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Model Forum / General / Models / April 2008Model Balsa Wood Kits
I have just re-started building balsa wood model aircraft, from kits, after about 40 years! I used to use a wooden board on which I laid out my plans and then stuck pins in to hold the pieces in place while the glue set (I assume people still do that?) Perhaps, it's because I'm now over 21, but pushing the dress-making pins in with my thumb hurts like billie-oh but I'm at a loss as to what to use instead of a wooden board. Are there now boards made of magic material in which it's easy to push the pins? I need help (a lot of people keep telling me that!), please. John > I have just re-started building balsa wood model aircraft, from kits, after > about 40 years! [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > with my thumb hurts like billie-oh but I'm at a loss as to what to use > instead of a wooden board. Get yourself a thimble.  Signature-sdg "Un gromono, mon royaume pour un gromono!" Shakespeare - Richard III Get a ceiling tile or piece of fiberboard from Home Depot, much easier to push ins into. Pin the plans to it and then cover the plans with waxed paper. Aways worked well for me. Mark >I have just re-started building balsa wood model aircraft, from kits, after >about 40 years! [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > John Yep I use fibre board stuck to a piece of MDF - the MDF makes the board nice an rigid and keeps it flat. Cheers, Nigel > Get a ceiling tile or piece of fiberboard from Home Depot, much easier to > push ins into. Pin the plans to it and then cover the plans with waxed [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >> >> John Thanks everybody! My thumb will thank you for ever! Also, thanks to Serge - just after I sent the posting, I remembered that I used to use my wife's thimble. Memory dims as you get older. I will now see how much I remember of how to make a model! John >Thanks everybody! My thumb will thank you for ever! > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >John part a to part b, repeat until it looks like the cover of the box it came in. <snip> >>I will now see how much I remember of how to make a model! >> >>John >> > part a to part b, repeat until it looks like the cover of the box it came > in. Hold on! I'll just write that down - "part a to part b, then repeat until it looks like the cover of the box it came in" Okay, gotcha! I'll see if I remember in the morning. I'll also look for them there round headed pins. Thanks again, John Back when I used to try wood the best way I found was to get a cheap bulletin board made of cork and cover it with first the plans and then wax paper. But at was 40 years ago!!!! Cookie Sewell >Back when I used to try wood the best way I found was to get a cheap >bulletin board made of cork and cover it with first the plans and then >wax paper. But at was 40 years ago!!!! > >Cookie Sewell great minds work alike... ><snip> > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > >John great retort! you got points for that. (ouch!) any sewing/craft store should have them. but lmk if you can't find them and we'll get you some. the pins, i mean. >> Hold on! I'll just write that down - "part a to part b, then repeat until it >> looks like the cover of the box it came in" [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > the pins, i mean. > Zen Chinese model instructions: "Particular pieces go in particular places in particular ways. Build model and achieve new step towards enlightenment. Lucky numbers: 1/35, 1/48, 1/72." Pat on 4/12/2008 2:29 AM Pat Flannery said the following: >>> Hold on! I'll just write that down - "part a to part b, then repeat >>> until it looks like the cover of the box it came in" [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Pat Don't forget to rearrange your workshop according to feng shui to attain ch'i. SignatureBill In Hamptonburgh, NY To email, remove the double zeroes after @ >on 4/12/2008 2:29 AM Pat Flannery said the following: >> [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] >Don't forget to rearrange your workshop according to feng shui to attain >ch'i. my feng shui is chaos. >> Zen Chinese model instructions: >> "Particular pieces go in particular places in particular ways. Build [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >Don't forget to rearrange your workshop according to feng shui to attain >ch'i. Confucius he says: If incense sticks not have chop chop glue fumes acceptable. Confucius he says: Bamboo, rice paper and string contraption in China invent first flying machine. White man do same much late. >>> Zen Chinese model instructions: >>> "Particular pieces go in particular places in particular ways. Build [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >Confucius he says: Bamboo, rice paper and string contraption in China >invent first flying machine. White man do same much late. confucius says women who fly upside down have hairy crack-up. >>>> Zen Chinese model instructions: >>>> "Particular pieces go in particular places in particular ways. Build [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >> >confucius says women who fly upside down have hairy crack-up. Confucius he says: So that's what you peope have been smoking? Confucious he says: Will never understand why white man find burnt hair taste good. >>In article <hd02041beua94m6munvn6so601u3ajg2sp@4ax.com>, PaPaPeng@yahoo.com > wrote: [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] >Confucious he says: Will never understand why white man find burnt >hair taste good. smoke it, white eyes! oops, different joke. >I have just re-started building balsa wood model aircraft, from kits, after >about 40 years! [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >John there are round head pins easier on the hands. i used to use a corkboard, a cheap noteboard variety. you can get it at home centers by the square. > I have just re-started building balsa wood model aircraft, from kits, after > about 40 years! [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > John Use masking tape to hold a chunk or corrugated cardboard to the top of a nice flat sheet of plywood - then put a piece of wax paper over the plans, build on top of that, and you're golden. Signature- Rufus > I have just re-started building balsa wood model aircraft, from kits, after > about 40 years! [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > with my thumb hurts like billie-oh but I'm at a loss as to what to use > instead of a wooden board. Don't forget the sheet of waxed paper over the plans, so that the parts don't get glued to the plans. When I did balsa models as a kid, I always used a sheet of corrugated cardboard, not a wooden board. A cork bulletin board would work too. Go to a sewing supply store and buy some pins with glass or plastic heads. They have a small ball molded around the head so they're easier to handle. They're also easier to spot if they fall on the floor. > Don't forget the sheet of waxed paper over the plans, so that the parts > don't get glued to the plans. > Ye olde standby! That must have been going on since the mid 1930's. Which came first? Balsa and tissue, or waxed paper? :-D Pat >> Don't forget the sheet of waxed paper over the plans, so that the parts >> don't get glued to the plans. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >Pat the egyptians used balsa. for ships. not models On Apr 12, 12:14 pm, some...@some.domain wrote: > >> Don't forget the sheet of waxed paper over the plans, so that the parts > >> don't get glued to the plans. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > the egyptians used balsa. for ships. not models Ummmm, balsa is a New World wood. Or are you saying that they traded with the Incas for it (along with the grass and coke that have supposedly been found in their tombs)? >On Apr 12, 12:14=A0pm, some...@some.domain wrote: >> In article <iZmdnTgOVPK4xZ3VnZ2dnUVZ_hmtnZ2d@northdakotatelephone>, flan..= [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >with the Incas for it (along with the grass and coke that have >supposedly been found in their tombs)? are you sure? one of my tomb books said it. we know they traded with the santorini folks. i wonder if they taded with the new world? >>On Apr 12, 12:14=A0pm, some...@some.domain wrote: >>> In article <iZmdnTgOVPK4xZ3VnZ2dnUVZ_hmtnZ2d@northdakotatelephone>, flan..= [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >we know they traded with the santorini folks. >i wonder if they taded with the new world? yep, you're right. > >On Apr 12, 12:14=A0pm, some...@some.domain wrote: > >> In article <iZmdnTgOVPK4xZ3VnZ2dnUVZ_hmtnZ2d@northdakotatelephone>, flan..= [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > we know they traded with the santorini folks. > i wonder if they taded with the new world? What I've heard is that the Egyptians used reeds to build their craft. And, IIRC, Thor Heyerdahl built a boat from balsa to sail west to Polynesia and pulled it off Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr. >> In article > <a9c3309a-0a05-4517-93ac-04f24d9ac662@m36g2000hse.googlegroups.com>, The Old [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > >Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr. yep, even though it got a little dicey towards the end. >> What I've heard is that the Egyptians used reeds to build their craft. >> And, IIRC, Thor Heyerdahl built a boat from balsa to sail west to [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > yep, even though it got a little dicey towards the end. > Considering what marine Teredo worms can do to solid oak hulls, I'd hate to let them loose on balsa wood. I don't how balsa trees are harvested now, but they used to just float the whole trunks down the river, with around 1/4 of each trunk being destroyed by wood-eating organisms by the time it arrived at the mill. Pat >>> What I've heard is that the Egyptians used reeds to build their craft. >>> And, IIRC, Thor Heyerdahl built a boat from balsa to sail west to [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > >Pat no, they had problems with the wood absorbing water. they lived on the deck the last days, very low in the water. i remember a picture and it looked half sunk. > no, they had problems with the wood absorbing water. they lived on the deck > the last days, very low in the water. i remember a picture and it looked half > sunk. > I read the book when I was a kid. Most people don't know that balsa wood is quite heavy before it is kiln-dried to remove all the water, so setting out on a boat made of it is like sailing on a slow-motion foam rubber sponge, as it soaks up all the water again. This is probably the same with redwood, which is the stumbling block in my plan to make a 200-foot-long dugout canoe from a giant redwood tree trunk. :-) When the Kon-Tiki crew were getting ready to sail, people from the National Geographic Society told them to watch out for these things when they were crossing through the Humboldt Current: http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=249 ...which they thought might try to crawl aboard at night...so the crew slept with machetes under their pillows in case they were attacked while sleeping. The jumbo squids didn't give them any trouble though. Pat >> no, they had problems with the wood absorbing water. they lived on the deck >> the last days, very low in the water. i remember a picture and it looked half [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > >Pat them humboldts are really aggressive in the water. i didn't know they crawl in boats. they are really smart, too. the get out of tanks, traps, all kinds of sh.t you would think impossible. In the study material for docent duties at the Ventura County Maritime Museum, they explained that a "Balsa" boat is also a type of small float/raft made from local reeds. Some tribes of the Americal west coast used "Balsa" boats for coastal fishing. Run "balsa boat" thru google. The relationship between the boat and the wood, I still don't quite understand. Tom >>> Don't forget the sheet of waxed paper over the plans, so that the parts >>> don't get glued to the plans. