WWA Info Exchange

The Wright Brothers 1902 glider wing ribs are complete, laminated, glued, pressed and rough sanded.
I made 55 of the wing ribs; only need 50 for the 2 wings. You might notice some of the ribs are shorter than others; this is for the round wing tips. The other will be trimmed to the proper length at time of wing assembly. Next step is to make the wing tips 4 are needed and the skids then I can start to assemble the wings. Also in the photo are the rib press jig and the glue up station.


See "completed ribs"

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I said to Orv and Wil many times this sucker will fly
Tom Taylor

Lookin' great Tom !!!! Gosh, I wish I was closer to you cause I'd love to be able to help out on this project !!!

Skyrider (aka Doug)

Doug, That would a long commute, FYI I already have a museum interested in the glider.

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I said to Orv and Wil many times this sucker will fly
Tom Taylor

how does that screw press work? I can't tell from the photos where the bolts are going. They obviously can't go through the part to the other side, so what are they pulling against?

On the screw press the bolts do go through the whole press . The holes drilled for the bolts are placed with crearance for the ribs to rest on top of the bolts, the ribs are 3/8X 3/8 and I have just the right amount clearence. It worked perfectly. More clamping power then wood clamps.

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I said to Orv and Wil many times this sucker will fly
Tom Taylor

Here's a close-up of the rib press

See "rib press"

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I said to Orv and Wil many times this sucker will fly
Tom Taylor

awesome pics, thanks for sharing them.

Are you steam bending the pieces before pressing them?

Lawrence

Lawrence, steam bending has too much spring back, I cut 1/8 strips from ash board and glue up 3 strips to form a rib blank. I then place the glued up strips in the press and tighten it down. I dont know how much pressure the press makes but I bet its several hundreds of lbs. I believe thats the reason I get about 1% spring back. My next press will to form 4 wing tips.
Extra Note: this morning I got 2 local air museums interested in the glider.

_________________
I said to Orv and Wil many times this sucker will fly
Tom Taylor