Looks great Bam Bam
So shall we be seeing it around at some IMAC comps when its up and going

Aaron

Originally Posted by Bam Bam

ok the fuse is done ready for foam now! just gonna attack it with glue to make sure all joints are good!

Dont wanna toot my own horn, but i am very happy with how straight it all is, especially after spline sanding it all! i'm kinda pumped and proud of my first build so far! i do realise however that the easy parts are done and i got a real long way to go!

I'm toatlly lovin it and reckon that if you have thought about building baut never taken the plunge, JUST DO IT!!!

For spline sanding, i did it a little different. rather than stick the sand paper down to a flat surface, i stuck two 50x 50x 3mm aluminium box's together then covered it with sandpaper! works awesome and is fast as well as easy to handle. also, cos it weighs abit, no need to push down on it!

Also i have weighed it now! not sure if it's a good weight or not but as you can see it just over 2.2 kilo. Cheers!

Looks awesome Andrew! I responded to your PM this morning but I can see from the pictures you already had the X and W bracing figured out You are kicking some serious butt and 2.2 kg is a good weight to be at so far!

Hi guys

I wanted to ask a question in regards to preparing the balsa sheets for skinning the foam.
What i would like to know is what method of edge gluing works best? i know some use CA. some use wood glue, while others use nothing at all!

Would appericate feed back from all who have done this!

I have asked this question on another thread too, just chasing as many answers as possible!

Thanks!

I just CA'd Kevin's when I prepped them for him. It worked just fine.

Matt

Thant's what i was thinking, just worried about sanding the skins afterwards. does the glue make high spots in the skin? Did you use thin or medium CA?

Andrew, I always tape the sheets together very tightly on the side that will be out and then wick thin ca in the joint very carefully. Let it sit taped till cured and then un tape it and sand smooth on the bench. I've also fit the pieces beforehand and used med ca at the butt joint and taped them as I joined them. Just practice a bit on scrap to see what works best for you. Some people also tape the wood together ,bend the joint open and use wood glue and then set aside. I'm sure there are many was to do it. That's just my .02 worth. BTW I was at Matt's the night he was glueing those skins for the 55% and that's a lot of sheeting to join. Scott

Thanks scott! there is a huge amount of sheeting to be done! gonna do some samples and see what works best for me! i will probably sheet the verticle stab first as it's the smallest piece!

Bam,looking good dude.I wonder how gorilla glue would be for edge gluing?I was thinking it would maybe sand easily w/o the hard place's that the CA leaves?Wonder what the Sensei used??

I did ask sensei and he said when using 30-nf that he glue the edges with wood glue.
If using gorilla glue then he just tapes the sheets together.

I have used 4 different glues for edge gluing sheeting over lots of builds. Following are my unscientific observations.

• First, square and tight fitting joints between sheets is key for good sheeting. Take the time to properly true the edges before bonding.
• Thin CA - Quick and easy to do. Harder to sand flush than other glues. Can create a brittle area around the seam which sometimes becomes a problem when sheeting pronounced curves such as on a turtle deck or bottom corners of a belly pan.
• Poly Glues (ie. Gorilla, Elmer’s Ultimate) – The foaming aspect of the poly makes it a bit messy. Easy to sand. When using a shuck & weight or bagging method for sheeting the cores some people simply tape the sheet edges together without actually gluing them. The foaming action of the poly glue will then penetrate the taped seam and create their bond at the same time the sheeting is bonded to the foam.
• Titebond or Titebond II - Simple application and effective. Sanding the resulting seam is critical and can be frustrating at times. It can create a “hard” edge you can’t see or don’t know is there until after you Monokote and then it shows through or you can feel it as sort of a hard ridge. If you live in a real humid area like I do then this can get even more pronounced later as things dry out over time. Good spline sanding is the key for eliminating this potential issue.
• Gorilla White Glue - This glue is a Gorilla brand but is NON-Foaming. It’s basically their answer to Titebond or Elmers wood glue. It applies and acts very similar to Titebond but it is much easier to sand IMO and doesn’t leave a ridge or seam that shows through the Monokote. This is my favorite glue for edge gluing sheets. Especially, when using 3M 30-NF for the sheeting process. Regarding 3M 30-NF, I believe there are several advantages of using it over other methods of sheeting if applied properly. I have done eight planes now using 30-NF with excellent results and will continue using it in the future.

Originally Posted by Fixed Wing

I have used 4 different glues for edge gluing sheeting over lots of builds. Following are my unscientific observations.

