Metal door frames, metal stringers, most the wood will be on top the fuselage. I may already have some extra new pieces made on the shelf

[mhorowit]

Re: Let's talk about the wood parts

At least the 47 should be sparse on wood like the earlier ones. Metal door frames, metal stringers, most the wood will be on top the fuselage. I may already have some extra new pieces made on the shelf

Did you fabricate them? How does our approach sound? - Mike

[Ragwing nut]

Re: Let's talk about the wood parts

should work fine