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Old 6 February 2008, 10:59 PM   #104 (permalink)
Nick
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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As a result of that, I am not quite yet decided, (open to suggestion), on how to go about cutting these. Very...very....very tempted to "cheat" and hand over CAD generated cutting files to a laser cutter for several reasons.....
Hi Joe,
Nice drawing.
Just thinking out loud but wouldn't laser cutting ply damage the edges
and weaken it for gluing. Have never laser cut wood so don't know. Maybe it's a matter of sanding it back a bit.
Also don't forget to make the webs 1/8" wider to allow for the 1/16" slots in the capstrip (assuming it's done that way like most Sopwiths)
I think making the ribs first is a great idea. They're relatively inexpensive to make and will give you a good idea whether you really like building. There are hundred of bits to make in a project like this and most of them take lots of time.
If you make templates you can use a whole sheet of ply very efficiently much the same way as setting it up with CAD for the laser cutter.
I found the whole process very enjoyable, although the family wouldn't agree as they found their cars under a sea of sawdust every morning!
You soon get a production line going, then you can glue up another rib each day.
Good to hear that start date is approaching

Cheers, Nick
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