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The ribs were the first parts I began to work on. I purchased the form block kit from Sonex and it was well worth the money |
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Here is my workbench setup. I have a two car garage and can still get on car in. All my big tools are on wheels so I can move them around as needed. 3/9/99 |
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This is how I cut the lightening holes in the rib blanks. 3/9/99 |
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This is what my bench looked like as I trimmed the rib blanks to size. 3/9/99 |
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Here is the rib form block with the crush plate and the rib blank ready to be hammered. 3/9/99 |
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Here are the ribs after the flanges were hammered over and the flutes were tapped in. The fluting pliers to the right were too big to be of any use. I found that at screw driver blade tapped into the slot in the form block worked perfectly. I also found it was best to tilt the screw driver blade so that the flute was deepest toward the outside of the flange. If you hold the blade level and tap the flute the same depth all the way across you will end up distorting the main part of the rib. 3/9/99 |
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Here are a couple of the front ribs with the reinforcements added. Later I found that the way I riveted the reinforcements interfered with drilling and riveting the ribs to the spar. I should have riveted the reinforcements so that the factory head of the rivet was on the same side as the flange. 5/20/99 |
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Here are some of the rear ribs with the reinforcements added. Again, the rivets were installed from the wrong side. 5/20/99 |
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Before I attached the ribs to the spar I put a line down the center of the rib flange. This made it easy to line up the center of the ribs with the holes in the spar. BTW it is best not to predrill the holes in the ribs as called for in the plans. You will never be able to match up the holes in the ribs with the holes in the spar. 5/20/99 |
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Here are all the ribs laid out where they will go on the spar. I then numbered them so they would not get out of order. 5/20/99 |
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I found the easiest way to attach the ribs to the spar was to grow a third hand. But if you can't grow a third hand then use clamps to hang the rib from the spar. You can then line up the holes on the spar with the center mark on your rib. You also need to align the top and bottom of the rib with the top and bottom of the spar caps. Once you have it aligned you can drill and cleco 5/20/99 |
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Here is the rib drilled and clecoed. Make sure there is a smooth transition between the ribs and the spar caps. 5/20/99 |
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I drilled all the forward ribs first and then drilled the rear ribs. I could then attach them both. 5/20/99 |
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Here is a close-up of the ribs drilled and clecoed. 5/20/99 |
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Here are all the ribs installed. It did not take me as long as I thought it would. I attached all the ribs on one wing in two evenings 5/20/99 |
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This is what happens when you get careless and knock over your wing. Fortunately, a bent rib was the only damage and I have had plenty of experience making ribs. 1/14/00 |
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Here is a trick John showed me at the Workshop. After you drill the alignment holes and insert bolts, use a washer with a 1/2" flange to trace around the form block. Now, just cut along the line and you have a perfect rib blank. BTW, notice that I marked the top of the form block. All the rib flanges on the Sonex (left wing and right wing) go to the left so make sure you are using the correct side of the form blocks. 1/14/00 |
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Here I am cutting the lightening holes. When ever I try to explain this to someone the conversation goes something like this: Courious Onlooker:
Hey, whatcha doen?
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Here are the flange dies that came with the Form Block Kit. They work great but don't tighten down on them to hard. I cracked mine and had to put on a couple hose clamps. They are also easier to work with if you screw the male die onto the bench. 1/14/00 |
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