Best orientation for making the Big Cut...

I'm on track to make the infamous Big Cut on Monday (same day my Skyview package is due to arrive!); just need to finish taping things off and get it set up. However, I'm trying to figure out what's going to be the best orientation to do it.

I've seen several build logs where the bubble is right-side up and secured with little blocks to keep it from spreading. I've also seen a few were it appears the bubble is upside-down and supported, with liberal use of duct tape to keep it together. I think I've even seen a couple where the bubble is clamped to the frame for the cut.

Anyone have suggestions here?

Howdy. Here is a link to one video in a series of videos about canopy work I have posted on my YouTube channel. As you stated, numerous ways to get the job done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DAkD_SHmqo&t=310s

What has worked for me, used with either tip-up or sliders, same results. Trim outter edges first, run duct tape across bottom to prevent canopy spreading out (strip of tape across just ahead of cut line & one just aft), place canopy on bench right side up. Pick a warm day (or crank up the thermostat), lately I've been using vibrating cutter (cut off wheel Vans supplies works good too), start at top center & work outward to (left) side, apply bits of duct tape every 8" or so to keep canopy spreading front to back, go back to the top & start cutting the (rt) side. Than have a cold beer.

Ralph Inkster said:

What has worked for me, used with either tip-up or sliders, same results. Trim outter edges first, run duct tape across bottom to prevent canopy spreading out (strip of tape across just ahead of cut line & one just aft), place canopy on bench right side up. Pick a warm day (or crank up the thermostat), lately I've been using vibrating cutter (cut off wheel Vans supplies works good too), start at top center & work outward to (left) side, apply bits of duct tape every 8" or so to keep canopy spreading front to back, go back to the top & start cutting the (rt) side. Than have a cold beer.

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Thanks! That sounds a lot like what I had planned. Warm days are definitely not hard to find here and I have the oscillating cutter that I've used for initial trimming already.

Definitely do a warm day! We didn't touch it if it wasn't at least 85 degrees in the hangar. Making small cuts on the sides to whittle it down to the mold marks helped a lot in building confidence before making the big cut. Using blue painter's tape to cover the plexiglass and draw the guide line on helped reduce the rough edges and kept the mark visible. putting duct tape on both sides of the cut line kept it from spreading as the cut was made. Go slow, keep it warm, and take a deep breath, you can do this!

If you can get help while doing the cutting do so. Their job is to keep the vacuum cleaner going while you are cutting. Terrible stuff to clean up, it sticks to everything within a couple of miles of it.

Cut complee. Turned out to be pretty much a non event with minmal mess... the oscillating cutter doesn't throw debris around, and cleaning up/sanding the edges took more twice as long as the actual cut.

Now I have to figure out how to move the back half and get it on/off the frame without a helper...