737NG Shell

[W9XE/Project777]

Ivar,
I to am very impressed with the wood working. It looks plenty strong to me. Yes there may be some advantages to metal but there is more skill required to weld than using a nail gun.

Guys make sure you are checking out his gallery here. http://www.mycockpit.org/photopost/s...00&ppuser=1669 This is a master at work...

[Trevor Hale]

As some of you have seen my photo's I used wood, and then reinforced it with fiberglass. Ivar's roof section looks much stronger then mine, and mine holds my overhead and all the lighting flawlessly.

No issues of collapse on my part. If I has the ability to weld, I might have tried that, however I am an electronics guy with woodworking tools, so welding is out of the question for me. I have a local welding shop here, It would cost me an arm and a leg to have them manufacture something for me.

Just my two cents worth.

[Jackpilot]

welding is out of the question for me. I have a local welding shop here, It would cost me an arm and a leg to have them manufacture something for me.

Trevor
The next door welding shop did an aluminum frame for my overheads for $CA120!! not exactly expensive.

[ivar hestnes]

As some of you have seen my photo's I used wood, and then reinforced it with fiberglass. Ivar's roof section looks much stronger then mine, and mine holds my overhead and all the lighting flawlessly.

No issues of collapse on my part. If I has the ability to weld, I might have tried that, however I am an electronics guy with woodworking tools, so welding is out of the question for me. I have a local welding shop here, It would cost me an arm and a leg to have them manufacture something for me.

Just my two cents worth.

How is your experience with fiber-glass for reinforcement? Does it crack? Since wood is a "living" material.

I made two layers of 4mm ply. Top layer is ply-strips with 5cm width. Of course there is some millimeter gap here and there. I cannot use filler because it will crack. I am thinking about using epoxy for filler and reinforcement. And for getting the smooth surface.

Anybody got experience with epoxy?

If I get tired of simbuilding, I can turn my shell upside down and attach an Evinrude. Then I have a cool boat

[Michael Carter]

If you seal the wood tightly with a quality deck sealer, you should be able to use filler for any gaps with no shrink or expansion, causing cracking of the filler material. I would do this in the winter when the moisture content will be the lowest. You should also treat the wood surface on the inside if you can still get to the inner surfaces.

You could also fibreglass the entire outer shell, sand, seal, and use an epoxy primer before the finish coat. That would be quite a bit of work, but it would add to the strength of the outer shell, bind all of the panels together, and eliminate the 'living' part.

Getting back to the shell-building itself, I will probably have to piece meal a shell or partial shell around my interior equipment.

As you can see in the photo, this is what I have to deal with. There are no other options in my house unless I give up my work shop, and I'm not about to do that.

The MIP will be placed in the 4' tipout that is currently home to the computer table you see in the photo, holding the monitors, my desk lamp, etc.

I might be able to manage at least a partial shell, but instead of building the shell and placing everything in it, I'll have to build the partial shell around everything I already have.

[ivar hestnes]

Thank you for good inputs BSW.

I have some considerations to make before top-coat. Will figure out

Have covered first layer on the roof and start with base tomorrow. Believe everything is covered and sanded within 2 weeks.

The outside result is getting closer after more than six months work

[JBaymore]

Ivar,

Beautiful craftsmanship on the shell. Clean precise work. Work of art all by itself.

(That's coming from a professional artist/craftsperson.)

best,

.................john

[ivar hestnes]

Thank you very much John

[Trevor Hale]

How is your experience with fiber-glass for reinforcement? Does it crack? Since wood is a "living" material.

I made two layers of 4mm ply. Top layer is ply-strips with 5cm width. Of course there is some millimeter gap here and there. I cannot use filler because it will crack. I am thinking about using epoxy for filler and reinforcement. And for getting the smooth surface.

Anybody got experience with epoxy?

If I get tired of simbuilding, I can turn my shell upside down and attach an Evinrude. Then I have a cool boat

Sorry Ivar, I missed this post.

I have had quite a bit of experience with it, I have never seen it Crack. One of the nice parts is though, it is not being exposed to the harsh outdoor elements. I can't exactly put an evenrude on the back of mine, but It does the trick for simming.

I haven't seen the roof crack, however keep in mind I am only using 1 coat of cloth. and 3 coats of resin. So it isn't brittle, it holds it's shape well, but is a little flexible. You can push on it and see it move slightly, but its still strong.

[Westozy]

Hi guys, just another thought about using steel, see this pic http://www.mycockpit.org/photopost/s...php?photo=1469 The roof structure is entirely supported by the windshield frame work and is good for supporting about 150Kg.

If you can cut wood ok I assume you can cut steel aswel, all that is needed is some accurate marking out and a hacksaw. Even if you can't weld you can cut out the pieces and take them to someone who can. I made my entire roof frame in about 4.5 hours. 3 hours cutting the steel and 1.5 hours welding it together. If you cut out the parts you would only have to pay a welder for a couple of hours max.

Don't get me wrong, these timber constructions here are amazing and I would love to have a shell the same, but like I said, my steelwork took 4.5 hours including painting - job done!

Regards, Gwyn