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Tip: Rib Flange Straightener Tool

RV9er

Active Member
Here is my version of a tool made by Bill Gast of Boone Iowa (Gotta give credit to the man who invented it) This REALLY makes the tiresome task of streightining rib flanges go fast, accurate and easy. Mine is made of some old Oak I had on hand, some flat bar from the local ACE hdwar store, a few screws and 2 AN Bolts from the used box . The angle between the anvil and the sqeezer is 11 degrees on the face and 11 degrees on the bottom of the sqeezer.
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Good design. I'm using one very similiar and it works well. My first attempt used 14 degrees as recommended on another website. I found 11 degrees works best for me.

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Electrical tape is your friend

I built one of these out of scraps, and here are my lessons learned:

It matters where you pull on the lever, and how hard.
I marked the sweet spot with a strip of electrical tape.

I was getting occasional scratching of the rib from the tip of the lever (the business end) so ran a strip of electrical tape across it, and replaced it when it fell off or wore - 2x I think.

I used an imperfect piece of plywood for the baseplate, surface wasn't perfectly flat, and ribs would stick slightly as corners caught on the plywood's rough surface.
Yup, a strip of electrical tape a few inches either side of the anvil on the base plate, and no longer a problem. Replaced it occasionally.

I used the angle from the 21 years of the rvator article - it was nice to see the legible picture in the 24 years of the rvator version.

This tool didn't take long to make, and really sped up straightening the ribs.
 
Claudio, ummm, actually, the flange straightener has been around for years and is detailed in the 21 (or 2x) Years of the RVator book. However, the drawings aren't very clear. For folks just starting the rib straightening, it's well worth the time to build the tool!
 
Like Mike, I think it is a good idea for us to occasionally resurrect valuable threads.

I just completed my version of this tool and tested it. Thanks to Bill and others, for the ideas and design pictures.

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Now, I just need to get the Empennage out of the way and get started on using it.
 
HS ribs

This looks like a pretty good idea and way to straighten out the ribs if they are bent. Im just on the empannage kit, but I didn't have much of an issue with bent ribs. The one's that were slightly out, I just used the hand pliers with a 2" mini brake I got at HF. I thought it went pretty quick. I can see how this would do a more accurate job than a hand brake - much more important on the larger wing ribs. If I don't do the QB on the wings, Im going to build one of these.

Thanks for bringing it up again. These little tips really help.
 
After reading this excellent thread, I built my own version (with happy rib inserted)

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It works great, though I learned a few things...

For one, you gotta pull pretty hard to straighten the 0.032 ribs; no issue with the 0.025 ribs. Don't be shy building this rig to be strong. The handle should be made out of a dense hardwood; I used 1" square maple here (that's what the aviation department of my local ACE had in stock). The handle is 18" long ... probably about right; 24" would be good too. I got best results clamping the plywood base to the bench so the rig wouldn't move. A 2x4 scrap seems to work fine for the anvil base.

Thanks VAF for the good advice!
 
You'd have to fight me for mine. I built the tool AND squared the main rib flanges WAY faster than I was able to square the flanges with seamers on my last project.

I think the arm on mine is 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 square maple. I started with a 24-inch long piece, and only cut off enough to fabricate the fulcrum and anvil. I've been done with wing ribs for a while, but if I have to use it much more, I'm going to find a way to round off the end for a more comfortable handle...

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On mine, I think the arm is about 3/4" wide. If I were doing another, I'd make one arm about 5/8" and slightly rounded on the pressure side, and another about 2" wide, mostly flat. It would speed up the work, not that it took very long as it was.

Dave
 
Oldie but Goodie: Rib Flange Straightening Tool

Getting ready to build one. Thought others might benefit from seeing this older thread again. :)

H
 
Would this take the place of fluting pliers?

It would not - fluting allows the rib to lay flat on a work bench. These tools make sure the rib flanges are bent 90 degrees to the web, where required. (Don't go bending all of them)
 
It's a 11 degree over-bend, 11 degrees beyond perfect 90. When you release, the flange springs back to 90. The amount of over bend and springback will depend on the thickness of the sheet and the shape of the working end of the tool .. give it a try and tune your rig!
 
It's a 11 degree over-bend, 11 degrees beyond perfect 90. When you release, the flange springs back to 90. The amount of over bend and springback will depend on the thickness of the sheet and the shape of the working end of the tool .. give it a try and tune your rig!
Waiting on a wing kit. Built two wings previously and didn't know about this great little fixture. Slow going with a hand seamer and a small square.
I assume this is used after fluting and between the flutes?
 
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