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >>Pat > the egyptians used balsa. for ships. not models On Apr 12, 11:14 am, some...@some.domain wrote: > >> Don't forget the sheet of waxed paper over the plans, so that the parts > >> don't get glued to the plans. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > the egyptians used balsa. for ships. not models But the Egyptians also built MODEL ships. The wife of one of the guys in my model ship club is a recently graduated archeologist. Her thesis was based around an Egyptian ship model found in a tomb. > But the Egyptians also built MODEL ships. The wife of one of the guys > in my model ship club is a recently graduated archeologist. Her > thesis was based around an Egyptian ship model found in a tomb. > Want to see a neat ancient ship model? This one from the Irish Broighter Hoard is made of solid gold: http://www.shee-eire.com/Arts&Crafts/Celtic/Jewellery/Gold-Jewellery/Gold%20ship /Photos/Broighter001.jpg Pat >> But the Egyptians also built MODEL ships. The wife of one of the guys >> in my model ship club is a recently graduated archeologist. Her [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >Pat that can float in my tub anytime. >> Want to see a neat ancient ship model? This one from the Irish Broighter >> Hoard is made of solid gold: [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > that can float in my tub anytime. > It would be interesting to know how much it weighs and if it really can float. The gold hull looks fairly thin, so maybe it can actually float. Pat >> Ye olde standby! That must have been going on since the mid 1930's. >> Which came first? Balsa and tissue, or waxed paper? :-D [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > the egyptians used balsa. for ships. not models > That would be somewhat difficult to do, as balsa is indigenous to South America, not Africa. They made boats out of reeds, and later pieces of wood sewn together, before Alexander The Great arrived and they went over to more modern Greek ship-building concepts. When they found Pharaoh Cheops disassembled Solar Boat in the sealed pit near the Great Pyramid in 1954, they were baffled as to why there were several miles worth of rope with it. That was all the rope the planks were tied together with. The Egyptians did make model boats also; here's some photos of of ones that have been found: http://www.sheshen-eceni.co.uk/images/egyptian%20model%20boat.jpg http://albums.laurenstravels.com/albums/british-museum-egypt/Ancient_Egyptian_mo del_boat.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Egyptian_boat_model_(ca ._1900BC).jpg/800px-Egyptian_boat_model_(ca._1900BC).jpg http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/citi/images/standard/WebLarge/WebImg_000002 /224_184582.jpg Pat In the study material for docent duties at the Ventura County Maritime Museum, they explained that a "Balsa" boat is also a type of small float/raft made from local reeds. Some tribes of the Americal west coast used "Balsa" boats for coastal fishing. Run "balsa boat" thru google. The relationship between the boat and the wood, I still don't quite understand. Tom >>> Ye olde standby! That must have been going on since the mid 1930's. >>> Which came first? Balsa and tissue, or waxed paper? :-D [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Pat On Apr 11, 9:39 pm, "Wayne C. Morris" <wayne.mor...@this.is.invalid> wrote: > When I did balsa models as a kid, I always used a sheet of corrugated > cardboard, not a wooden board. A cork bulletin board would work too. Cork board is good and reusable. A cheap alternative is to go to a builder's supply and buy a 2'x4' ceiling tile. They cost around $2.00 (usually less, sometimes fo' free if you spot one on garbage day). I use them backside up for layout and when they've gone as far as they can, I cut them to a smaller size (around 7"x7") to put items on that need spray painting. I can hold pieces with an alligator clip and jam said clip into the tile to keep the force of the spray from blowing the piece around too badly. > Go to a sewing supply store and buy some pins with glass or plastic > heads. They have a small ball molded around the head so they're easier > to handle. They're also easier to spot if they fall on the floor. Another type is the posting board pushpin. It's got a head with a good concave )( surface that's easiy to handle and will act as an anchor for the balsa pieces. > I have just re-started building balsa wood model aircraft, from kits, after > about 40 years! [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > John I made up a board from a piece of particle board four foot by one foot, and covered it with thick cork self-adhesive tiles. Someone makes and sells a balsa-wood building board. However, since balsa is now fairly expensive, the resulting board is expensive too. Also it hurts me philosophically to use balsa for anything other than models :-) There are also some "magnetic" boards sold, with a steel surface and a bunch of magnets that hold the pieces in place while the glue sets. BTW, I now cover the plans with saran-wrap rather than the old waxed paper we used to use. You can see the plans better, and I always worried about getting too much wax on wood that might inhibit other, later gluing. |
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