Beg,Borrow or Steal or even purchase a good Rib Jig?

[JesterGrin]

I thought I would give it a shot into looking for a good Rib Jig for a Pietenpol if there is one collecting dust?

Thank You so much from a Noob.

[Pat Weeden]

The Brodhead Pietenpol Association has two rib jigs available to borrow. Just pay shipping from Brodhead.

[JesterGrin]

Thank You Pat Weeden but how do I go about doing such a thing?

[Pat Weeden]

Sorry! Contact me at bpa@pietenpols.org

[JesterGrin]

Thank You Pat e mail on the way I hope.

[Terry Hand]

It is very nice of BPA to have a jig to loan, but I would encourage you to build your own. You may need it again, and they really are not hard to make. I made three (yes, it took three to get to one I liked, but I learned in the process). The last one was made from MDF and small nails for aligning the capstrips the verticals and the diagonals. It was not pretty, but it worked like a champ.

Besides, shipping to and from will negate any cost savings, especially if you need it again for some reason. Just a thought.

[E.Woodson]

Happy to say that as of Yesterday I have one available!!!!! Just finished my last rib (plus a few spares). I enjoyed taking the time to build it and make it to my specs. I find it more civil to curse at myself for any frustrations with the jig than cursing another guy who built it. But borrowing one would save a few hours. I'm in SE Louisiana if that's convenient for pick up.

[E.Woodson]

It is very nice of BPA to have a jig to loan, but I would encourage you to build your own. You may need it again, and they really are not hard to make. I made three (yes, it took three to get to one I liked, but I learned in the process). The last one was made from MDF and small nails for aligning the capstrips the verticals and the diagonals. It was not pretty, but it worked like a champ.

Besides, shipping to and from will negate any cost savings, especially if you need it again for some reason. Just a thought.

WOW Terry, K.I.S.S.!!! Mine was a behemoth compared to yours.

[Terry Hand]

Like I said, it took me three times to simplify it down to these criteria -
- cheap
- simple and easy to build
- solid enough to consistently build ribs
- cheap
It fulfilled all 3 (or was it 4) criteria, and was extremely simple. With cheap Harbor Freight clamps, I was able to build my ribs with no staples, or nails, about as light as I could possibly make them.

[taildrags]

Terry, that one is worth sending in to the Newsletter to share with other builders. Your jig has all the elements of good builder practice, with a heavy sprinkling of cleverness and simplicity thrown in as well! The blocks for the spars are a nifty touch, so are the rib tails and other things about it. Covering the table with plastic is a step that is easy to miss but which results in dried squeeze-out glue lumps on your workbench. You've got all the essentials covered and other than your jig being for a flat-bottomed airfoil rather than for the undercambered Pietenpol foil, everything you've done transfers to pretty much any other stick-rib design. All you'd have to do is add a brief narrative about how you handled the gussets on Side B once you had Side A all gusseted and clamped. I'm assuming you just flipped the jig over and then worked your way around the jig removing or loosening one gusset clamp at a time to insert the gussets on Side B...

[Terry Hand]

Oscar,

I will write it up and send it in to Pat. And yes, after the T88 had dried overnight, I would take my spatula from the dollar store (the kind you would use for flipping pancakes), slowly go around the edges til the rib "popped off" the jig. I would then flip the half-finished rib over, clean up the joint areas where T88 had dripped through, then go through the whole process again on that opposite side. Same gussets, same T88, same clamps. Lather, rinse, repeat.

It worked really well, and that is why I encourage people to build their own jig. When researching a way to build my jig, I saw some jigs that would make an engineer jealous - the quality of the design was outstanding, the workmanship awesome. And then there was my MDF and nail jig. Not pretty, but it worked.

Thanks for the analysis and complements.

[JesterGrin]

WoW Thank You all for the great information.

I was also thinking it would be cheaper and easier for all involved if someone came up with a blue print of a good jig to either mail and or download from the net and even a good set of plans with pictures to help along the way?
But as usual I could be wrong.

[EAB4]

I think I spent maybe $10 on my jig, probably the cheapest part of the whole project!
There is already a blueprint available, The full size rib print. You build the jig right over the print

[Brian Amato]

A lot of guys worry about the weight of the staples....fret over pulling them out later or not using them at all.
I computed the weight of staples one time and came up with: if you're worried about the weight of all those staples going along for the ride, leave your wallet in the car when you go flying. It's about the same weight !!

[Puckettr]

I am also intrested in purchasing a wing rib jig for pietenpol. If someone has one laying around, or could build for me, this would be greatly appreciated.!!!

Email or text me at:
Ryanlpuckett@yahoo.com
707 205-7751

[Clay Hammond]

If you safely save weight everywhere like you save weight by losing the staples, then you will have an overall lighter weight airframe. Its a culture more than a single point result... and it leads to the lightest, best performing plane possible. Leo Loudenslager would measure how much screw was poking out past his nuts in his Laser and then clip the screw/bolt so that it was dialed back to minimum threads, over the entire airplane. He was the greatest in the world because of his commitment to excellence and max performance at even the most granular level. The overall effect of maintaining the culture is a net positive.