Rib Madness

Not to be confused with pork barbecue, the construction of the ribs/frames is pretty much done. I have to trim 2 more radius sections, but otherwise all the frames are complete. Now I need to scrape or cut off the residual foam left from the gorilla glue and then a light sanding followed by paint. McMaster has a thermal blocking paint that waterproofs as well as insulates. 2 coats of this paint is equal to 4-6 inches of foam insulation.
Here are the ribs being put together in the jig:

All the photos are taken from just 1 side of the assembly. Assume the same thing is being assembled on the other half of the jig. Here is a mega-gusset framed in the jig, wet with a roller and a bead of gorilla glue applied. The assorted wood blocks are also wet on both sides before they get put in place.

Same thing, basically, with the blocks in place and glued. The blocks and gussets need to be lined up so that the surfaces that would be the exterior of the gussets are as flush to one another as possible since the outer skin is being attached there.

Here the gussets and blocks are completely laminated and clamped to the jig. At the 2 corners, I ran a 1.625" screw through the assembly to clamp those sections. I didn't prepare for these areas being prone to separating, so I didn't drill any holes here. Oh well. The screws work, too.

Flip the rib/frame over and assemble the top of the camper. Here's a 16"(ish) radius gusset that forms the curve of the top of the camper. I wet the ends and middle for the gluing and assembly. Although the block being glued in the middle area (near the 21 written on the gusset) doesn't match the curve, it'll be trimmed with a router. The plan here is to provide strength and a place to run screws through the curved panels of the roof. Also, it'll add surface area for gluing.

The bottom half of the rib is blocked up against the jig to positively locate the bottom half relative to the top half. This ensures that all the ribs will be the same outer most dimension. That's the whole point of the jig, afterall. Everything is glued and ready for final assembly.

All clamped up. The gorilla glue cures to 80% in 2 hours and 100% in 24 hours. Oh, the white paper there is silicone infused parchment paper. This serves as a barrier between the wood I intend to glue and the wood of the jig. The glue won't stick to it at all.

My next update, I plan on showing either the door or the sanding/painting of the ribs, whichever I get done first.