Start of Aka Assembly

I was struggling with a good way to clamp up the aka parts.  Of course, Russell came and straightened me out.

We ended up making a new full length jig that will ensure that the pieces go together square and true. The steps are below:

Screwed down a sacrificial sheet of particle board to build tables.

Outline the panels and cover the area with packing tape.  The packing tape overlaps the outline a bit to catch squeeze out runs.  It is important to keep the tape flat and wrinkle free so that the panel will stay completely flat. 

Replace part and tack it so it won't move while gluing blocks.

Using 5 minute epoxy, fasten a very square edged block butted against the panel.

The back three quarters of the block are glued.  The areas against the panel and packing tape are skipped.

Let the epoxy cure and remove one side's tacks.

Prime the edge of the panel and the edge of the board.  A nice bead of thickened epoxy was run down the board.  Russell uses a ziplock bag like a pastry bag.  This is explained in his book.

The setup is about ready for clamping.  It is important to not rub off any glue as the board goes in.

The clamps are partially tightened and the the board is tapped down with a hammer to seat it well.

Clamps are tightened.  Epoxy squeeze out is scraped off the outside using a  sharpened tongue depressor as a chisel. The glue on the inside forms a small finger fillet by running a gloved finger down the corner.

With this clamping system, plywood could be used instead of laminated fir for the sharp bend.  The scarfs come out better that way and the materials are consistent.  I cut off the lamination and re-scarfed with the 18mm ply.

Let it dry.

Task time: 8 hours  (last 5 days)

Total project time: 157 hours