Wood Stringers....They look outstanding! What kind of wood did you use, and how did you finish the wood?

Bcone1381 wrote:Wood Stringers....They look outstanding! What kind of wood did you use, and how did you finish the wood?

Thanks Brooks. They are fir and finished with a wood varnish that maintains flexibility (I can't remember the brand). Polyfiber has a good wood finish but I found this stuff locally and it seems to work well.

It is nice to finally see some significant visual progress.









We tried to avoid a fabric joint in front of the vertical stabilizer by putting a seam along the top stringers but we couldn't keep the stringers straight. We ended up cutting off the top fabric and laying on a new piece with the seams along the top longerons. It looks so much better. Still have to lay the bottom fabric and finish applying the tapes. We'd probably have it in the paint booth by the weekend had I not forgotten to order the rib lacing cord

Looks really good! Is that Stewart adhesive I see?

Yes, we are using Stewart's.

Excellent. Looking forward to learning about your experience with the coatings.

That's exciting progress.

I know what you mean about ordering stuff. It's the bane of any project. I am delayed by that right now.

The weather turned and I'm not sure that it is going to warm back up enough to use our carport paint booth. Since the first cross coat of Ekofill goes on with a brush we decided to do that in my garage. I'm pretty happy with the results.

Ready for paint.




We are sealing the fabric the old way; dampen the fabric with water and brush on the Ekofill. Current instructions say to seal the fabric with thinned Ekobond. First coat of Ekofill...


Second coat (first cross coat done)





We are held up at this point until we come up with a new plan for a paint booth.

whee wrote: ...We are sealing the fabric the old way; dampen the fabric with water and brush on the Ekofill. Current instructions say to seal the fabric with thinned Ekobond. .....

Any particular reason you're doing it "the old way"?

Sealing the fabric with the glue leaves the inside of the fabric sticky indefinitely.

The end is in sight! Getting the fuselage covered is like getting a house dried in, pretty much a done deal after that.

I just caught myself up on this thread after being MIA for awhile, so awesome! Can't wait to see the end result!

This is awesome Whee!

AKT

Thanks guys! I can't quite see the end yet but I'm sure trying to keep the momentum going .

Looking good


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whee wrote:Sealing the fabric with the glue leaves the inside of the fabric sticky indefinitely.

Where did you hear that? Wherever, it's not true. You're actually sealing it the new way....previously, we sealed with diluted ecobond. Did that from the beginning and it doesn't remain sticky.
John

John, The current Stewart's manual (2017 revision) says to seal with ecobond but if desired it can be sealed using the 'previous' method of damp fabric and ekofill. A couple other builders told me the ekobond stays sticky on the inside of the fabric. The inside of the areas that were glued on my plane are still sticky but it's only been two weeks.

When we started that system, we sealed with the glue, diluted. Then Stewarts changed it to use the fill coat and no diluted glue when they bought the system...now it's back to the original. Either way works well. As far as the sticky, I've been using that system since about 96 and teaching it since 98 and it wont be sticky after a month or two. The only time I've seen it take a long time to set up is when they worked a bunch of glue through, then it takes a bit longer. It'll feel rubbery, for quite a while, but not really sticky.
Glad you're liking the system!!
Holler if you have questions.
John

Thanks John! I think the system is great but we haven't sprayed the top coat yet, that will happen tomorrow. The glue is great to use but I'm learning that it is very important to be clean. Any excess glue left on the fabric will show. It's not at all difficult to use but if your sloppy it will show. Their is no hiding it with paint. The Ekofill when on easy and any runs aren't difficult to sand. I hope the top coat goes on well.

Great progress!