Tips

Syringes are nice (see further pictures) but, they can be expensive. Also, they actually don't work as well as this method. Partly because you can cut the corner of the bag to any size you need, partly because they're easier to fill and refill.

Get a plastic bag of your favorite type. I like Ziplock® bags because they're a bit thicker and there's less chance of them stretching or ripping. Turn the bag inside out, halfway down, and fill it with material. Smush the material (or let it run, if it's thin enough) into one corner, then twist the bag around to isolate that section of the bag. Cut the corner off (of the section with the material in it) cutting as large or small of a hole as you'll need. A cut that makes a 1/8" to 3/16" hole works best. Squeeze the bag to pipe the material wherever you need it. If I need to do several "pipes" I set the bag, hole side down, into the cup I mixed the material in so I can reuse later. Refill the bag until you've completed the task, then, throw away.

This idea came from Dan Pettinger - thanks, Dan! I bought a couple of Wicks squeegees - those big rubber ones. Those work great for larger layups, but, for fiberglass tapes, small pieces, corners or whatever use a credit card. Collect a few that come in the mail, or, better yet - ask friends and family for any that come in the mail - and you'll have a big supply overnight! If they get messed up just throw them out. Depending on the size of the layup, you end up making a few more passes because they are smaller, but, the action is much nicer. They flex a bit easier than the rubber squeegee but it's a more consistent flex. I work them pretty hard when I micro foam since the micro is usually pretty thick but I still like them better than the other squeegees. Now, I only use the rubber ones on the largest layups. Try them for micro, too, especially for layups like the canard top where there's lot of intricate micro work, staying away from the edges and the spar cap.

I think this idea first came from Jerry Schneider in the Tampa, Florida area. Most stores like Jo-Ann Fabrics or similar sell these, they're used for quilting or clothes making. They are basically a set of electric scissors. They're great for cutting fiberglass, not so much in this manner, before the layup, but during it. You know - you're right in the middle of a bunch of layers and you need to trim about an inch of the end of your last layup. You can use the scissors/shears, but, they get all messy and they disturb the layup as you close them and advance them for the next cut, not to mention when you stick the tips of them into the foam or the glass. These babies work great - just press the trigger and they cut like crazy. Probably won't do many layers of glass, but, I usually only use them for a layer or two. There's a second foot, too, that makes cutting between layers pretty easy. They even cut wetted out glass nice, just wipe them off when you're done.

Mine work so good, and I use them so much, I dropped them one day and they broke in the middle. No worries - I just cut a small piece of BID, then, did a mini layup on it with some thick CA glue. I'm guessing these puppies are stronger now than when they were made. Doesn't look very nice, but, while they were out of commission I really missed them. Good as new!

For the record, I've officially retired my first set. I got a (cheaper, and, probably better) set of Black & Decker electric scissors. These puppies get pretty messy after a while, despite my best effort, so a throw away electric scissor gets my vote.

Check that. Apparently the blade edges on the B&Ds are not hardened. They got very dull very quickly. They've since been donated to science (grin) and I'm using my Dritz again. The rechargeable batteries won't hold a charge so I use the AC adapter and an extension cord hung from the ceiling.

This idea came from the mailing list that's part of cozy.canard.com A Fein Sander is basically a detail sander from Fein, a German company that happens to have made the first ever electric drill. The sander's action is patented, you'd think it was a vibrating action but it's actually mechanical. The head moves back and forth, about 1/16th of an inch, rapidly. When you put the high-speed steel cutter on the thing it cuts cured fiberglass briskly. It's not fast, but it moves along steady and doesn't go so fast as to melt the epoxy and gum itself up. I usually, when I can't knife trim, use the cutter head to get close to edge of whatever needs trimming, then put the sander head back on with some 60 or so grit and sand to the exact edge. It sands really nice, too, fast enough so you don't get bored waiting but, again, slow enough to not melt or soften the epoxy from the sanding heat and gum up the sandpaper.

Place the two pieces of foam to be glued on a flat surface, press them together snugly and put a piece of tape over the joint. I like box sealing tape the best, it sticks the least once the micro has cured. Turn the pieces over and lift at the joint until they open like a hinge. Put your 5-minute epoxy (or micro, depending on what's called for in the plans) into the joint then close the hinge. The excess epoxy or micro will squish out and you can scrape that off. I usually then tape the other side to make a smooth joint. Pull the tape off when the epoxy is cured and you'll have a smooth, well-filled joint. The picture shows tape on both sides while the epoxy cures.

My wife calls these PIA sticks, short for "pain in the ..." well, you get the idea. I read that another builder had made this sort of thing to make large layups easier. The builder in question, Oreste Mucilli, routed a slot in a piece of wood and inserted a mushroom-shaped piece of weather stripping. I had some vinyl weather stripping around so I made these out of some scrap wood. I wouldn't use staples if I did them over, but, they worked pretty well. We used them extensively for the large layups on the fuselage sides.

Here's another shot of the PIA sticks. You use them in pairs, one set for each person/each end of the piece of fiberglass you're laying out. Put the weather stripping side in, hold the two ends of the sticks (they're 48" long, thus, fit the full width of a piece of fiberglass), squeeze them together then pull against your partner. If you let them slip a little bit, they align the fibers straight, let you pull tight enough to span over an already wet layup and when you think you're in position you lower them down and apply the piece of fiberglass. If you need to pull the glass off again to reposition, just pull tight against your partner again and lift, the sticks keep you from distorting the glass when you do that, even a couple of times. I like the PIA nickname, but frankly, think they eliminate the pain, not cause it!

