Having a Rib Party

[Chris In Milwaukee]

BBQ ribs are great, but wing ribs are pretty cool, too.



Getting the aft ribs rough cut.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Stack of noses, stack of afters (flap, aileron)



Too bad these things are lethal! It'd make a nice necklace.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chris In Milwaukee]

More and more ribs. While I applaud the inventors of the electric shear, I pray I don't have tendinitis when I'm finished! About 2/3 done, methinks, with rough cuts.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chewie]

Very nice! Where do you get your stock? I've never seen it with white film, just blue or clear.

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Mine came from TW Metals. May have originated in Chicago, but it's been a while, so not sure.

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Done! All rough cut plus two extra of everything. You just never know...




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Routed my first collection of nose ribs. I have a really tall laminate bit, so can do a lot at once. This round I did 12. No problems at all.

Bolted them all together:



Drill the pilot holes for the lighteners:



Cut off the excess on the bandsaw:





Put up a tent to contain the flak (learned my lesson before):



Got myself sealed up, lest I find metal in unfriendly places:





Then got busy with the router. Make sure you've got a climbing cut going, else it's going to chatter all over the place:



Success!:



Clean as a whistle, no deburring really needed:



Round one complete. Two more to go on nose ribs:



And, as bonus, you come out of it all sparkly for Christmas spirit. Or I'm a vampire. Not sure which.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[N3UW]

Chris....you might want to reconsider the use of those loose gloves. In wood working loose clothing that can get caught in the blades is a safety no-no. The problem is those gloves could get caught in the router bit and pull your hand into the bit / blade. You should consider some double thick latex gloves. They will tear and not pull your hand I to the bit. They will also protect you from hot chips. Also watch those sleeves. tight fitting is better. I used the Venom steel latex gloves from Lowes.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_622083-68591-VEN6025_1z0vjjnZ1z0vsgi__?productId=50370848&pl=1&Ntt=gloves

happy routing but stay safe!!!!

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Thanks for the tip! The photo is misleading, actually. The gloves are quite tight. I have a few different sets of gloves that I use while working metal, all from Ansell. The ones in this photo:

http://www.ansell.com/en-US/Products/All/ActivArmr-97-010.aspx

And the other set I'm typically wearing:

http://www.ansell.com/en-US/Products/All/ActivArmr-97-002.aspx

But I definitely understand your point. Fingers and other body parts are very important! In the photo, you'll see my gloves are over my sleeves to keep them out of the way. And the cuffs are buttoned to keep them from flopping around. Also, when routing, my hands are NEVER on the same side of the form that the spinning bit is.

Also, I've switched from safety glasses to full goggles. Definitely a safer option. On a warm day, though, they fog up, so I have to figure out how to deal with that.

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Well, shoot. Suffered a setback at the airplane factory tonight. My trusty router of 15 years gave up the ghost while cutting a batch of aluminum. Looks like I'll be asking Santa for a new router. :-(




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Sad moments don't last long (with the best of luck), and my sad moment is over with the arrival of my new router! And, of course, the whatever-you-do-to-kill-it-we'll-replace-it plan! :-)

Back to the adventure (and with fewer sheets of metal stacked up this time).




Old Freud will be sadly missed.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Zzz]

I love my Bosch router. It's a little guy compared to this one though.

[Chris In Milwaukee]

It's been a good one! Metal shavings have gotten into the contact slots and temporarily stopped progress. But just blow them out and I'm back in business.

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Replaced my old dead Freud router with a new Bosch, and of course the old router plate didn't fit. So needed a new one of those, too! Figures. Now the rig is back in place and ready to work.



Finished the false ribs (the ones that took the life of my beloved Freud), and decided to take it easy on this one. I only cut half as many blanks this time around. Also finished the blanks for the aileron and flap noses as well. Not a bad night, all around.



Next round, aileron pocket ribs, and then centers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Short night, but got some more ribs cut out tonight. Pocket ribs and half of the aileron ribs as well. Onward!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[patrickh99]

Usually router life is dramatically shortened due to aluminum shavings getting into parts of the router where they should not be, and they diligently work to release the 'magic smoke'.

Some suggestions to improve your router's life:
- put a small metal disk between the cutter and collet to help keep the shavings from going through the router.
- use a close-fitting insert on your router plate
- mount a vacuum hose near the router bit to collect as many shavings as possible.

Looks like you are making good progress. Keep it up!

Patrick

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Thanks for the tips! I may have a guide insert in my bag o' tricks. Reverse it so it faces down, and I'm good to go!

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Quiet time in the airplane factory tonight. Lots of parts to deburr!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Cut out the flap ribs last night. Things are starting to move along again after traveling for work last week.



Had some friends over helping last night. One wanted to give the router a go, and he did a good job. But, he got in a hurry on the last batch of ribs (six or so), and the router got away from him and started to chatter. Another reason to make sure you're using a climbing cut, moving slowly, and keeping a firm hand on the routing jig!



I was able to clean it up with a sanding drum in my drill press, but with it being only six ribs, it's easy enough to make new ones. So I think I'll do that and keep these for backups, just in case.

Also added a new friend to the building team, and he's very excited to learn about the process. He recently finished university, earned his commercial ticket this past fall, and is working in the flight department of a local business. He's never seen this end of aircraft, so I'm happy to help build his experience on this side of the community!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Rebuilt the few damaged flap ribs, and they turned out great.



As was suggested earlier, I did have a problem with metal shavings getting into the router. This particular router has a contact strip that runs up and down the motor body that connects to the handle switch when the motor slides up and own the base. Well, they got in there and shorted out the switch and it wouldn't turn on.

I removed the motor from the base, blew it out, and life was good again. Now I'm definitely inspired to get that filler plate in there as previously suggested.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk