dirigible designer wrote:
Thanks for all the ideas for joining aluminum sheets. I was amazed at
all the different versions of 3M epoxy there are. Should be one to
suit my needs. http://multimedia.mmm.com/mws/mediaw...Sum5COrrrr Q-
I'll be back in touch after I gather some materials and put a few
pieces together. high flight, Allen

Bonded lap seams should be fine since the loads are certainly going to
be extremely low. You should make some sample lap joints with different
adhesives and pull test them. Grumman light singles are all bonded
aluminum joints, including skin laps, and have been going strong for 40
years since the first Yankees were produced.

Your biggest problem will be having even clamping pressure on the joints
during gluing.

Bonded metal joints are not super strong in tension; the strength is all
in the shear plane. That means the parts will peel apart fairly easily
and there should be a mechanical fastener at any corner of a skin.
There was an AD to do this on the Grummans.

John