Sopwith Baby Project

John McKenzie · 7 November 2009, 02:25 PM

Joe ..Will your computer still work when it's full of sawdust ! ?

Joe Perkel · 7 November 2009, 04:44 PM

Thanks guys! Immediately after that photo, I had to stuff a bunch of crap in there, so that's the next struggle, getting rid of too much accumulation.

Quote:

Joe ..Will your computer still work when it's full of sawdust ! ?

John, A very astute observation.

It's a worry that I have had in mind for some time. I purchased the smallest dust collection unit and attachments kit I could find, but I have never used one before, so I don't know what it will or wont do. I've always just made a mess, then clean up. Here, I have to try to collect the flying debris as much as possible. Disassembling the CAD station is not a practical option, but a quick covering, and active dust collection is what's on my mind.

What about the properties of sawdust? Any idea if the smallest of sawdust particles can "suspend" in air awhile, or does everything make a ballistic trajectory to the floor within a few feet? How about adherence to walls, tools and other furnishings?

Any practical tips and ideas regarding dust control, would be sincerely appreciated.

tengew · 8 November 2009, 01:20 AM

joe just print the part plans before and shut down and cover with plastic bags
when the dust settles and you have swept up you might want to vac the bags free of dust and then remove them and fire up........ you might was to crack the sides of the CPU and vac a lil more frequint.

brinesharks · 8 November 2009, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Perkel

Thanks guys! Immediately after that photo, I had to stuff a bunch of crap in there, so that's the next struggle, getting rid of too much accumulation.

John, A very astute observation.

It's a worry that I have had in mind for some time. I purchased the smallest dust collection unit and attachments kit I could find, but I have never used one before, so I don't know what it will or wont do. I've always just made a mess, then clean up. Here, I have to try to collect the flying debris as much as possible. Disassembling the CAD station is not a practical option, but a quick covering, and active dust collection is what's on my mind.

What about the properties of sawdust? Any idea if the smallest of sawdust particles can "suspend" in air awhile, or does everything make a ballistic trajectory to the floor within a few feet? How about adherence to walls, tools and other furnishings?

Any practical tips and ideas regarding dust control, would be sincerely appreciated.

Depends on the timber and what you are doing. My table saw can send up a cloud of dust so it's hard to see across the garage. I now know why people pay lots of money for a fully enclosed positive pressure face mask.

tengew's advice is very sage. I would suggest regular vacuuming out of your PC - last thing you need in the shop is a fire. The dust cover is an absolute must (don't forget to cover the monitor either). Could you hang a drop sheet around your workspace that you could pull aside when you are 'CAD-ing'?

BTW - you might understand having lived in Florida. I had a gecko fry itself across my mother-board when I was living in Townsville. They get in everywhere! The smell was a little nasty...

Nick · 8 November 2009, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Perkel

Thanks guys!
What about the properties of sawdust? Any idea if the smallest of sawdust particles can "suspend" in air awhile, or does everything make a ballistic trajectory to the floor within a few feet? How about adherence to walls, tools and other furnishings?

.

Hi Joe,
Covers for your computer and screens are a must. You will generate copious quantities of sawdust and metal dust on a daily basis. The walls in my workshop are brick but have been cement “bagged” and painted . The result is half of all that dust gets stuck on the walls amongst everything else in the area. Vacuuming and sweeping is a constant task.

Cheers, Nick

Joe Perkel · 10 November 2009, 08:28 AM

Am now becoming familiar with standard manufacturing industry practices for these issues. Bryan's mentioning of the particulate respirator is particulary helpful, and a prudent step above my original intention of just a simple dust mask. Considering the space, it's quite frankly of more importance than protecting the PC. Still, I will implement all of these suggestions.

To my wife's endless chagrin, I have Salamanders to contend with, the little ones could in fact pose a problem, and as a result of that comment Bryan, I took a little time to seal the room a bit better.

Thanks to all!

John McKenzie · 10 November 2009, 09:36 AM

Hi Joe ..Can we just get this strait ! ... You're doing a Sopwith Baby and now " She who must be obeyed " has caught the building bug , and has started a Sopwith Salamander , ! right ?.....Space might be a bit tight !

