To protect my work mat and also to ensure we don't accidently glue anything to the workbench, I'm going to use wax paper as it states in the instructions. Some people use celophane wrap but wax paper is much easier to work with as it doesn't try to stick to itself.
So we lay out all of our pieces as shown above and make a small pencil mark 5 1/2 inches from the joint line between the forward and rear main deck pieces for the little piece that sticks out.
Once again, I prefer to use 2 part epoxy for this step though I know many modelers prefer to use cyanacrylate glue for balsa to balsa joints. I have nothing against CA glue, I just prefer the compromise between strength, fast (though not instant) set time, and strength that the epoxy affords.
When everything is glued, I fold the wax paper over the top of the assembled main deck and sandwhich the freshly glued parts in-between.
Then place a book or some other heavy object on top the wax paper to ensure that the entire assembly stays perfectly flat while the epoxy cures.
And now we have an assembled main deck, perfectly flat and as strong as if it were cut from a single piece of balsa. Our next step is one that is not in the instructions (so I will call it step 8.5). It involves sealing and priming all of the wood pieces that came with the kit so that when painted, they won't look like balsa wood. It is the most time consuming part of most simple rockets and my least favorite, but it's got to be done.
No comments:
Post a Comment