wing_nutt

Ed Smith

If they are all the same then make an accurate ply template and cut around it. So simple, easy and inexpensive.

Ed s

dbacque

My Feedback: (3)

Cutting ribs by hand with a template is really fast and easy. As Ed said, make a hard template. Plywood works but I prefer to use phenolic board because the knife doesn't nick it and I happen to have plenty. Circuit board or something like that would work too. Of course, plywood works fine but you have to use a little more care.

Once the template is cut and sanded to exact shape, I put a couple of squares of double stick Scotch Tape on the template. Stick it to your shirt a couple of times and put finger prints all over the tape to reduce the tackiness. Now when you place the template on the wood it won't slide around.

Using a new X-acto blade, cut all cross-grain cuts first, ends and notch sides. Then make the outline cuts. Peel the rib off the template and place for the next rib.

Once all the ribs are cut (and make a few spares), test the spar fit in the notches. Then stack all the ribs together with short spars on each side and block sand them. You can even shuffle them a few times to help keep things even. Don't oversand or you'll be cutting new ribs.

You'll be surprised quickly and accurately you can cut a set of ribs by hand with a template.

Dave

wing_nutt

LargeScale88

The nice thing about cutting your own ribs is i you screw 10 up, you can easily cut 10 more, unlike laser or CNC where you don't have the template to cut yourself a new one.

What I do is if the ribs are all the same, I make a template out of 1/8" aluminum sheet so it will never get damaged, and I can run the exacto blade or pen around the rib without putting a big dent in the template. I then simply use the band saw and sander to cut the rib out.

Takes longer, but when that airplane takes off, its a little more rewarding.

Jason

red head

I use about the same system as above but I like to make 2 templates and use 2 long screws through the ribs to hold them in place . That way I can use a band saw and or sand them to shape. As said above , make a few extras ~~ that way you won't need them. lol ENJOY !!! RED

tschuy

My Feedback: (1)

I make two photocopies of the rib and then use contact cement and glue them to 1/16" ply. Then use various tools to cut and sand them to the outline of the rib. These serve as your rib templates. Then make several rough cut rib cutouts and then stack them between the two ply rib templates . Use some heavy duty T-pins to hold the stack together. Then finally use varoius grades of sandpaper (from rough to fine) abd slowy sand the stack down to the same shape of the ply rib patterns.

I've done this many times over the years of my hobby building and always had clean consistent results. Ribs worked out perfectly and the shape was always accurate. Trick is to take you time and not be too aggressive with sanding down to the templates. This has also worked for tapered wings as well but you have to be careful with the alignment of the root rib to the tip....

Good luck and remember to take your time with making your templates. The quality of them determins the success of your wing ribs...

Cheers,

airbusdrvr

deleted

LesUyeda

"What I do is if the ribs are all the same, I make a template out of 1/8" aluminum sheet so it will never get damaged"

That is what I have done, with 1/16" aluminum, but always ensured that the aluminum was T-6 condition, i.e. hard rather than soft.

Les

cutaway

If they have any thickness to them, I use a router table(s) - the "poor man's laser cutter".

Make one really good template out of 1/4" ply, then tack glue a stack maybe 1/2"-3/4" high (too high and the stack starts to get tippy). A straight trim router bit is what you want. I've found the templates seem to last a bit longer when the edges are hardened with CA.

The smallest I've seen is 1/4" diameter which is OK for typical spars notches, but dulls fast and tends to tear out a lot. I have a couple of router tables with different diameter bits.

Normally, I'll rough the stack on a bandsaw to within about 1/16" of the stack, then use the router to finish what's left. This makes the router cut a lot easier as less wood is being removed. For lightening holes, I rough them with an ancient dremel scroll saw because the blade is removable and lets you get into the center of a lightening hole by drilling an access hole.

yel914

I've used some of the methods mentioned above with good success. Instead of using a router bit I use a drum sander with a bearing on it. The drum sander is chucked into a router set into a router table. Use only a variable speed router at LOW SPEED. You can also chuck the drum sander into a drill press, but the template would need to be on the bottom using that setup. I cut the ribs out to a rough size on the bandsaw first. Sanding drums are available at woodworking supply stores like Woodcraft.

tschuy

My Feedback: (1)

This is actually very cool and easy to do with a drill press. Though I'm not sure I'd use a balsa template. Me and my heavy fist would probably dimple it with the bearing.

Thanks for the tip yel914....

yel914

You're right, a balsa template is a bad idea. I just used this as an illustration of the procedure. I usually use a product called Chemetal for templates. It's thin brass bonded to laminate(formica). The stuff lasts forever and I have a bunch in my stash. The main advantage over using a router bit is there is no tearout when climbing the grain. Much more consistant results.

wing_nutt

Thanks to everonefor all the tips. I should have the wing done in no time.