• First, square and tight fitting joints between sheets is key for good sheeting. Take the time to properly true the edges before bonding.
• Thin CA - Quick and easy to do. Harder to sand flush than other glues. Can create a brittle area around the seam which sometimes becomes a problem when sheeting pronounced curves such as on a turtle deck or bottom corners of a belly pan.
• Poly Glues (ie. Gorilla, Elmer’s Ultimate) – The foaming aspect of the poly makes it a bit messy. Easy to sand. When using a shuck & weight or bagging method for sheeting the cores some people simply tape the sheet edges together without actually gluing them. The foaming action of the poly glue will then penetrate the taped seam and create their bond at the same time the sheeting is bonded to the foam.
• Titebond or Titebond II - Simple application and effective. Sanding the resulting seam is critical and can be frustrating at times. It can create a “hard” edge you can’t see or don’t know is there until after you Monokote and then it shows through or you can feel it as sort of a hard ridge. If you live in a real humid area like I do then this can get even more pronounced later as things dry out over time. Good spline sanding is the key for eliminating this potential issue.
• Gorilla White Glue - This glue is a Gorilla brand but is NON-Foaming. It’s basically their answer to Titebond or Elmers wood glue. It applies and acts very similar to Titebond but it is much easier to sand IMO and doesn’t leave a ridge or seam that shows through the Monokote. This is my favorite glue for edge gluing sheets. Especially, when using 3M 30-NF for the sheeting process. Regarding 3M 30-NF, I believe there are several advantages of using it over other methods of sheeting if applied properly. I have done eight planes now using 30-NF with excellent results and will continue using it in the future.

Thanks Dean! I was just getting ready to respond to Andrew's question and you did a much better job than I would have

BTW guys if my memory serves me Dean is pretty much the guy who brought 30NF to the Giant Scale arena. If I'm correct, thanks for that buddy! I've done two with it now and love it!

well thanks so much! they are all the options in a nutshell!
I am definatly using 30-nf for the sheeted areas on this build.
I did a little testing this morning and basically, i'm not really happy going the CA route. it soaks through too much and gets stuck to the tape. also it seems to hard to sand flush even when spline sanding. i am waiting for some sheet done with wood glue to dry. it seems this will be softer and easier to sand than ca.
I will post some pics of the sample results later.

Thanks for all the help guys!

Bam,i was talking about using the gg just for edge gluing.The wood glue is hard to sand for me and balls up and dents the balsa.I have used the thin ca and hard as hell to sand.I'm going to test with the white gg.GG makes a wood glue they call sandable,and it seemed the same as titebond to me.Maybe There's a trick on the sanding end?????? Get r dun!

Originally Posted by walkerk122

Thanks Dean! I was just getting ready to respond to Andrew's question and you did a much better job than I would have

BTW guys if my memory serves me Dean is pretty much the guy who brought 30NF to the Giant Scale arena. If I'm correct, thanks for that buddy! I've done two with it now and love it!

Kevin,

Thanks for your comments. However, I am not the original user of 30-NF. Rick Bird's dad use to build the Bird boy's pattern planes with 30-NF years ago. He discovered that heat setting it after application was the trick for its unique bonding characteristics. Then Rick built a couple 40% planes using it with good results. Rick convinced me to try it and I liked it and have used it exclusively from that point forward. Some people are critical of it thinking it will debond in the sun over time like other contact adhesives have done in the past. However, these same people haven't actually tried 30-NF and don't understand that its chemical properties are different when "heat set." I guess that's their loss.

Anyway, I wanted to set the record straight as to how I started using this product. I've just been more vocal about it and doing more builds with it than Rick or his Dad.

Dean

Originally Posted by Fixed Wing

Kevin,

Thanks for your comments. However, I am not the original user of 30-NF. Rick Bird's dad use to build the Bird boy's pattern planes with 30-NF years ago. He discovered that heat setting it after application was the trick for its unique bonding characteristics. Then Rick built a couple 40% planes using it with good results. Rick convinced me to try it and I liked it and have used it exclusively from that point forward. Some people are critical of it thinking it will debond in the sun over time like other contact adhesives have done in the past. However, these same people haven't actually tried 30-NF and don't understand that its chemical properties are different when "heat set." I guess that's their loss.

Anyway, I wanted to set the record straight as to how I started using this product. I've just been more vocal about it and doing more builds with it than Rick or his Dad.

Dean

I see....thanks for spreading the good word then

So far it is my favorite sheeting method. Working in my cold basement this winter required long wait times between applying it and tacking the pieces together but even at that it's still quicker than gg.