KR> Buying wood
A few years ago, the first time I started thinking about building a KR, there was a bunch of talk about the difficulty of finding decent sitka spruce. Has that changed any? Because of that, and the need for more strength, I had decided to use douglas fir. That decision still stands for the most part, but now I'm thinking I'd rather buy wood locally so I can get what I need for a weekend without getting slaughtered with shipping. Doing it that way will reduce the chances of wood getting damaged while waiting to be used. Anyway, is there anyone in/near Houston that knows of a lumberyard that carries a BUNCH of douglas fir in fairly large lengths? I need 14' minimum, 16' would be nice so I can true up both ends. Hey, here's a thought. How about if I get ahold of my friendly neighborhood EAA chapter and start bugging them? ;) There's one at CXO where I'm planning on keeping my KR and whatever spam can we wind up with. -- Steve N205FT mystic...@swbell.net He who seeks will find, and he who knocks will be let in.
KR> Buying wood
Bubba, The first KR I built, I went to the local boat yard in White Bear Lake, MN and bought some Sitka spruce from them. The local FBO at So. St. Paul airport carried aircraft plywood so I was covered all directions. Try a boat building shop in your area but don't tell them you are building an airplane. Pat Driscoll Saint Paul, MN 55102 patric...@usfamily.net - Original Message - From: "Bubba" To: "KRNet" Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2005 3:13 AM Subject: KR> Buying wood > A few years ago, the first time I started thinking about building a > KR, there was a bunch of talk about the difficulty of finding > decent sitka spruce. Has that changed any? Because of that, and the need for > more strength, I had decided to use douglas fir. That decision still stands > for the most part, but now I'm thinking I'd rather buy wood locally so I can > get what I need for a weekend without getting slaughtered with shipping. > Doing it that way will reduce the chances of wood getting damaged while > waiting to be used. > > Anyway, is there anyone in/near Houston that knows of a lumberyard that > carries a BUNCH of douglas fir in fairly large lengths? I need 14' minimum, > 16' would be nice so I can true up both ends. > > Hey, here's a thought. How about if I get ahold of my friendly neighborhood > EAA chapter and start bugging them? ;) There's one at CXO where I'm planning > on keeping my KR and whatever spam can we wind up with. > -- > Steve > N205FT > mystic...@swbell.net > He who seeks will find, and he who knocks will be let in. > > > > ___ > Search the KRnet Archives at http://www.maddyhome.com/krsrch/index.jsp > to UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@mylist.net > please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html --- http://USFamily.Net/dialup.html - $8.25/mo! -- http://www.usfamily.net/dsl.html - $19.99/mo! ---
KR> Buying Wood
Netters; The topic of what wood to use to build a wooden airplane has always been a hot topic. Studies reveal that douglas fir is stronger than spruce, but slightly heavier. The strongest, most stable fir is old growth CVG: Old growth means more than 10 growth rings per inch - it really has nothing to do with age of the tree, and CVG means Clear, verticle grain. If you examine any unit of lumber, you'll find some of the the boards have more than ten rings per inch. That board could then be resawn, ensuring that the rings are verticle, deleting the knots, and be used for aircraft building. Since most mill-run construction lumber isn't dried, a builder would want to season it until the moisture content is reducted to a minimum in order to ensure that the fibers sabilize. And, of course, once the wood is built into a airplane, it should be sealed so it won't reabsorb moisture. I recall reading about builders who used douglas fir for construction of a KR, and the added weight was less than 10 lbs. Therefore, I think using douglas fir is a viable option for builing KRs...or any wooden airplane. However, if you insist on using spruce, I have a KR-2s fuselage, built of spruce, for sale right now...for only $150. Come and get it boys! RV
KR> Buying Wood
