Fabric covering

[Chris Wells]

I'm using thin polyster fabric on my Easy Riser, and the old fabric was sewn together at the leading edge. The trailing edge was just glued to the frame.
Can I simply glue the leading edge tubes to the fabric, as well as the trailing edge? If sewing is necessary, how do you get two 16' sections of coat lining material sewn together?

[Robert Bonomi]

In article >,
Chris Wells > wrote:
>
>I'm using thin polyster fabric on my Easy Riser, and the old fabric was
>sewn together at the leading edge. The trailing edge was just glued to
>the frame.
>Can I simply glue the leading edge tubes to the fabric, as well as
>the trailing edge? If sewing is necessary, how do you get two 16'
>sections of coat lining material sewn together?

I'm not gonna touch the 'can I just glue it' question -- I don't know enough.


As for the 'how do you sew it' aspect -- use a needle and thread, or a
sewing machine. :)

No, I'm not being facetious.

Straight seams for flat material are *easy* -- it's curves, and 'corners'
(like joining sleeves to a garment body) that are the problem children.

It's no different, "logically", from sewing together a couple of 2' sections.
Or a couple of 7' long sections for floor-length curtains.

The 'logistics' are a little different -- you've got to have a big enough
surface behind the machine to support the two stacks of fabric, AND
enough space in front of the machine to hold the pile of sewn-up material.

Aside from that, you 'just do it'. <grin>

It takes a little care, and as with anything else, you stitch a bit, then
let the machine stop, and 'assist' the sewn-up portion away from the
machine, and sew a ways further. "lather, rinse, repeat." Eventually
you run out of material, and you're done.

With a 16' length, and such light-weight material, I'd be tempted to
fold it over several times (at least for the part going through the right
side of the needle, and _pin_ the folds together, effectively making a
piece that's only 6" or so wide (or whatever the arm length is on your
machine) with 1" or so being single-thickness.

Z-fold both pieces close behind the machine, so you're not dragging a lot of
fabric _into_ the stitching area, and if necessary, let the sewn-up section
cascade into your lap.

At the local fabric shop, I can find "cheap" stuff for around $1/yard.
An 'experimental' run on something throw-away would only be around $10.

One thing -- sewing something that lightweight, be sure you know how to adjust
the 'tension' -- both for the top thread, _and_ the bobbin -- appropriately.
Otherwise, you have a potential for the stitching to 'pucker' the fabric.

The 'logistics' discussed above assumes you're doing a 'flat' seam -- one
piece laid down flat, the other piece overlapping it, and sew away.

the other kind of seam -- like down the inseam (or outseam) of dress pants,
the side of a shirt, etc. -- is done by laying the two 'good' sides together,
running the 'edge' under the needle, and then 'unfolding' the sewn-up
piece. This eliminates the need for passing a mass of fabric through the
'inside' of the sewing machine, but has -only- the stitching holding the
panels together. And, as you'll discover if you examine, say, a shirt seam,
closely,it it a bit thicker _right_ at the seam -- over and above the
double-thickness of fabric.

The 'flat' seam lets you overlap as much as you feel is reasonable, and
even use a wide 'zig-zag' stitch to make a stronger join. you can even make
multiple passes, side-by-side, depending on your degree of paranoia. <grin>

[Scott[_1_]]

First, I would use a proven system such as (Stits) Polyfiber.
http://www.polyfiber.com

Here is what they say (in the Tech Questions portion of their website)...

When gluing fabric to fabric, how much overlap should I use?
>Normally, a 1-inch overlap is sufficient. However, on the leading edge
of any wing section you must use a 2-inch overlap.

I don't believe you would have to sew the upper and lower coverings
together at the leading edge (and as I recall, the leading edge tube on
the Riser is something like 2" in diamter, so you should have plenty of
area to get a full 2" overlap and still even have metal under the lap to
really hold the fabric on). This IS assuming you use polyfiber and NOT
jacket lining material! I'm familiar with the Easy Riser. You only
have 4 wing panels and 2 rudders to cover. I would pay a little extra
and use industry standard materials. Plus, if you use a complete system
such as polyfiber, you won't have any compatibility issues. I'm sure
you would hate to find out that the glue you used to attach the fabric
eats the fabric away after 6 months, which would no doubt be discovered
at 200 feet during your climbout....

Definitely check out the polyfiber website!!

Good luck with the project! It would be great to see that vintage
ultralight stuff still flying!

Scott


Chris Wells wrote:

> I'm using thin polyster fabric on my Easy Riser, and the old fabric was
> sewn together at the leading edge. The trailing edge was just glued to
> the frame.
> Can I simply glue the leading edge tubes to the fabric, as well as
> the trailing edge? If sewing is necessary, how do you get two 16'
> sections of coat lining material sewn together?
>
>
>
>

[Jerry Deckard]

