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Making hatch ribs

PostPosted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 5:22 pm
by regis101
Hello. I'm ready to make the hatch. I've read various threads about the rear hatch using the search function.

But my question is , how many ribs am I able to get from a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood? I'll use 3/4 thickness. They will be 5' 6" long and have the curve that's pretty typical of a teardrop. Seems like a simple question but I'm having trouble with a visual.
They'd be about 2" wide at the top and the bottom.

Thanks,

PostPosted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 7:17 pm
by dmckruit
You should get quite a few, at least 10 with some left over. I ended screwing two pieces together for extra strength. What you can do is get a piece of freezer paper and tape it to your side hatch profile of your tear. Then trace the side opening on the paper. Then make marks from that line for however wide you want your ribs to be. Once you have those marks, you can then trace another line at those points. Cut it out and you have a template to lay on your plywood so that you can play around laying them out.

PostPosted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 7:27 pm
by regis101
Yeah, thanks. For some reason I had in my pea brain that I'd use up space with the perimeter and have lots of waste. But I can now see that I can lay out anywhere on the sheet.

my recent hatch work

PostPosted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:22 pm
by norm's tear drop
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Im better looking at pictures than reading instructions
but if you need a question answered i'll try to exsplain it

Norm :thumbsup:

I got more pics in my album tab click it to see if it answers any thing in your head
like i said if you have a question just ask
Mine is not finished yet but got her in and need to make some adjustments
thats were the belt sander comes in i have the plastic hurricane hinge but for right now i used 4 flush mount hinges to secure it while i make those adjustment
just ask