Czmelak building

[kjkavaney]

Update on Speed Bond...while this is great for wood pieces going together immediately, it fails when trying to do say balsa sheeting over ribs were it takes a bit of time to spread the glue..i have found it kicks too quickly and when you put those pieces together, the bond is brittle, a bit like CA. today I bumped a sheeting piece gently after assembly and had it tear open like medium CA.
I have tried to re glue areas before assembly as well...just gets gone too quickly for less than immediate assembly.
So, again, it works fantastic with say ribs onto spars or shear webs, but I would avoid using this on balsa sheeting over a built up ribs etc...
Had to re glue after sanding and using Tite Bond and water...best sheeting glue in my experience...just be patient as it will take over nite to dry..
kevin

[Tango Juliet]

Try Super'Phatic (also made by Deluxe) for doing your wing skins. It gives you a little longer working time.

[lenb]

You can also use a house iron over the sheeting to reactivate the glue. Jim just did a post on that in his Swallow build thread a week or so back.

[kjkavaney]

Saw that and in fact I did that on the horizontal stab build using Tite Bond and hot iron as suggested by jim Frickie...worked well...
Yesterday it was clear that I had too much time from slapping the glue on to when I got the balsa sheeting in place...no one glue works for all situations which is cool...
now onto the main wing build...hopefully doing this right...will know shortly !!!! Ha..
Kevin

[kjkavaney]

Santa and his elves came over today and helped me get a good amount done on the right wing...so onward we go !!!
getting more pumped on getting this beast done before too long...

[kjkavaney]

I seem to have the worst luck. Although everything should key together with the laser cutting...that slight bit of gap can lead to one rib ending up tilted just a tad up or down...I really tried to be careful and only doing a few ribs at a time but managed to get things kitty wampus.
Decided to make up a partial replacement rib so I could scarf it onto the side of the rib to match the other ribs contour...will do the same on the back side...more weight but hopefully I can get the sheeting accurate.
these pictures are before which I only discovered when the glue was all dry and
all the ribs were in place all the way to the tip of the wing..

these second two photos are after i scarfed on the shim rib on the front of the rib.....so lame compared to the wonderful build Len has been showing....if I repair things right though...it still might be accurate enough to be okay. tomorrow will shim the back side of the rib to level that side as well so sheeting can be level...this build is starting to feel like scratch building for me...I am disgracing this thread !!! Len and Pete will probably not sell me any more kits since I am doing such a crappy job !!!

[Swiss1]

Chin up Kevin, it will be just fine! Remember, when the covering is applied it will look great! I'm following along.

[ARUP]

Shoot... I'm a 'Scarfmeister"! FWIW, my method of wing building is to put TE on packing, set a straight edge for the nose of ribs to 'bump' into then glue TE. Next is to glue LE (or false LE) then drop the spars in place. I cut the spar slots AFTER the fact. Then you re-sand things level before putting on any sheeting, etc. Of course that isn't doable on this kit but the spar slots can still be adjusted to suit. Just because the kit is laser cut or some goof like me makes the parts doesn't always mean they are gonna fit! Another tip... don't eat glue or wood chips!

[lenb]

Hi Kevin.
Remember, its a model airplane. You can fix, adjust, tweak, shim, move and replace any component if you're not happy with it.
You don't think I was going to show all the bad photos did you??? lol
You're doing great, just keep working on it and deal with whatever situations arise. You should be commended for sharing this build, even the things that don't go 100% perfect for you. Its a great way for others to possibly avoid the same pitfall
When setting the ribs, I'll often set the first one, then if possible set one at the tip ( making sure its perfectly set ) then run a straight edge across the tops as I fill in between. This will ensure all the ribs are aligned in height to each other.
Regardless, always check and double check before committing to glue. It's crazy how when you think its perfect, then walk away for a minute, come back and check it again its totally off? That still makes me shake my head.

Onward.... and GOOD JOB BUDDY!!!!!

[Tango Juliet]

Sage advice from a seasoned builder!

[JimD]

Been building models since I was five years old...have yet to finish one that was perfect! There are always things you see that you wish could be done over (and/or better)...but then again, that is all the more reason to build the next one, to get it closer to perfect!

