Prepping the Shop!

Shop Prep Begins!

13 March 2011 — Once I finished my fuselage mockup, and had checked & ensured that whatever specialized parts there were that I wouldn’t be able build or make would be available to buy, I started prepping the shop for the build.  The first order of business was a decent work bench along the wall.  I made this one collapsible just in case I needed more space.

Sidewall Work Bench

Sidewall (collapsible) workbench

Once I got the workbench in place, I started in on the flip-down glass cutting table.  The glass cutting table also serves as the glass roll storage cabinet.  I think it was the Cozy Girrrls who showed this on their site, along with the thermostat used to turn a light bulb on at a certain temp to keep moisture out of the glass cabinet.  I put the flip down portion of the glass table so that it would come down right next to and be even with the sidewall workbench I had just built.

Glass cutting table/Glass storage

Glass Cutting Table

Glass cutting table (fold up)

 

 

 

 

 

Next, I needed a hotbox to store the epoxy and hardener in when not in use.  The warmer the epoxy and hardener is, just about like every other liquid, the runnier it gets and the easier & faster it wets out the fiberglass strands in a layup.  BTW, most of the components that I made on this page were made out of scrap lumber I had laying around.

Epoxy & Hardener Hotbox

Epoxy & Hardener Hotbox

Besides the wall-mounted workbench, I wanted one that was portable and could roll around.  So I made this guy below.  It had a large enough table top to be used extensively for glassing small to medium sized pieces, and it had storage underneath.  Also, I made the top flip up and it was the perfect size for storing the plan’s A-pages (the big drawings) inside the compartment just below the flip up top.

Roll-around work bench

Roll-around - Plans storage

Besides the main 13′ long work bench (spelled out in Chapter 3), this was all there was for building the shop’s major working surfaces.

Recent Posts

Project Update

Hi Guys,

I’m back from my long weekend in Charleston, SC visiting Nick Ugolini to pick up my backup Silver Bullet prop and prop balancer.  Unfortunately Nick’s plane was down for engine maintenance prior to him selling it so I wasn’t able to do any transition training in his Cozy. 

This coming week my major goal is to glass up (CF) the interfacing left & right sides between top & bottom cowlings.  Once these tasks are completed then the optimized install of the exhaust pipes will begin.  In addition and concurrent to working the exhaust pipes: since the weather is getting noticeably cooler and the days shorter, I have decided that I will start micro finishing the remainder of the plane and get this sucker painted. 

As I’ve stated before, I currently have a plan with my local race car exhaust-making dude, James, to finalize the exhaust pipes’ install configuration.  And I very much intend to optimize the exhaust pipe runs as they should be, in line with Mike Melvill’s exhaust pipe mods that brought the pipes inboard a bit closer to the spinner and focused on the very inboard section of the prop.  He notes all this in CP 83 and the operational improvements of these mods are impressive.  Since I have no choice but to rewicker the exhaust pipes anyway, I might as well make them as near-perfect as possible.

I’m still intent to focus solely on the plane for the next however long it takes to finish this bird… ASAP!  

  1. Chapter 23 – Armpit intake ramps Leave a reply
  2. Chapter 23 – Top cowl reinforcement Leave a reply
  3. Chapter 23 – Bottom Cowl TDC Leave a reply
  4. Chapter 23 – Top cowl aft corner Leave a reply
  5. Chapter 23 – Oil check door “latch” Leave a reply
  6. Chapter 23 – Oil cooler lines in! Leave a reply
  7. Chapter 18 – Cowl Phase II complete Leave a reply
  8. Chapter 23 – Bottom cowl baffles Leave a reply
  9. Chapter 23 – Bottom cowl phase II Leave a reply