Thanks Roy
a full size print out would help but like the boards it depends on how long it takes to get here from NZ though…
in any case I already took a blown up PDF of the rib jpeg to Kinkos and for $23 I’ll get a full size print of the ribs tomorrow.
And no…
Austin those plans are yours to keep I gave them to you for a reason so don’t listen to my silly brother.
The two best posts here on the building these things are listed below.
The first is Austin’s(Rhino) excellent write up posted here close to two years ago.
http://www.swaylocks.com/…orum.cgi?post=264897
The second is Roy’s Weapons of Mass Velocity post featuring his “thrusterbuster” design
http://www.swaylocks.com/…orum.cgi?post=246252
Some pre-build questions for you though Roy…
First
what happened to the pictures in your post as the links are no longer valid and from what I remember it was a good recap of the process. Being able to see the process would be a big help to WMV rookies like Ben and I.
Secondly
Mr. Nacho Libre is a big guy just like Ben. I figure well over 6’ and maybe 215-230lbs where as my brother is around 165lbs and I’m a short and stubby 200lbs so inorder to support the bigger guys like Ben, Jay and possibly Eric Haas what thickness do you recommend for each one of the panels which I believe are either 3/4" for panels 2/4 3/8" for panels 5/6 and 1/4" for panel 3. Giving us 13’9" x 24" x 2.5" in displacement.
So to float say 230lbs how thick do we need to go for each panel?
Third
Base on the rocker plans I am presuming that it’s a continuous curve for this 13’9" design from midpoint with 7" or radius at the nose and tail.
Am I correct?
Fourth
wood choices
1" Pine boards are the most readily available, cheapest and heaviest
Construction grade Redwood is also readily available, relatively cheap but also heavy
1" thick Cedar boards are also readily available, not so cheap and a tad lighter
Balsa will have to be ordered from the mainland and is very light by will be expensive
We also have access to small amounts of stringer quality spruce, semi dried wiliwili(hawaiian balsa), and paulownia.
There is some access to milled 8’ long by 1"or2" wide bamboo moulding boards that could be used for the cross beams in panels 2 and 4 for strength. I really hate to waste some of this hard to get wood if it’s not really needed.
suggestions?
Finally
have you ever used bisquits, dowels or tongue/groove joints to attach the hundreds of little internal components of the two internal skeletons togethor or is it just side to side glue-ups? I was thinking of using a canoe repair technique that Wirght Bowman taught to me when I used to hang at his shop on weekends as a boarder at Kamehameha Schools using bamboo skewers in tiny drill holes like expanding wooden nails. we used it to help him fix cracks in the hulls of wooden racing canoes.
Will the skeleton technique like the plans show save alot of weight? or does it no matter and we can make solid panels of angled boards? I’m really having some concerns about all that exposed end grain along the rail if we do that versus thos side pieces alond the rail whose grain pattern is aligne fore and aft like the top and bottom panels…
Sorry
and I apologize to the rest of the now bored crew…
but I’m sure some of this will help Ben too, even though he has easy access to balsa and end-grain balsa scrim for the rails (hint) around the block from his house.
Mahalo
I truly am a fool taking on another project but who knows maybe we’ll learn something in the process to help us elsewhere…