I have searched but I can't find much information on cutting ribs out. I have a scroll jaw but I find trying to stack ribs and get a straight line is difficult . So I have cut a ply rib as a template and cut one at a time with a knife but I am not happy with the results. Maybe I am just being to perfect. They ain't going to ever be as nice as laser cut ribs.

if you are cutting a constant chord wing stack up your wood as thick as you can for your saw. A bandsaw works best. Lay your pattern on top. Run some long pins down thru the top, and also up from the bottom so the wood stays stacked precisely. Cut it outside the line on the saw leaving the line on the top part. now set them on your belt/wheel sander and gently take them down to the line, ..Unpin and you are set.

I trace a template with a fine line marker, then cut them free hand with a #11 blade. Ribs aren't structural, so choose a weight and thickness that is easy to cut. I'll stack sand them after they've been cut out. The spar slots turn out good while the ribs are stacked in a bundle. By the time some geek loads his coordinates and sends them off to a cutter, then waits for delivery....I'm already wiping oil off a finished plane.

What the best way to cut the spar notchs. I fine the knife isn't doing a nice clean notch.
Through I get if I am covering the wing with solid color no one going to see the little messes.

If you are using an Xacto, just take multiple cuts instead of crosscutting in one slice. Or you can get a razor saw, or use the scroll saw to cut the notches.

I cut the two sides of the notchs on the band saw, while they are all together. I undercut them a little. Then I carefully work the bandsaw blade between the cuts until its close. Then I have some small homemade sanding sticks I run through the notch thats cleans it up...when you finally pull them apart you will be amazed how nice they turn out.

I have used foodstick's method and it works really well for same shaped ribs. Two cautions when you get to the disc/belt sander shaping operation: 1) make sure the pins that hold the ribs together have the heads pushed flush with the two outer(top and bottom) pieces of balsa. If not, the balsa may not always be flat against with the guide/table of the sander, 2)make sure that your guide or table is exactly perpendicular to the sanding disc/belt. If not, you will be making a really nice set of tapered ribs.

Same here for what most have said about cutting ribs. Buts I use aluminum oxide sticky sandpaper (like from the hobby shop) stuck to a piece of hardwood the same size as the spar. Just sand it downto the level it needs to be. You get a perfect tight spar slot.
Edwin

You never said, are you building from magazine plans?? If so you are going to run into a few mistakes or things the inker forgot to add or put into the drawing. What plane is it?? If the wing is constant cord and a BIG bipe I make up two hard wood templates with two holes drilled through them for bolting down the balsa ribs tight. One of the templates I counter sink the holes so I can keep it flat. I stack about 10 ribs then rough cut then gang sand the ribs then use my scroll saw or band saw to cut the spar slots. If it's a small plane or has a tapered wing then I just use the plans/template and draw the ribs onto the balsa and cut and sand them two at a time by has, just sand past the inked lines. Everything the other guys mentioned is pretty much how it is done but a lot depends on what plane you are building. I'm just finishing up my latest old school pattern plane and just cut the ribs two at a time by hand, it wasn't worth the effort to make up templates for this type of wing.

I am building a scaled down LT-25 and I am going electric. This my first major scratch build. It has a wing span of 50". I am also planning to build a foam core wing. While I am waiting for the wing cores I decided I am going to built up a wing as well.

Things are going well. I have made a template of the main ribs. I need a total of 12. I tried cutting with a knife but did not like results so I tried a batch of 6 cutting them on my scroll saw. They were easy cut and then sanded on my disc sander. I do have all the toys/tools. They were all most ok but I overcut the tail edge a bit. So I will try another batch it is really very fast with the scoll saw. I need more pratise cutting the notches. I then use a tiny file to file the notch to fit. I also need some other type of pin because the pin head on these t pins gets in the way of cutting the ribs.

Go rob your wife's/mother's sewing box, and the next time you buy dress shirts, save the pins and but them in a pill bottle. They come in handy.

I leave them for my x-wife to poke herself with. hehe

The easiest and most economical way of cutting paralell chord ribs is to cut a slightly oversize ply template without the slots and complex bits and use this to produce all the blanks. They could be about 1/16 oversize and cut roughly with a knife. They can be interleaved to get most out of a sheet and make a couple of spares too. Each should have two 1/8th inch holes to allow them to be bolted together as a pack for final sanding. Two pieces of threaded rod and nuts are used to bolt them together between 2 accurate templates with spar slots marked. Then place the pack can be gripped in a vice just below the threaded rods so no need to recess the nuts and sanded to shape with a sandpaper block, razor plane or preferably a Permagrit tool. Cut all the slot sides with a razor saw whilst still held in the pack and file to exact depth. The file will snap out the waste at the bottom of the razor saw cuts.
The photo shows what I mean....

I don't see a picture.

It seems to me that the photo is there!

here is an extra photo which also shows the sharpened tube tool which is used to punch the holes through the balsa blanks as they are cut. The oversize template has the holes in too so they are punched the same in every blank and align nicely.

I see it now, strange. I would sure like some Permagit tools. I am using small files but they are a little fine.

Permagrit tools seem expensive but you only really need one the wedge block as shown. This removes balsa and even birch ply with just a few strokes so you can do it slowly and accurately. Also the dust is ccoarser than usual so its a bit cleaner too I think. They are sold in England by Ian Richardson who is often at Top Gun with his magnificent jet models. I was told that his wife actually suggested the design of the wedge block! Very useful to get in tight corners and it is double sided coarse and fine.

This photo shows how the slots are cut all at once. Any that ribs that have extra slots or larger slots are cut afterwards. A coarse engineers file is used for the slots too and the 'safe' edge is utilised to avoid cutting the sides when filing the bottom.

Is this the block?
http://www.permagrit.com/product.php...roducts_id=211

I cut them out individually using a 1/32" ply template.

It uses far less material than the "sandwich" method, I get 40-50% more ribs on the same balsa sheet this way.

For spar notches you might find chisel blades are much more usefull than a #11 blade.

Well I have 5 of 12 main ribs. The process I used is to cut a 1/16" ply template which I cut oversize on my scroll saw then carefully sanded it on my disc sander. It don't take much to sand to size. I then cut the notches a little small and then carefully, slowly filed them to a tight fit. I then stacked 6 pieces of balsa and the template. I then cut them out oversize again on my scoll saw then sanded them carefully to size on the disc sander. I then cut the notch again a little small and file them to the right size. I did 6 ribs but one broke so I'll do seven in the next batch. The key for me is take my time and take a coffee breaks between steps or at least get up and walk around to relax. I get really tense. I want the ribs to be perfect as if they were laser cut. I am still trying to set goals a little lower. After this is scratch building, I am not a laser cutter.
I also have two each of ribs 1 & 2 which I think a well try just using the knife again cutting oversize.

Thanks for all the input. It is really not a bad as I thought it would be. I am retired so I have lots time to do it. In fact that's the main reason for trying scratch building rather than a kit or arf. I have lots of planes to fly. I also have foam cores being cut so I'll get to try making a foam core wing as well and compare the results.

I like the idea of chisel blades

Im post 17 there in the photo is a hole punch for the bolt holes he uses for clamping his ribs together. I have a bunmdle of those I made up using light guage stainless, both rounds and in square and rectangular sections, which I use for notching out for spars etc I use 5/16 threaded rods, both for shaping and for my wing jig, which will take up to a 66" wing easily, and I have made a rib clamp using the same hole spacing as the jig, I prefer to cut marginally oversize and use my bar to finish my ribs, and mark out all my spars while clamped, and it takes no time to punch the notches etc