Glass building board epiphany

[bob branch]

I need to thank Curt Nixon and Frank Carlisle for getting me to try building on a glass building board. It has proved to be a real epiphany and in suprising ways.  I had ordered it from Curt earlier in the year, but living on an Island, I just had trouble getting to it.  I had really decided I'd just set it in a corner for trimming balsa strips and monocoat for my RC planes. I already had 2 extremely flat building boards, one with a balsa wood surface and one in hard wood.  I really could not figure out what good a board was that you couldn't put a pin into. My wing jig just didn't need any particular type of surface but I considered it might be useful with my alignment jig.

Tonight I began building on it for the first time.  Frank explained you CA glue blocks on the glass for pinning to. Ok, now it was starting to make sense. The building plans can be be under the glass and not get killed. I cut a bunch of small blocks ahead of time and stable constuction was a snap.  Ok, I could live with this. But then I began one of my most dreaded building steps... the cap strips.  I know, whats tough about cap strips. Getting them perfectly flush to the surface at each end, that's what. I have struggled with sanding those damn things flush for over 40 years. Its always been a difficult place to finish for me. But I found a way to get them perfect with the glass board every time!

Cut the cap strip to length and angle. Put the cap strip on the glass and set the wing over it. Center the strip on the rib and use a drop of thin CA at one end of the rib while holding the wing down onto the trailing edge. Voila, its a dead perfect flush fit! Roll the wing so the front end of the cap strip is against the rib and the leading edge sheeting and add a drop of ca. Bang, a dead perfect flush fit! Then thin CA the rest of the cap strip to the rib and you are done.  And the clean up of the board is just a wipe of a straight edge razor. At last a use for used up ones!

I'm feelin for ya Frank as you sand yourself to death on the twin, but I'm gonna be doing alot less sanding on those cap strips now.  Thanks a bunch guys.

bob branch
Harsens Island, MI

[W.D. Roland]

Hi Bob
any problems with light refraction through glass(from plans)throwing the location of parts off?
sounds like a good idea for a building board
other benifits i see

can wax to stop parts sticking and wipe with thinner ect for glueing blocks ect.

scrapes clean with razor blade!

if something is accidently glued down a long thin putty knife should pop it loose.

Great idea!
David

if level and true its got to be flates esaly avalible stuff on the planet.

[Bill Little]

I have been using a piece of cast off 3/8ths glass (a coffee table top) on a discarded billiards table for many years.  It is as flat as can be.  The advantages are endless!

Bill <><

[frank carlisle]

SO.........................here is one more use for glass---

Cutting Tape for masking the model........................................................

I get 2" 3M low tack masking tape and cut it to whatever width I need to mask the model for painting. Works great and gets rid of the need for a variety of store bought tape widths.

[Kim Doherty]

Bob,

You said:

>"But then I began one of my most dreaded building steps... the cap strips.  I know, >whats tough about cap strips. Getting them perfectly flush to the surface at each >end, that's what. I have struggled with sanding those damn things flush for over 40 >years. Its always been a difficult place to finish for me. But I found a way to get them >perfect with the glass board every time!
>
>Cut the cap strip to length and angle. Put the cap strip on the glass and set the wing >over it. Center the strip on the rib and use a drop of thin CA at one end of the rib >while holding the wing down onto the trailing edge. Voila, its a dead perfect flush fit! >Roll the wing so the front end of the cap strip is against the rib and the leading edge >sheeting and add a drop of ca. Bang, a dead perfect flush fit!"


Its great that you are trying to use straight and true surfaces to build on. If I could, I would like to suggest that this might not be the best way to install cap strips. Cap strips add a fair amount of rigidity to the wing thus they are capable of "locking in" a twist. While you are holding your wing on the glass table and getting a "perfect flush fit", the wing is not being supported as it would if it were still in the jig. The possibility of inducing a twist is LARGE!

Since you have a good surface to build on, use a wing jig and DO NOT remove it from the jig until you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO!

The "trick" (actually no trick at all), is to be careful when installing the spar such that it is exactly flush with the tops of the ribs (put two or three rows of masking tape across the ribs ahead of and behind the spar and then sand the spar flush with the tops of the ribs) and be equally careful when installing the leading edge sheeting and ensure that it sits flush on the spar. (you don't need a ton of glue) Measure the thickness of the sheeting before putting it in on and find a piece of wood a few thou over that dimension. Cut your cap strips from that piece. When installed, the cap strip will sit just barely proud of the leading edge sheeting. A few quick passes with a Great Planes 12" sanding block will blend them to a "Perfectly flush fit".

Hope this helps,

Kim.

[frank carlisle]

Bob,
Kim is right 110%........................Of course if what you did produces an unwarped wing then........................................However leaving the wing in the jig during the capstripping process is sure fire gonna work.

[jose modesto]

Hello Kim. I need a little help on purchasing four (4) sets of Costantin B. plug in landing gear.
We met at Brodacks some years back and I wasa able to purchase one set of the landing gear.
Rich Giacabone of stuka fame would like to use this gear on his next model can you assist.
Im currently flying a Yatzenco Shark with a plug in gear and Rich would like to use something similar
      THANKS JOSE MODESTO
PS> Windy gave me my first glass building board 24"x84" I will never build a wing with out it.

[Kim Doherty]

Jose,

I will ask Konstantine if he has any gear sets for sale.


Kim