Polyfiber has a book, I think $10, well worth it, also a video. I put the
bottom on first and glue to the leading and trailing edge spars. Wrap it
almost all the way around the tubes. The over lap the top. Then at the seams
cover with 3 or 4 inch tapes. This is the standard polyfiber process. Get
the book and video.
Jerry
"Scott" > wrote in message
...
> First, I would use a proven system such as (Stits) Polyfiber.
> http://www.polyfiber.com
>
> Here is what they say (in the Tech Questions portion of their website)...
>
> When gluing fabric to fabric, how much overlap should I use?
> >Normally, a 1-inch overlap is sufficient. However, on the leading edge
> of any wing section you must use a 2-inch overlap.
>
> I don't believe you would have to sew the upper and lower coverings
> together at the leading edge (and as I recall, the leading edge tube on
> the Riser is something like 2" in diamter, so you should have plenty of
> area to get a full 2" overlap and still even have metal under the lap to
> really hold the fabric on). This IS assuming you use polyfiber and NOT
> jacket lining material! I'm familiar with the Easy Riser. You only have
> 4 wing panels and 2 rudders to cover. I would pay a little extra and use
> industry standard materials. Plus, if you use a complete system such as
> polyfiber, you won't have any compatibility issues. I'm sure you would
> hate to find out that the glue you used to attach the fabric eats the
> fabric away after 6 months, which would no doubt be discovered at 200 feet
> during your climbout....
>
> Definitely check out the polyfiber website!!
>
> Good luck with the project! It would be great to see that vintage
> ultralight stuff still flying!
>
> Scott
>
>
> Chris Wells wrote:
>
>> I'm using thin polyster fabric on my Easy Riser, and the old fabric was
>> sewn together at the leading edge. The trailing edge was just glued to
>> the frame. Can I simply glue the leading edge tubes to the fabric, as
>> well as
>> the trailing edge? If sewing is necessary, how do you get two 16'
>> sections of coat lining material sewn together?
>>
>>
>>

[Scott[_1_]]

I concur with Jerry! Probably the best $10 you will spend in aviation
:) Video would be nice as well so you can actually SEE what they talk
about in the book. Depending on your time frame, you can actually do
some practice covering if you attend the Oshkosh airshow. Polyfiber is
there every year and they teach basics in about an hour long "crash
course". It doesn't cover everything such as silver coat and
doping...just fabric attachment and shrinking, but they mention the
entire process...

Scott


Jerry Deckard wrote:

> Polyfiber has a book, I think $10, well worth it, also a video. I put the
> bottom on first and glue to the leading and trailing edge spars. Wrap it
> almost all the way around the tubes. The over lap the top. Then at the seams
> cover with 3 or 4 inch tapes. This is the standard polyfiber process. Get
> the book and video.
> Jerry
> "Scott" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>First, I would use a proven system such as (Stits) Polyfiber.
>>http://www.polyfiber.com
>>
>>Here is what they say (in the Tech Questions portion of their website)...
>>
>>When gluing fabric to fabric, how much overlap should I use?
>>
>>>Normally, a 1-inch overlap is sufficient. However, on the leading edge
>>
>>of any wing section you must use a 2-inch overlap.
>>
>>I don't believe you would have to sew the upper and lower coverings
>>together at the leading edge (and as I recall, the leading edge tube on
>>the Riser is something like 2" in diamter, so you should have plenty of
>>area to get a full 2" overlap and still even have metal under the lap to
>>really hold the fabric on). This IS assuming you use polyfiber and NOT
>>jacket lining material! I'm familiar with the Easy Riser. You only have
>>4 wing panels and 2 rudders to cover. I would pay a little extra and use
>>industry standard materials. Plus, if you use a complete system such as
>>polyfiber, you won't have any compatibility issues. I'm sure you would
>>hate to find out that the glue you used to attach the fabric eats the
>>fabric away after 6 months, which would no doubt be discovered at 200 feet
>>during your climbout....
>>
>>Definitely check out the polyfiber website!!
>>
>>Good luck with the project! It would be great to see that vintage
>>ultralight stuff still flying!
>>
>>Scott
>>
>>
>>Chris Wells wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I'm using thin polyster fabric on my Easy Riser, and the old fabric was
>>>sewn together at the leading edge. The trailing edge was just glued to
>>>the frame. Can I simply glue the leading edge tubes to the fabric, as
>>>well as
>>>the trailing edge? If sewing is necessary, how do you get two 16'
>>>sections of coat lining material sewn together?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>

[Ernest Christley]

Scott wrote:
> I concur with Jerry! Probably the best $10 you will spend in aviation

One more vote for buying the book. It's actually READABLE. It won't
bore you to death like most instructional manuals. I think that is
mainly because they not only tell you what to do...they tell you why you
should do it the way they suggest. They tell you why some old codger at
the airport believes you should fill the weave with PolySpray, and why
he is wrong. In some cases, it is almost a history lesson in fabric
covering processes.

[wright1902glider]

Pray you don't have to sew flat-feld seams! Fun! They are the type
used on the legs of jeans. You wind up folding and sewing the seam
three times! Fortunately, those seams on the Wright machine were only
about 9 ft. long. T'was the spar covers and the leading edges that were
a pain. Without dope, the fabric had to be stretched taught and sewn in
place at the leading edge by hand. (The trailing edge contains a steel
wire that gets sewn to the trailing end of all 63 ribs.) Then, the rear
spar covers had to be sewn to the upper surface by hand. Even more fun.
192 feet of hand sewing just for that operation! And then there's that
eliptical canard...

Have fun with the EZ
Harry "oh yeah, thats why nobody else builds these things anymore" Frey