Where are you located? thanks Jim On Sun, 6 Feb 2005 13:17:13 -0500 writes: > Netters; > The topic of what wood to use to build a wooden airplane has > always been a hot topic. Studies reveal that douglas fir is > stronger than spruce, but slightly heavier. The strongest, most > stable fir is old growth CVG: Old growth means more than 10 growth > rings per inch - it really has nothing to do with age of the tree, > and CVG means Clear, verticle grain. > If you examine any unit of lumber, you'll find some of the the > boards have more than ten rings per inch. That board could then be > resawn, ensuring that the rings are verticle, deleting the knots, > and be used for aircraft building. Since most mill-run construction > lumber isn't dried, a builder would want to season it until the > moisture content is reducted to a minimum in order to ensure that > the fibers sabilize. And, of course, once the wood is built into a > airplane, it should be sealed so it won't reabsorb moisture. > I recall reading about builders who used douglas fir for > construction of a KR, and the added weight was less than 10 lbs. > Therefore, I think using douglas fir is a viable option for builing > KRs...or any wooden airplane. > However, if you insist on using spruce, I have a KR-2s > fuselage, built of spruce, for sale right now...for only $150. Come > and get it boys! > > RV > > > ___ > Search the KRnet Archives at > http://www.maddyhome.com/krsrch/index.jsp > to UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@mylist.net > please see other KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html > >
KR> Buying wood
patric...@usfamily.net wrote: > Bubba, > The first KR I built, I went to the local boat yard in White Bear > Lake, > MN and bought some Sitka spruce from them. The local FBO at So. St. > Paul > airport carried aircraft plywood so I was covered all directions. > Try a boat building shop in your area but don't tell them you are > building an airplane. Ahh, good idea. Boat builders use fir, too. If they insist on know what I'm doing I'll say it's a really big model. Built about the same and it will contain servos anyway ;) Speaking of that, I'd like an extremely basic autopilot, mostly just a wing leveler and altitude hold. I have schematics and source code for the altitude half of it, but couldn't find anything for the leveler. But since I'm going to use RC servos for the trim tabs, why not just use an RC gyro? I'll have to dig around and find out exactly how the helicopter heading lock servos work vs. normal gyros, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. -- Steve N205FT mystic...@swbell.net He who seeks will find, and he who knocks will be let in.
KR> Buying Wood
ronev...@cox.net wrote: > > Since most mill-run construction lumber isn't dried, a builder would > want to season it until the moisture content is reducted to a minimum > in order to ensure that the fibers sabilize. If I remember right there is kiln dried wood available for furniture makers. I suspect that's the place to start looking. There's a woodworking store down the road a bit that might be able to get it. I had forgotten about them. > I recall reading about builders who used douglas > fir for construction of a KR, and the added weight was less than 10 > lbs. Therefore, I think using douglas fir is a viable option for > builing KRs...or any wooden airplane. Hemlock is another choice, but isn't as easy to find as fir according to what I've read. Fir is the best choice in my opinion. Lots of it around once you find the right source, much cheaper, and I can spare a few extra pounds for the extra strength. > However, if you insist on using > spruce, I have a KR-2s fuselage, built of spruce, for sale right > now...for only $150. Come and get it boys! If it was close to Houston I'd seriously consider it even though I'm wanting a narrowed, stretched fuselage. -- Steve N205FT mystic...@swbell.net He who seeks will find, and he who knocks will be let in.
KR> Buying Wood
Steve is it just the boat you have built or do you have th tali feathers to?
KR> Buying Wood
renosad...@aol.com wrote: > Steve is it just the boat you have built or do you have th tali > feathers to? I have nothing yet, but gimme a month or two and I'll have at least a funny looking canoe in the garage. -- Steve N205FT mystic...@swbell.net He who seeks will find, and he who knocks will be let in.
KR> Buying Wood
Steve wrote- >If it was close to Houston I'd seriously consider it even though I'm >wanting >a narrowed, stretched fuselage. How about Kerrville? You could get on I-10, head west out of Houston for about 4 hrs., and be there. There's still a "boat" with wing spars for sale there, but it sure won't be $150. I have photos and contact info if you're interested (off-line, please). Oscar Zuniga San Antonio, TX mailto: taildr...@hotmail.com website at http://www.flysquirrel.net
