> Do NOT just use dowels for this. In order to get the best bond, you must > cut your own plugs with the grain oriented correctly. Face grain must mate > to face grain, side grain to side grain, and endbrain to endbrain, with > the > woods being a very close match. Use Carpenters glue, tight fit. Do not use > epoxy for this function. The tight fit will not allow for enough bond. >
I guess I will chime in here. I have plugged many holes in my KR using dowel rods bought at the local hardware store. I had no idea what type wood it was other than it being a hardwood. I did not give it a second thought. I did not give the grain orientation a second thought. I did not give the thought of using wood glue a single thought as I used T-88 epoxy. Now, all the holes I plugged were 1/4" or smaller. Personally, I loved the comment "pure poppycock". Heck, I have 421 flight hours and 501 landings and the dowels I used have not killed me yet. Honestly, some of you will never finish your plane because you overkill everything. However, if you are plugging a five inch hole in a stress area then the above comments may need to be applied. Especially the part of grain orientation. I will tell you another grain orientation area that I missed when I built which was the gussets in the fuselage frame. They should be orientated to be frame to frame so the gusset will not split. I did not think about this and many of mine were not cut this way. So far not a single one has split. Maybe because they are glued to the plywood frame. Anyway, like I said, my KR has not fallen apart yet nor do I expect it to. Mark Jones (N886MJ) Stevens Point, WI E-mail: flyk...@charter.net Web: www.flykr2s.com _____________