Seriously Joe , If you only have limited space at the moment in the workshop , this space available WILL get less and less , as you aquire more equipement and hardware etc .
You dont want to spend more time clearing up than building parts , if you are to use your ( limited? and sometimes spasmodic ? ) free time effectively ....
Also , computer stuff is so easily knocked to the ground and smashed etc. by " The other end " of some length of timber or steel tube , when you have limited space to work in , that it becomes an accident waiting to happen .
If you could only move the computer stuff OUT of your workshop , you would probably also save YEARS in terms of total construction time .
Regards JM

Joe Perkel · 10 November 2009, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John McKenzie

You dont want to spend more time clearing up than building parts , if you are to use your ( limited? and sometimes spasmodic ? ) free time effectively ....
Also , computer stuff is so easily knocked to the ground and smashed etc. by " The other end " of some length of timber or steel tube , when you have limited space to work in , that it becomes an accident waiting to happen .
If you could only move the computer stuff OUT of your workshop , you would probably also save YEARS in terms of total construction time .
Regards JM

Hi John,

What's particularly frustrating, is that I have five acres (the assembly site) available in central Florida, the problem has been in getting there with any regularity. Then when there, I have to stop and fix everything that broke since my last visit. This puny space in the city had to be "sweet talked" away from becoming a storage closet.

I nearly decapitated one of the monitors with Ulpilot's tube of AP 121 tubing, which drove home your point. I must dedicate this space to the smallest components of the project, or wait until full retirement to even hope to begin, which my conscience is simply not allowing me to put off until then.

Like most others, this project will be a study in dogged determination against seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I can't begin to describe how helpful your own and others advice and support is proving to be.

brinesharks · 10 November 2009, 06:15 PM

Joe - I work in a small space (but not as small as Nick's!). A friend and I are making up some small dust separators that go inline before a shop vacuum. This should sort out the dust and make it easier to dispose of. I'll let you know how it goes - if it's efficient, I'll send you through the drawings (in CAD!). My friend is making them up in cheap fibreglass over a foam mold.

If you want to buy a commercial one, try this link:

Dust separator

Here's a wall mounted dust collector - if you have this type already you could use the same idea:

wall mounted dust collector

You should install a dust filter. You can get them from Rockler or Grizzly or any wood work machinery suppliers. They hang from the ceiling (saving space) and help keep the dust down.

Also - Shopnotes magazine has some good articles on controlling dust.

John McKenzie · 14 November 2009, 10:51 AM

Hi Joe ...You say that you are going to download you rib drawing onto paper in preparation for making a rib template .
...*.Assuming *(see later ) that you " Need " a rib template ; I have found ,in my experience , that a strong material , unlikely to either deflect under handling / usage , or to move under climatic conditions , is best ..For the type of thin aerofoil that you will be using , I have used both steel , but mostly aluminium alloy / dural (Something from ? T4 up should work well )..About 12 swg ( .104" ) thick and if possible Annodized dark colour , so that scribed lines show up well .
Mark out dead strait datum and offsets and join up and draw outline using splines , then cut and smooth down with sanding splines to give a " Fair " curve .
It is not a good idea to paste a paper print onto ply as first , the ply will have to be strong enough to resist flexing , even if it is considered to be stable . Secondly , when you print out the drawing fullsize , you are very likely to find that a 60 " dimention comes out at something over this on the actual paper copy , due to the printing machine and paper stretch . Additionaly , distortion is likely to occur during fixing of paper to ply .The only way here , might be to print onto .005" foil (Velum I believe in USA ), but I doubt this will stick easily to the ply , or print directly onto thickish metal (if you just happen to work at Boeing's plant ! )
From above *Note*....
Have you planned out the whole procedure as to how you are going to proceed ," Beginning to End ", with the rib component , jigging , and assembly ...and allowing for any differing types ? sizes of ribs etc....So that the " Master rib " is most suitably layed out to the best advantage .
As against using the original Sop rib drawing , directly ,to layout the master onto ally' plate , I'd have thought that the main reason for doing it in CAD in the first place , was in order to take advantage of being able to be able to Lazer/Waterjet cut out parts directly from CAD files ,... including jigs ( and templates if required ) ,and so obviating the need to lay it out the old fashioned way , by hand scribing , cutting and filing etc.,
This way , you can get accurate parts and assembly jigs ( and templates for cutting out ply rib webs by router etc if you go this method ), Without having to layout anythig at all by hand methods .
My own way did not include use of any sort of digital / computer guidance , ( I didn't have a computer 'till recently ) , and so I "Had " to make up a " Master" for each rib type ( 4 different types for my Be2b and FE2b ) , and from which I then derivesd all the various rib component templates and jigging fixtures ....But this was the " Old Way " of doing things .
Regards John