Brief Description: flute and straighten main wing ribs
Tonight I spent some time with my new flange tool...yep...I like it. It works well!! In an hour and a half I had 14 main ribs fluted and straightened. I figured out that if I fluted all of the spaces between the rivet holes (except the small ones on the end of the ribs) - I could then use the flange tool and give a good "pull" along all sides/flanges and it would get the rib pretty well flattened out and the flange 90 degrees - and then I could re-flute or re-flange tool from there to finish it off. In the end, my process efficiency and learning curve got much better. I would slightly over-flute the rib so that the bow went the opposite way from the original punch bow, and then the flange tool would take out the over-bow in straightening the flange to 90 degrees.
In the end I was straghtening the rib and putting the 90 degree bend in the flange in one pass. Other builders have mentioned how springy the new ribs are, and then how nice and flat the ribs lay after you finish the fluting/90 degree process... picture 3 shows that well. both stacks have 14 ribs in them - the right stack is much taller/springy/wavier than the finished stack on the left.
Pic 1 and 2 are my attempt to show the bow before and after, but I was taking the picture with one hand and holding the rib with the other - so believe me - the rib in pic 2 is flat - although the picture doesn't do a great job of showing it.
