Brief Description: Made jig for arbor press to help bend VS & HS spar
I made a jig to use with the arbor press to help bend the VS & HS spars. I used 6" galvanized pipe nipples, 3/4 and 1/2 inch. These pipe sizes have ODs of approximately 1 and .84 inches. I purchased an Oak board 1" by 6" by 4 feet long and made the base of the jig out of this, the 1" board is actually 3/4" thick. I also used a couple small pieces of 1/8" thick laminate (or any material 1/8" thick) to provide the proper height for the two end pieces. I wanted the end pieces to be the same height as the two .84" pipes. I used another small piece of 1/8" laminate to keep the two pipes against the edge of the end boards. It's very important these two pipes be kept perpendicular to the bend. I also drew multiple alignment lines on the top of the jig to help insure the piece being bent is aligned perpendicular to the 2 base pipes.
I used the 1" OD pipe to actually push down on the spar and create the bend with a 1/2" radius. I taped over and then marked a center line down the length of the 1" pipe. This centerline mark MUST be aligned to the center of the bend mark on the component being bent. The 1" pipe is then held in place with a lot of tape and maybe even some hot glue. Once the 1" pipe is taped and glued to the piece being bent and the piece aligned on the jig pependicular to the base pipes with the top pipe centered between the 2 bottom pipes and tempoararily taped in place, the piece can be inserted into the arbor press and bent. I also made a paper template out of card stock with the correct angle and I used that template during the bend process to determine when the part was at the correct angle.
