As if I didn’t have enough projects…..

Actually, can you ever have enough projects? I’m leaning toward ‘no’. If there was a smiley emoticon in this editor I would put one here..   😉

Soooo, yeah… I’m working on a Pietenpol Air Camper. A simple, open cockpit, 2 seat, Model A Powered, airplane. Did I mention the original Piet is dated 1929? There’s a thing for 1929 in my life for some reason. Both my Dodge and my Ford are ’29’s, and my plane was designed in that year. Kinda cool. Here’s the general layout for the Pietenpol Air Camper….

I’m starting with the tail since it is kinda straight forward to build and is one of the cheapest parts to build. Therefore, if I’m incapable of this simple bit of woodwork then I don’t need to invest in the rest of the plane. I’m smart that way……

I started out with laying out the vertical fin in full size on a piece of board and then putting in blocks to hold the structure as I build…

I even used a square to be sure I have something close to a 90 degree angle. Next was to profile several of the wood pieces using a router table. I worked for a short time doing pre-builds for a staircase company, so I’m not a complete stranger to woodwork. I had never used a router table before, just a regular plunge router. I’m finding out that I am not a fan of the router table. Something about the 10,000+ RPM blades of death looking at me while whirling at break neck speed is disconcerting. Never the less, I routed the pieces and put them in the jig to see what I had…..

Looks like it will work. I made a couple cuts, did a little sanding, and this evening epoxied the first few joints on the vertical. I’m not totally proud of the joints, but they will work since there is plenty of gusseting around the structure before it is done….

I will also make a test piece for every batch of epoxy. This will be a destructive test piece to make sure that the epoxy mixed properly and cured successfully. This is test piece number one (TP1). If the wood fails and the glue joint stays intact then it will be a good part. If the glue gives way on the test part instead of the wood, then I will need to reassess things.

I’ll update after the epoxy has had full cure time.