Batch: Shape ribs and glue the bottom ribs

With all the bodies repaired and cracks glued, it is time to manufacture the ribs for the bottom and the lid. The ribs in the bottom are made of quartz-sawn alp spruce purchased in Germany, while the lid's ribs are in Swedish densely grown spruce. Both varieties are very good toned wood, but the Swedish spruce is a bit sharper I think. Have a limited stock, but as long as it suffices, I use the Swedish spruce as a lid.

Has cut "blanks" that need to be planed down in height and width. This is done with a planer and a few simple planer jigs to about 8 mm thickness and 15 mm height. With my roller polish, the last correction is made after the rough planing in the jigs.

The next step is to give all the ribs the right bend to the bottom and lid. The bottom ribs receive a larger bend than the lid ribs. Start by roughing by hand at the ends and grinding and smoothing the bend using the shelf with self-adhesive 80 sandpaper.

The bend is sharpened in a jig, a "brace sander" from LMI but slightly modified.

The bottom ribs are simple, all can be shaped triangular before they are glued in place. Hand planing triangular is not the easiest thing, quickly realized that a jig was needed for that too. Made a planer box with two inserts to plan one facet of the triangle and then the other. With given dimensions, 15 x 8 mm, on the ribs, the ribs become beautifully triangular in shape without too much work (shaping the ribs is one of the few steps in an GammelGura that makes you sweat in the forehead!). The picture shows the box and the two inserts as well as different thick shims to be able to adjust the height of the insert to the current bar, which may not be perfectly shaped. Made when I used 8.5 mm thick ribs, now it is 8 mm. An abutment is forced against the bench as support, the box can be rotated 180 degrees if the tree to be planed has "run out" in the wrong direction.

After the first and second planing and some finished ribs.

I glue the ribs with the help of bars with the same bend as the underside of the ribs. Uses forcing instead of the popular go-bar jig. The advantage is that when all the ribs are glued in place with forceps you can move the entire package for drying and start with the next lid / bottom on the workbench. A go-bar is occupied until the glue has dried.

Measures the placement of the ribs and marks the ends with pencils. Each rib receives a counter and a clamp attaches the ends. Uses fine aluminum profiles (from an old printing plant) to give the ribs even pressure from the forceps and not to damage the thin tip at the top of the ribs.

    

Heat the entire bottom and ribs with heat gun and glue with warm skin glue.

Another pair of forests on a pair of bottoms that have got all their ribs glued 🙂

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