Kristoffon
Well-Known Member
Friday I made the laminations for the fuselage longerons. They're laminated from 2 1/2 x 3/4 pieces as shown on the picture. The top lamination has a quite sharp bend at about 2/3rds of the way which required quite a bit of force to get it in shape.
When I took the clamps off this morning the bottom lamination held the shape well, but the top one retracted quite a bit around that sharp bend, about an inch. It now takes a lot of effort to put it back into position - I'm unable to push it all the way, I have to put a clamp around and use the clamp's screw to get it back in place.
That is not a problem in itself as the yet-to-be-made vertical and diagonal strips will eventually keep it in place but I'm worried it could be taking excessive stress and weakening the structure. Is that normal? Will the wood conform into shape eventually? Should I scrap that piece and make a new one that would hopefully hold the shape better?
I'm out of my element here -- more used to working with steel. Thank you in advance.
When I took the clamps off this morning the bottom lamination held the shape well, but the top one retracted quite a bit around that sharp bend, about an inch. It now takes a lot of effort to put it back into position - I'm unable to push it all the way, I have to put a clamp around and use the clamp's screw to get it back in place.
That is not a problem in itself as the yet-to-be-made vertical and diagonal strips will eventually keep it in place but I'm worried it could be taking excessive stress and weakening the structure. Is that normal? Will the wood conform into shape eventually? Should I scrap that piece and make a new one that would hopefully hold the shape better?
I'm out of my element here -- more used to working with steel. Thank you in advance.
