sw74gls

Hi Guys I am in the process of building a second Tomboy 36 for my younger Daughter and I am having the same problem with bending the Longerons as I did with the first model, it tool several attempts and several wasted fuselage sides when it sprung out of shape once unpinned before i finally managed to achieve 2 good sides.
The method I was using was soaking the 3/16 x 3/16 strips in a bath for several hours to soften the balsa then pinning down onto the plan and leaving to dry, once dry I then proceeded with the infill strips until the fus was completed only to find it was luck whether or not it stayed in shape???
Am I doing something wrong or is their better methods for this please???
I would really appreciate your help please, Many thanks Simon.

mogman

You could take 2 pieces of 3/32 x 3/16 and laminate them together using wood glue, (titebond, elmers etc). and pin into place on the plan using lots of pins to hold the 2 strips together.
When dry, they will hold their shape.

GREG DOE

HEINZ distilled white (clear) vinegar. For strip wood I use a piece of PVC pipe. Close off one end, put the sticks in the pipe, fill it with vinegar, and insert enough weight (I use ball bearings) to keep the wood from floating. Soak over night. Ammonia works well too.

sw74gls

Thank you very much guys really appreciate your help, thank you simon.

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

Lots of tricks and solutions and they all work. I just use plain water and really can't tell much difference compared to ammonia, etc.

The suggestion above about laminating two thinner sticks together is guaranteed to work. Been there and done that. Time consuming and messy but it works. I use a water based glue like original Titebond.