Placing the Rib Pieces.
Take one of the frames and place on it the ribs, with the arched side
up, letting one end of the ribs come
flush with the front edge of the forward frame, and the other end
projecting about a foot beyond the rear frame. The manner of fastening
the ribs to the frame pieces is optional. In some cases they are lashed
with shoe thread, and in others clamped with a metal clamp fastened with
1/2-inch wood screws. Where clamps and screws are used care should
be taken to make slight holes in the wood with an awl before starting
the screws so as to lessen any tendency to split the wood. On the top
frame, twenty-one ribs placed one foot apart will be
required. On the lower frame, because of the opening left for the
operator's body, you will need only twenty.
