Tip: Alternative Metal Wing Stands

[RudiGreyling]

Just to update this thread with a reply I did somewhere else to keep all the information together:

Originally Posted by greylingr

<SNIP>
So far the extended uses of my initial wing stands are working great. Below are some highlights and issues with my set-up.

From top left in the pictures to bottom right: My wing stands was cut down to knee high, and the cut material was used to create 2 addition uprights in the middle. I used angle iron to create a perfect level frame to support the 1 ?? thick platform top.


I then had to create 3 little saw horses that can easily slide on the perfect level table top which means the fuse could go together at an easy height while a person is standing. The platform also served as a perfect place to put the tools and cleckos down on while working, instead of putting it down on the floor or on a bench behind you. When riveting, my riveting partner, my dear wife, could stand easily while I could sit flat on my bum on the inside of the fuselage doing the bucking. Getting in and out of the upside down fuse with 15? of height clearance being the only issue


When I tipped the canoe I saw a problem reaching into the middle of the fuselage cabin while standing on the outside on the floor. The rear fuse has no problem, because you can stand on the platform, but the cabin area is as wide as my platform, giving you no place to stand. The best would have been to make the platform 2-3 foot wider than the fuselage. Too late for me, so I re-used my 3 little sawhorses and the sides of the wing crate, and created a step bolted to small uprights of the original wing stands. This then ?lowers? the fuse almost to my feet, without it actually being on the floor. This mean I could easily lean into the inside, when on the step, but it is also at a convenient height when I want to work around the fuselage.

I can see how having a rotating fuse stand can help during this stage of the project, it would be kind of cool to rotate the fuse 90 degrees and just do the work you need on the inside, then turn it back level. That said I think the same can be achieved by just turning the fuse on it?s side on the platform and support the rear and clearing the bottom skin at the centre section 2? of the platform. I will see how it goes, but first I have to make the fuse more rigid by riveting in the rear horizontal stab platform, and add a couple of firewall and bulkhead to longeron brackets, so that I get no twist.

Kind Regards
Rudi

[jsherblon]

These are a modification of Rudi's wing stands. Same idea with smaller feet. The lag screws are inside the bottom, trapazoidal 2x4.

[cjensen]

Cool! Nice color!

[RudiGreyling]

Cool, what I like is the tops are at the spar height, saves some overhang on the top, so it should be easier to work over the post. Regards Rudi