I understand this video is several months old but one thing that's really good for putting on the sheeting is using a steam iron. Put the tite bond on all surfaces to glue and let it tack up. Turn the iron on using the steam to stick the parts together. It works great. I do it on all my planes while scratch building. I enjoy watching your videos.
A razor plane makes short work of the spars. I've been building kits for 40 years and most of the spars stick up above the ribs to account for variances in wood size. It's better to have the spar stick above the ribs and shave them than have the spars sit below the top of the ribs. I'm enjoying your videos.
In my opinion the kit should have fit a lot better . The rib should have been cut way more accurate , the spar didn't fit at all.. If you would have known the spar was to big you could have shave it before installing it. But, you are doing a good job with it.
I use wood glue exclusively to build. I've found the FastCap Highbot glue bottle is very handy with Titebond II because it isn't dependent on gravity. Additionally silicone glue applicators make reaching under sheeting to apply glue to the ribs. Lot of companies sell them, but Sili brand has different types and sizes. Their glue pod is also nifty. Nothing too expensive, but handy tools.
Seems that in this case, it would have been better to check the rib slots before assembly and deepened them as needed. A little time spent before saves time later. Probably the same overall time.
Yes, thanks. There will be rib caps, they will be flush with the trailing edge sheet and the leading edge sheet. The spar was too high. If I left it that way the sheet would sit too far above the ribs and the rib caps would then sit too low. Next vid on this will be installing the rib caps. Thanks again.
@@JamesRCPlaneTech my line of thinking being that I don't know how far above the ribs the spar was sitting was if the spar was sitting above the thickness of the sheeting that you could have just butted it up against the spar. Doing this i know would have ment that the sheeting would be "floating" between the ribs which isn't a good thing but if this was the case creating shelves between the ribs would have cured that issue. I just found it interesting that the manufacturer didn't either cut the slots in the ribs deeper or just cut the spars the correct thickness. Good video though I've watched many of your builds and techniques and learned stuff along the way.
Thanks I appreciate your comments and insight. And yes, would have been better if Balsa USA spent a little more QA/QC on this kit. There have been a few challenging issues. And I always appreciate comments that offer good ideas and insights, so thanks again.
The Smoothie wing build was so much smoother compared to this wing, I feel your pain watching you deal with the ribs and spars out of tolerance. I found it interesting that you changed your method of sheeting on this wing vs the Smoothie. If I recall correctly, you used CA to bind the inner edge of the sheeting to the ribs, folded the sheeting down to the leading edge, then tacked it to each rib using CA, you then flipped the wing over and used CA to attach each rib to the sheeting. That’s what I did on my Smoothie, the only difference is I moistened the sheeting as I found it bended easier and formed better this way. I know when you sheet the opposite side it is hard to access the sheeting/ribs to CA but I purchased some extra long tips that are about 6” long that make it much easier. I find that the wood glue sets up to fast for me, I use it here and there but still prefer CA over it for this application.
Hi, ya I was looking at how long the wing is and figured I just needed more time to work with it. This kit has several issues so far that are giving me heartburn. Thankfully the wing is almost finished. I was going to wet the balsa, but it turned out that it made the curve ok, but it probably would have been helpful.
I understand this video is several months old but one thing that's really good for putting on the sheeting is using a steam iron. Put the tite bond on all surfaces to glue and let it tack up. Turn the iron on using the steam to stick the parts together. It works great. I do it on all my planes while scratch building. I enjoy watching your videos.
Thanks! I’ll have to look into that method. Its always a challenge to sheet curved surfaces.
A kit I'm about to build, the designer does that. Does it hold up? Might give it a try, not sure.
A razor plane makes short work of the spars. I've been building kits for 40 years and most of the spars stick up above the ribs to account for variances in wood size. It's better to have the spar stick above the ribs and shave them than have the spars sit below the top of the ribs. I'm enjoying your videos.
Thanks, I appreciate it.
Lesson learned. Always check rib to spar fitments before assembly.
Always good to check and recheck!
I use Windex to soften the wood and tape , and after it dries it will be formed. Then I glue it 😊
I have read about that method but have not tried it, something to consider in the future. Thanks for the tip.
That's the best way I've found to do it is with the masking tape!
In my opinion the kit should have fit a lot better . The rib should have been cut way more accurate , the spar didn't fit at all..
If you would have known the spar was to big you could have shave it before installing it.
But, you are doing a good job with it.
Thanks, ya the problem kinda snuck up on me as I was building so I went in that direction.
I use wood glue exclusively to build. I've found the FastCap Highbot glue bottle is very handy with Titebond II because it isn't dependent on gravity. Additionally silicone glue applicators make reaching under sheeting to apply glue to the ribs. Lot of companies sell them, but Sili brand has different types and sizes. Their glue pod is also nifty. Nothing too expensive, but handy tools.
Nice , Ill have check those items out. Thanks.
@@JamesRCPlaneTech Also, lots of Q-Tips to clean off glue before it sets up.
Nice tip.
Seems that in this case, it would have been better to check the rib slots before assembly and deepened them as needed. A little time spent before saves time later. Probably the same overall time.
Ya, thats a good idea. It would have saved time. Something to consider for sure.
Just out of curiosity on my part if the spar is proud why not add rib caps to the structure since the trailing edge is proud of the ribs as well?
Yes, thanks. There will be rib caps, they will be flush with the trailing edge sheet and the leading edge sheet. The spar was too high. If I left it that way the sheet would sit too far above the ribs and the rib caps would then sit too low. Next vid on this will be installing the rib caps. Thanks again.
@@JamesRCPlaneTech my line of thinking being that I don't know how far above the ribs the spar was sitting was if the spar was sitting above the thickness of the sheeting that you could have just butted it up against the spar. Doing this i know would have ment that the sheeting would be "floating" between the ribs which isn't a good thing but if this was the case creating shelves between the ribs would have cured that issue. I just found it interesting that the manufacturer didn't either cut the slots in the ribs deeper or just cut the spars the correct thickness. Good video though I've watched many of your builds and techniques and learned stuff along the way.
Thanks I appreciate your comments and insight. And yes, would have been better if Balsa USA spent a little more QA/QC on this kit. There have been a few challenging issues. And I always appreciate comments that offer good ideas and insights, so thanks again.
The Smoothie wing build was so much smoother compared to this wing, I feel your pain watching you deal with the ribs and spars out of tolerance.
I found it interesting that you changed your method of sheeting on this wing vs the Smoothie.
If I recall correctly, you used CA to bind the inner edge of the sheeting to the ribs, folded the sheeting down to the leading edge, then tacked it to each rib using CA, you then flipped the wing over and used CA to attach each rib to the sheeting.
That’s what I did on my Smoothie, the only difference is I moistened the sheeting as I found it bended easier and formed better this way.
I know when you sheet the opposite side it is hard to access the sheeting/ribs to CA but I purchased some extra long tips that are about 6” long that make it much easier.
I find that the wood glue sets up to fast for me, I use it here and there but still prefer CA over it for this application.
Hi, ya I was looking at how long the wing is and figured I just needed more time to work with it. This kit has several issues so far that are giving me heartburn. Thankfully the wing is almost finished. I was going to wet the balsa, but it turned out that it made the curve ok, but it probably would have been helpful.
Les erreurs du fabricant du kit vous oblige a travailler beaucoup plus 😄
Yes, that is true.