The Big Frame Glue-Up

Today I went to Mike's for some help with gluing up the frame. The actual gluing can be done by one person of course, but taping the skins around the frame really could use the help of a second person.

Each of us grabbed a bottle of Elmer's wood glue and got busy filling in the slots on the vertical ribs, and locating them in place against the slots on the horizontal ribs.




Once the ribs had been glued in place, we wrapped the skins tight around the frame. We matched up the front and back skins on one side of the frame, and taped the two skins together at the seam. Then, we stretched the skins around the frame on the other side, pulled the skins together until the gap was closed, and again taped the two skins together, opposite the prior taping. We used strapping tape (the tape with the threads in it) to ensure that the bond was strong enough to handle the stress.



Everything looks good! I'll let the glue dry for at least 24 hours before removing the skins.