H in t s F or H o m e b uil d e r s
Build a Better Workbench
To build a better plane
By Cy Galley
With whatever you build, you need to check your work
often. You need to check before you start chopping up
expensive materials. Finding good procedures and information is much easier with great Internet access.
But there are other time-tested ways to get good information. One is the EAA Technical Counselor program. Our
chapter supplements our technical counselors by letting
everyone look at a project. It's rather simple; we pick a project and a date and invite all the chapter members to go to a
member's home for a look-see, plus donuts and coffee.
even plated so they don't rust. You need a single onepiece table as a foundation if you are building a Lancair IV,
Falco, or a Monocoupe with its one-piece wing. This can
be easily accommodated by using steel studding, which
is available in 24-foot lengths in the 2 by 6 inch size. They
are easily spliced for even longer lengths. Steel studs are
commonly used to frame fireproof partitions. They are easily cut with aviation shears or a hacksaw and are fastened
with drywall screws with no knots, lumps, or twists. Screw
on a plywood top, and one has a lightweight workbench
that is straight, rigid, and flat.
We call it, what else, a "project review." The owner generally cleans his shop with everything put away and dusted.
He also gets several prying eyes to check over his work
and several suggestions to make it better, and perhaps
someone will catch items that have been overlooked. Plus
his shop is clean.
So what do those who come for the review get besides
coffee, donuts, or maybe homemade cookies? The accompanying photo illustrates what I found at a recent project
review—a good way to make a flat, straight, warp-proof
workbench. A good workbench is an important foundation
for building a straight wing, fuselage, aileron, or flap.
One could use wood, but it might change and warp with
the weather. On the other hand, steel studs won't and are
Hints for Homebuilders Videos
Installing Circuit Breakers
Dick and Bob Koehler show how to install circuit breakers for your panel. Dick and Bob are both
Technical Counselors, A&P; aircraft mechanics with Inspection Authorization (IA), and SportAir
Workshop instructors.
Low Budget Hydroforming
Brian Carpenter of Rainbow Aviation shows us an alternate method for forming small sheet metal
pieces that will be repeated numerous times, such as nose ribs for your metal wing.
View more of the 300-plus Hints for Homebuilders videos at www.EAA.org/hints.
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Vol.2 N o.5 / M ay 2013