I am getting close to where i need to put the leading edge plywood wrap on my wing, and i have some questions.
How did you soak the plywood? did you lay it in a tub over night? steam it, if so how?
also did you varnish the inside part of the wrap before or after soaking it? Thanks

Gday cdlwingnut

I've just finished my leading edge with some great advice and info from this forum. If you have a look further down the main page ' miniMax, Hi-Max, and AirBike General Discussions' you'll see my thread 'Leading Edge Ply Installation'. There's a heap of good advice in there plus some photos that may be of interest.

I soaked the ply sheets in our bath tub for a couple of hours but had to turn them around a couple of times as the tub wasn't big enough.

I varnished after soaking and shaping.

Cheers, Mick

About 40 minutes in bathtub for me. Then into a jig to dry

Isnt soaking in a tub extreme or is it absolutely necessary. Wouldnt a little water spray on the faces in the bend area do ?

The aieleron wrap is a sharp bend and might be a problem.

What if the glue is not waterproof ?

And does one keep the face grain parallel or right angles to the wing chord?

I had a similiar question regarding the bottom fuselage ply sheeting and the  wing spar ply web.

Is the bottom face grain direction right angles to fuse length and spar web face grain vertical ?

That is what we have been doing in aeromodelling all the while.

KK

If the glue is not waterproof, you might consider that you need better ply. Aircraft grade ply should withstand boiling water for a specified period of time without delamination.

I put my ply sheets in the tub for five minutes, then wrapped them around the leading edge with ratchet straps and let them dry out like that for 24 hours. they didin't stay the same shape as the airfoil but more like a 90 degree bend but it sure made things alot easier. Beaky buzzard out!