Shop preparation - Part 8

Transformer table

Of all the things I had to build to get this project going, the one I am most proud of is the big table, I just wouldn’t have been able to get much done without it.

Besides being level in all directions, which came in handy many a time, one cool thing about it is that I have been able to modify it to suit my evolving needs as new challenges present themselves.

"I'm calling it good enough!"

The first table modification occurred when I was trying to mount the main landing gear on the upside down fuselage. Remember the “Straight Tower of Pisa” mod? 

Table modded to help mount the main gear bow

Now that the right wing is mounted to the table, I find myself once again wanting to reinvent it in order to make my life easier. 

The newest addition to the table is a temporary extension that will allow me to pre-preg the entire shear-web at once.

I will be taking this extension down after glassing the sheer-web

The versatility of this table is truly amazing, the only limiting factor being my imagination, but rest assured there are plenty of crazy ideas where the previous ones came from, so I should be able to make you scratch your head for years to come.

Case in point, my latest table add on.

You see, with the wing on the table ready for glassing the sheer-web, I realized that as it sits, I am not tall enough to do the kind of quality work I want to be able to do on some portions of the wing, namely the tallest portion and the back side of it. 

Normally the table is at the perfect height. This time I wished it was lower.

Sure, I could be standing on a stool, and I did practiced with it, but spending a few minutes on a step stool is very different than standing on it, for hours fiberglassing. My reach is limited, and rather than climbing down, repositioning, and climbing back up a thousand times, my tendency would be to stretch how far I can push it, and either fall off of the stool, or do poor quality work on the back side of the wing, or both.

I thought about making a multilevel bench that followed the raising wing section along the table, but I had a more original idea… 

How about removable floating scaffolding?

What does that even mean? You say.

Think about the top platforms of a multilevel bench, and imagine it floating in space without any apparent support, yet attached to the table. 

Now that’s something worth cutting some 2x4 for!

Yet, you might wonder… Would it be able to take the weight?

To which I have to reply by asking… How much weight does it take to snap a sideway 2x4? 

Hmmmm, not sure exactly, but most U.S. building codes allow for a 24” cantilever. 

Definitely way more than I need, but I’ll take it.

Time to start cutting!

The table was already spoken for, so I had to improvise.

The special ingredient in my design was to not rely on any screws for support, but to leverage the existing structure of the table to hold up the platforms, and use screws only for maintaining things in the proper position. 

I added 2x4 sections in strategic locations for this purpose.

This is the secret sauce

As a matter of fact, these platforms could, and did hold my weight without needing any screws at all, but I wouldn’t trust that structure to be stable enough to be safe.

Platform support beam captured by the 2x4 added to the table legs.

Framework in place

"Look Ma', no screws!"

Pretty cool, uh?!

Finally, I trimmed the support studs and the plywood, and added a few screws to make sure that the support beams didn’t slip off the makeshift channels.

Fiberglassing the EZ way 😂

Removing the platforms is as easy as removing eight screws, and sliding them out.

So, here’s how I envision using this floating scaffolding to help me fiberglass the shear-web…

Testing the scaffolding

Overly complex, you say?

I do not disagree, but it was a ton of fun to come up with and to make, and when a project spans over a decade, anything that keeps things interesting and the creative juices flowing is a much welcomed development. 

The jury is still out on how the scaffolding will perform under pressure (pun intended), but we are about to find out very soon.