RV-4 Wing Jig - building advice

[mistergerf]

I need to put together the jig for the empennage and wings of an RV-4. The ceilings in the workspace are way to high to run simple 4x4s floor to ceiling per the plans, so its got to be free standing. The working environment goes from dry in the summer to downright soggy in the winter, so wood probably isn't the best material.

I'm thinking to use A36 hot rolled mild steel 2" x 0.185 square tubing to fabricate a frame. But ... I don't know diddly about steel (I got the "A36 hot rolled" bit from www.onlinemetals.com . Can anyone suggest if this underkill, overkill or just silly ...

Any pics, dimensions or suggestions would be a huge help ...

Thanks,
Gerry
N696WG RV-9 Flying 400 hrs.

[OneCharlieKilo]

Gerry,
I was in a position when building my RV-6A wings that I couldn't attach the jig end posts to the ceiling so had to use a free standing jig for the wings (I had a garage available when I built the tail so used jig recommended by Van's for that).

An A&P friend of mine at the time had just built a set of RV-8 wings and horiz/vert stabilizer on a free standing jig made from standard lumber. He gave me that and I used it to build my wings (one at a time). Wood just seemed easier to build and use, but I'm sure metal will work if you are comfortable building it.

It's long been dismantled and wood used for something else 3 or 4 military moves ago, but I've got pictures posted if you want to do something similar:

http://www.ckhand.com/RV6Aproject/Wings/wings_home.htm


On the climate issue, I don't know how it compares to where you're at, but I built the wings over the course of two years I was living in the Monterey, CA area. Plenty of fog / damp times but no real temperature extremes. I built the tail in the Pacific Northwest on wood jig and that build time was spread out due to military deployments, but didn't experience alignment problems from the wet to dry changes (yes, it does occasionally dry out a little in the PNW, just not for very long). If you're verifying alignment prior to drilling or riveting, I don't think using wood is too much of an issue.

Chris
RV-6A, N731CK
"final assembly"

[fixnflyguy]

Gerry,
I wouldnt make it any more complex than you have too..as long as you have the "plum bob" threads installed, and a level handy, its easy to verify squareness as you work from day to day. I used large C frame vise grips to hold the spars to a piece of aluminum angle attached to wood uprights, and moved twice while building the wings...they turned out just fine. You can also attach one side to a wall if you need for stability..good luck!

Bill E.
RV-4 painting/final assembly