I'm sort of a neat freak. With that in mind, let's just say that I always clean up when I'm done and always put everything away. I found that I was always pulling out this set of M drawings and putting them away again - the set with the side view of the fuselage on it. I got to thinking one day that it might be nice to put these up - not only assemble to look like the side of the fuselage, but, in easy view for easy reference. It makes a lot of steps easier - you don't have to go looking for the plans, and, given that I walk back and forth past it as I work in my workshop, I'm kind of teaching myself how some of the stuff fits/works together while I do. I should have done this sooner! Besides, when the other builders come over for an EAA chapter visit - it gives them something to look at. The current debate is this - "Do they still call it an elevator, even though it goes down for climb and up for descent?" Grin.

Several builders have had good luck with 2 to 6 mil plastic when used peel-ply style on top of curing epoxy/fiberglass. You do your layup, squeegee out most of the extra epoxy and finish all layers then add a layer of plastic (clean and dry, of course) over the top. Squeegee gently over the plastic to eliminate bubbles, wrinkles and extra epoxy and let cure. Once the part is cured, peel off the plastic and you will have a nice, smooth surface. Don't use too thin of plastic or you'll get too many wrinkles (from it stretching) and try this on a practice part to get the hang of it. I haven't had too much luck with this but still recommend trying it.

This tip (well, this isn't really a tip - just me agreeing that this is a good idea!) Good stores that sell cloth for making clothes sell little rotary cutters, like pizza cutters (I think Wicks/Aircraft Spruce sell them as well) as well as mats made of a hard plastic or rubber to cut on. Lay the fiberglass on the mat and cut away. The little cutter zips through the glass without disturbing the fibers and cuts a clean edge. I bought one of these, but, instead of buying a $50 mat (that's not big enough anyway) I bought a 4' x 8' sheet of thin plastic tub-surround material and cut on that. It works great - when it gets cut up real bad I'll buy another piece since it only cost about $10.

When I got to Chapter 8, I got really confused one day trying to make sure I was using the right parts so when I installed them I wouldn't use the wrong part, short something and then have to buy something duplicate. This is probably a little meticulous, but, I now have each Chapter's parts in a separate labeled bag.

The plans say to make a sanding spline. You buy this piece of spruce (man, my father in law would be jealous - this aircraft quality spruce is nicer than even furniture grade wood!) and they send you a straight, no-knots, planed, square piece of spruce 6' x 4" x 3/4". I made my spline after I needed to sand the trailing edge of the canard and added a couple of features of my own. First, I added 4 handles to the top, compliments of my local Home Depot.

Next, I added 80 grit paper, the new, longer-lasting faster-cutting stuff, stapled on so I can change out the grit or paper if needed. I used standard sheets of 9" x 11" paper, but, tore them in half first, and, taped them with box tape together on the bottom. This prevents the paper from getting caught on something and ripping a piece off. This close up shows the staples in the ends and in the side. There's not much paper to staple into on the side, so, I used a credit card for spacing and put the head of the stapler right onto the table as I stapled. Worked great. Nice, consistent height staples without missing the paper or putting them through the bottom of the spline.

I make fiberglass strips, or, complex-shaped, or multi-layer layups that you have to put somewhere challenging using two pieces of 6 (or less) mil clear plastic, or, waxed paper. 1) Wet out the layers you need on top of one layer waxed paper. If you have a pattern (newspaper cut to the right size works great) put that underneath the waxed paper to aid in wetting out enough glass, or, to make sure you cut the layup to the right size and shape. 2) Alternately, if doing tapes or measured layups, use a Sharpie marker and draw the 'part' directly on the waxed paper before you start the layup, flipping the waxed paper over (account for mirror image issues, if necessary) to keep the Sharpie ink out of your epoxy as it will dissolve and color the layup. 3) Add a second layer of waxed paper on top of the layup, once it's all wet out and the right number of layers have been added. Squeegee as you see fit until it's wet out completely but light as you can make it.

4) Cut the layup to size using your tool of preference; mine is electric scissors. If you want some extra for overhang or overlap, cut it to what you need then move to the next step. 5) Pull off the top layer of waxed paper, transport it from the workbench to where it goes, lay into place, brush, stipple, squeegee or simply press on it until it's where you like it, you've removed any bubbles, etc. then CAREFULLY pull off the remaining layer of waxed paper. The waxed paper keeps the layup glass from getting misaligned - either during the trip from the workbench to the plane or while fitting onto the plane, and, keeps the mess more under control. Further, it's easier to get a non-distorted layup into the right place with the top layer still on there. Last, if you want a properly wet out but light as can be layup, squeegeeing with the top layer on there helps ensure that.

Those $1 syringes (no needle) you can order from Wicks are great for this sort of thing. After you mix up a batch of micro or flox, fill the syringe with it for easier spreading. Cut off the tip, of course, at the right place to get the whole size you need. Makes jobs like this one much easier (this is the front seatback brace - there are quite a few long lines of flox you have to make to join this side to the other pieces) and keeps the mess under control. I also use the syringe this way for flox fillets and anytime I need to precisely spread out a bunch of flox or micro.