How to glue balsa?

[ronstew]

I have a brand new Guillow's Arrow rubber-powered free-flyer kit. It's going to be the first model I build. I have a tube of UHU hart balsa model building glue. The instructions read:

Apply to clean, dry surface, leave to dry for 1-2 minutes, apply a second coat to one surface and join parts.

Seems simple enough, but it leaves some questions unanswered.

Do I smear it on with my finger? The label says that it is an irritant.

How long do I have to hold the pieces together.

How do I clean up?

Later, I am supposed to cover with tissue and dope. The plans are copyright 1967, and I suspect there may be a better covering method and material. Suggestions?

Any advice or links to answers?

[CHELLIE]

Hi Ronstew, The glue you want to use is CA or superglue, for hobby aircraft, it comes in thin, medium and thick for gap filling, also you want to use a kicker, it is a spray that sets up the glue right away, dont get it on your fingers or you will glue them together as for the covering you want to use a light weight coverite, its a plastic covering thats heat applied with a iron, you could use tissue paper also it you wanted to, I have not used dope and tissue paper since the late 60s oh oh showing my age :p
http://www.hobbypeople.net/guru/hps_760764341.asp

type in coverite in the search box for the covering. type in CA in the search box for the glue, type in kicker for the CA glue kicker, you can use tissue paper and dope, but i dont know who might sell it, its kind of outdated, search google.com that might help.
Take care and have fun, Chellie

[slipstick]

Well you could use CA (super-glue) instead of that old-fashioned balsa glue. In that case just fit parts together, add smallest amount of glue you can manage to the joint and wait a few seconds.

If you do use the balsa glue just smear it on with anything convenient....preferably not a finger though I sometimes do....but for most joints something like a pin or cocktail stick is adequate. You'll want to pin the parts down over the plane because it typically takes anything up to 30 minuyes to stick properly.

For very small rubber-powered models tissue and dope is still best.

BTW we're only really supposed to talk about R/C electric models here. If you pop over to SFA http://www.smallflyingarts.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl you'll find lots of people who'll be happy to help you with your FF rubber model .

Steve

[CHELLIE]

Rubber power free flight leads up to Rc Aircraft Chellie

[ronstew]

As Chellie has discerned, I am working towards bulding an electric park flyer. Anyway, building with balsa is building with balsa. Nevertheless, Slipstick, that is a great resource you turned me to, and likely a better place to learn building techniques.

I did not buy the CA glue because I am considering this as a grade 11 technology project. The LHS owner suggested that CA might not be sufficiently forgiving for inexperienced builders like me and my students.

[ragbag]

Originally Posted by ronstew

As Chellie has discerned, I am working towards bulding an electric park flyer. Anyway, building with balsa is building with balsa. Nevertheless, Slipstick, that is a great resource you turned me to, and likely a better place to learn building techniques.

I did not buy the CA glue because I am considering this as a grade 11 technology project. The LHS owner suggested that CA might not be sufficiently forgiving for inexperienced builders like me and my students.

You have to start somewhere. Rubber is good to teach you light building. I don't use CA, I use aliphatic. Titebond is good, you do have to wait for it to dry, my favorite pass time, watching the glue dry.

Three of us did a Sig Kadet LT 25 Conversion, mine is the lightest of the three almost three pounds lighter than the heaviest. It is forgiving, as it has some flex in it, not brittle like CA.

Let us know how your class does with the project, maybe your local hobby shop can hook you up with some local flyers and get an after hours class going. Teacher in Inverness, Fl did and had a ball. The locals got her a few Kadet 25 kits and they helped her and the kids build them and put them on the Buddy Box, even got her to fly a little.




PS:
It was cold and windy that day, we had a ball. All I did was take pictures for her.
.................................................. .

[Snow Owl]

You can even use Elmer's Glue -All. If you squirt some into a jar lid or something and use a toothpick to apply just what you need and no more the drying time is pretty short. That double gluing the directions suggest is important for filling the grain on the ends. Otherwise the glue wicks into the wood and starves the joint. Like slipstick says, tissue is still best for small rubber powered models like your Arrow. Either glue it on with white glue thinned with a little water with a paintbrush, (a cheap one like in a kid's water color set is fine) or try a glue stick. Don't try to get the tissue real tight. You will shrink it with water or dope later, and too tight usually means warps. Keep it at one coat of dope, thinned 1:1, since the weight will build up fast. People are experimenting with Future brand floor wax instead. Like slipstick says, go to www.smallflyingarts.com for good ideas about how to cover and finish.

[Snow Owl]

Here's an article about tissue covering with Future.

http://www.smallflyingarts.com/Curre...loor_wax_3.htm

[PerlAddict]

Originally Posted by slipstick

BTW we're only really supposed to talk about R/C electric models here. If you pop over to SFA http://www.smallflyingarts.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl you'll find lots of people who'll be happy to help you with your FF rubber model .

Steve

Extremely off topic, but I wrote a good deal of code that's in that forum software you linked to.

Just don't see many people using that software anymore now that phpBB and vBulletin are so widely used, so that was a pleasant blast from my past.

You may all carry on with your discussion now.

[TLyttle]

Ronstew, PM me, I can give you names of guys in your area who can help you.

[jdetray]

Hi Dave -

Another YaBB user ... ME! I use it on our club's web site.

- Jeff

[PerlAddict]

Very cool, Jeff! And the new version, to boot! I haven't worked on it since SP1. If you look in your admin center, "Dave Baughman" in there is me. The two biggest things I wrote are probably the attachment feature and the ability to have global moderators.

I haven't actually checked out Y2.1 very much ... that's a really nice design they've made it into. Good lookin' site, man!

[jdetray]

Thanks, Dave. I've used YaBB on 3 or 4 sites, wherever the site owner did not want to spend money of discussion forum software. It has never failed me.

- Jeff