COMPRESSION STRUT JIG

This project has been on the shelf for far too long.  This evening I finished up the jig for fabrication of the compression struts.  The compression struts are braces between the wing spars counteracting the pull of the drag wires.

The upright on the left has a rail on the bottom that runs in the groove, maintaining alignment between the uprights while allowing that one upright to be adjusted for length.  It is held in place with a C-clamp.

The components of the first strut are in place ready to be tack welded.  Actually, not.  They need to be cleaned up first. The metal on the jig will, hopefully, prevent me from setting the plywood on fire.  The middle brackets ensure that the tubing will not drop out while the tacking is under way.