Sig J-3 1/4 Scale Cub Build Series – Part 9 – Fuselage Strings and Cabin Floor

In part 9 we will take a look at installing a miscellaneous items such the fuselage stringers, some additional window framing and also the nose flooring.

Included with the are a number of 1/8 x 1/4 long balsa sticks  for use as strings.  Reference the included place for their orientation and placement along the fuselage.  One helpful tip to make sure you get the stringer that is placed in the middle of the fuselage is to use a long straight edge as you glue it in place.

With the strings now in place we can turn our attention to the window framing that needs to be done. These are included as balsa sticks so you will have to measure and cut these as needed.  They will be a bit over sized and stick out over the sides of the fuselage, but they will be sanded smooth later.  Part of the metal bracing that secures the nose to the main former gets in the way of the 5/16 stock.  See the photos below for how to shape the stock so it fits nicely around the metal bracing.

To get the curve I just placed a small piece of sand paper over the wire and ran the 5/16 stock back and forth several times until it had carved out the center of it as shown below.

The fuselage flooring pieces are included as printed balsa parts that will need to be cutout at a band say or hand saw.  Also there is a large piece of balsa that will be used for the cabin floor, this is cut over sized and will need to be fitted as shown in the photos below.  I used a number of clamps here to make sure the glue joints will be strong.  I also added some additional triangle balsa inside the nose to help further secure the floor pieces.

Once everything is dry, the cabin floor can be sanded to match the shape of the fuselage!

Sanding the main floor to match the rest of the fuselage shape.

In Part 10, we will look at installing and fitting the cowl around the DLE 40 Twin motor!