The drywall will work fine as long as it's on a flat surface like an old solid core door.

Like sheetrock, glass has to be placed on something flat, or it will also conform to the surface below.

I was given (well, I asked for it) a glass coffee table top that was abandoned during a move. I put a solid core door on on the 2' x 6' workbench I built in Jr. High shop, followed by a piece of white melamine skinned Masonite, followed by the glass. I adjusted the whole pile to be not only straight, but flat to the World, using a machine level. Then I covered it with all the clutter I could possibly accumulate....<sigh>    Steve

>>Like sheetrock, glass has to be placed on something flat, or it will also conform to the surface below.<<

Depends on how thick the glass is, but generally true. I have a solid chunk of oak (2" thick) as a 40" x 65" building board. It's been squared up pretty well. The I sometimes use glass on that. I have a piece of display case glass 20" x 60 inches and 1/2" thick that dates back to the 50s sometime. I also have a smaller piece, maybe 28" x 12" that I use to build certain things.

Another issue is that the surface needs to be flat and not just level. Watch out for flaws in drywall that can cause you problems.

There are a lot of options. I know one guy that got a chunk of water cut granite that he uses as a build surface. Absolutely flat. Cool if you can both afford it and have 10 guys that can carry it to your shop.

It kinda depends on how you are going to jig your fuse and wing. I agree that the item be only long enough to fit the biggest wing you will ever plan on building, and just a bit wider. Obviously if your jigs require screwing into the building surface you can't use glass. But if your jigging method uses jigs glued to the surface then glass is perfect as you can easily remove the jigs and with a couple of passes of a razor blade to scrape off any CA you ready to go with a new build. The glass should be 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick and if you can get it tempered. Glass over any good flat surface is a dream to build on, so long as you don't have to pin stuff in place, or screw attach jigs. If otherwise then any of the other reccomendations work fine. Granite or marble is great also, I had a 5 X 2 1 inch thick marble slab at one time. It was part of some discarded furniture, heavy as heck though. you can use some granite floor tiles glued to some MDF that will work as well, (not so heavy) The problem with sheet rock, is it absorbs moisture and if you get it wet it can deform otherwise it holds pins well. Still has to be mounted to a flat subsurface, spilled glue can not be removed so you have to be careful, nice thing about it is that you can easily replace it between builds.

Over on Stuka Stunt, Al Rabe has constructions articles about his builds of his various planes.  He makes what I call temporary jigs for building using the rod method.  As I understand it he seldom uses the same jig twice.  Boards have a tendency to warp over time.  My old jig has been replaced with a peice of honey comb airplane section that is barely wide enough, but is dead straight according to my level.  Using the CLC Jig my P-47 wing is coming out pretty straight.

Getting back into this hobby after 20 yrs I have a differant mind set. Back then I built pretty nice planes and flew decent, but now I fly not so decent but still build good. Well I made up my mind to get to fly good first and build better later but on a wim I baught a new Vector kit and after making this decission it will probably be 2 yrs before I start it! Thank the gods for Ringmasters!!--LOUIE 

I think drywall (gypsum board) is a poor choice.  For the money, a piece of 3/4" MDF is flat, straight, and it doesn't warp over time.

Floyd

Dumb question BUT what is "MDF"  thanks  chuck

MDF = Medium Density Fiberboard.  It's the stuff that they make cheap bookshelves and kitchen cabinets out of.

In my oh-so humble opinion the stuff will pretty much take on the shape of whatever it's laid on, if you let it sit long enough.

My building board is a 1' by 4' hunk of 3/4" think plywood, with about 1/16" of bow across the length of it.  If I'm really trying to build straight, I use a rod jig and I shim up the ends so the rods are straight.  For anything with dihedral I just turn the board so that it bows down and leaves a graceful (and insignificant) upward bow to the wing tips.

I think the next time I get my bench cleaned all the way down to the surface I'm going to put down a sheet of tempered glass that I have waiting, probably on screw- or bolt-heads so I can adjust it.  Then when I want something really flat I'll build on that, and hold things down with weights.

For the ultimate in flat building boards, find a surplus cast aluminum, cast iron, or granite plate from some bit of machinery.  It'll weigh a ton, you won't be able to stick pins in it, if you paid full retail it'd cost as much as a really fancy new PC -- but it'd be way flatter than a board, and it would stay that way.

Flat, cheap, easy to use -- pick one or two...

Home Despot sells a milled wood plank in the shelving dept made from many lengths of about 1x2" light wood glued as a big laminated piece then milled flat. With all the glue joints it is very warp resistant. I use 3M spray adhesive to attach 1/2" foam sheet to the board to serve as pinning material; the wood is too hard for pins. The piece I use is 72" by about 20",  more than big enough for anything we are likely to build. It is also cheap and easy to move. The wood pieces from which the board is made are full-length 72" pieces. I have built many wings on this board, all straight.

I have been using an abandoned billiards table for years, even decades.  I have a piece of tempered 3/8"  glass for the top.  It is shimmed dead flat and I check it periodically.  CA will spot glue anything to it and removal is easy.  I can get my full size stunters on it for setting up the surfaces.  I do have a couple pieces of stationary used as shims under the glass.

For smaller wings I tape a piece of blue foam, just larger than the wing, so that I can use pins.  It is removable and I just store it under the table until I need it again.

Having a table that size is a blessing when building an I-Beamer, or doing final assembly of parts like the wing and stab. 

I have a wing building station on the top of one of my counters.  It is 2" white foam which I shimmed flat.  I can build wings up to 54" on it.  Main thing is simply to make the surface FLAT.  If you need to pin then put a piece of blue foam or dry wall over the flat table.

#2 choice would be a flat solid core door covered with 3/8" glass.  I found my piece (42"X66") at a hardware store that cuts table tops for next to nothing.  It was cut for a customer but never picked up.

Big Bear