[ljsoarinson]

Looking good Kevin! I used a lot of pins and masking tape to keep things aligned on the Super Cub while glue dried.

Enjoy the journey...

[kjkavaney]

Due to a major hick up on my wing build that has me stumped, so far have not figured out a way to move on with it and hesitate to do the other wing for fear of the same outcomes...hard to explain in words...Len has been helping me try to figure it out. Will seek some local builders to eye it as well for ideas.

I have in the meantime shifted to building the Fuse...at least the front half...apparently the back half is a real Rubic's cube to figure out...
a real heat way here in Minneapolis.....16 below zero, windshield of 30 below...

[lenb]

Heat way and windshield?
I think we figured out the problem with the wing......

You're using the wrong "Alcohol" to clean the epoxy.

Happy New Year Kevin!

[kjkavaney]

One can never have enough clamps...Got the wife to help today as we lathered on the Tite Bond to put the two halves of the fuse together...
questionable wing is in the background...have ideas on how to get the 6 degrees of "twist" out of it...hoping I can get it straight...
I think about the third one of these I could probably build it correctly...one mistake just carries on and on and on since everything is linked...put wrong part somewhere that looks almost identical to another...well...making parts is what one has to do !!!

[kjkavaney]

Friends over yesterday to give another set of eyes and hands and we cut three ribs and removed about 3/32 of wood from the top to help with rotation...the first picture before looked like a corsair wing...now pretty straight...
used some additional sheer webs on the three inner ribs and blocked everything up till got rid of the negative 6 degrees of twist... I know the the rear sheeting should have gone on first but I needed the stabilizing effect of the big chunk of balsa TE piece with the laser holes for the hinges to hold this floppy wing straight...reverse engineering...
Pete would probably faint if he were to see this but I don't think he visits my build thread !!!
getting there slowly but poorly but I think in the end it will be fine..
BTW...I placed an order for H9 Pawnee landing gear for extras way back in June of 2017. Eventually HH said discontinued. Recently the web site said back ordered but available late December so I ordered a couple more sets since the Pawnee is discontinued, I wanted spare parts....today I received BOTH orders, so now I have 4 extra Pawnee landing gear sets...
If anyone wants to go functional landing gears let me know, or else I will send a couple of these back. The last batch of Czmelaks will be delivered with a solid Aluminum TNT landing gear...probably more robust but in my opinion not as scale as functional gear...The H9 gear is 1/3rd the price of the TNT gear.

[kjkavaney]

another day at it...got the trailing edge sheeting done to try to hold the wing stable...next up was the D box top sheeting...velcroed the level to the side of the rib so I could sheet over it....hopefully the Velcro stayed true !!! bummer if Ii didn't....
Looks like a porcupine with all the pins in the wing sheeting....very thin needles from Midwest Products...thanks to Larry SOrenson for letting me know of their existence...they pushed into the plywood ribs better than the thicker T pins at the hobby stores.....by hook or crooke will get this beast done one way or another...

[ARUP]

Looks like y'all are getting it done! What else is there to do when it's so cold out... right?

[Asher Carmichael]

Looking good Kevin. You are to be commended for your persistence. I’m reminded of an old saying,”a craftsmen isn’t measured by how few mistakes he makes but rather by how he deals with the ones he does make.” Onward and upward.

[kjkavaney]

thanks for all the positive support from my friends all over this country...amazing community amongst us...Thankful of knowing so many fine people... Thanks...kjk

[kjkavaney]

tite Bond and 100 Grip Pins later...
Pete says to build the wing flat..no wash out...the top is done and appears to be "flat" so now onto the bottom sheeting....no weights to cause any twisting, so tape and pins...
hopefully things will remain flat when all done...then onto the other wing and continuing construction on the fuse....lots of little pieces to glue to it before starting the complicated rear part of the fuse that apparently is difficult to do correctly...dang...I've had enough problems already...wish me luck on the rear fuse then !!!!

[ARUP]

Yeah... it's a balancing act to not put too much weight on these structures. It has to be just right... like the Three Bears nursery rhyme!