June 23, 2014 - Triplane: Prep Ladders
One thing I neglected to mention was prepping the spar ladders prior to glueing the webs on. This -- big surprise -- actually took a fair amount of time.
Despite my best efforts aligning them, the spar flanges, flange spacers and swallowtail blocks were not always even. They needed to be relatively even so the webs would make good contact with them for glueing. Then there was excess dried glue that had oozed out the seams that needed removing.
Initially, I tried using the chisel to make the top ladder surface smooth. But I quickly realized I needed a better tool.
I bought a power belt-sander. It worked great.
The upper wing spar ladders all prepped and ready to have the outer webs glued.
