Old Mill

Heh there,

pretty new to the hobby, and I find I truly enjoy building, however, some of my skills leave much to desire, specifically, sheeting. I would love to build a top-flite warbird, but the sheeting alone keeps me from trying.
I also stink at fuel tank installation. I do not know why, these should be simple things, and I have seen pics on this forum of people who could sheet a pineapple with balsa if they wanted to.
Is it possible a reasonable intelligent, mechanically adept individual such as myself, may have some sort of rare genetic sheeting disorder? I just cannot seem to make progress.

Any books/videos you may reccomend would be helpful.

thanks,

mill the shakey

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

I don't know of any books, but maybe I can help. First there are usually 2 ways that a LE is sheeted: (See fig 1&2) In either case, the way I do it is to glue it to the LE first (fig 3). Once it has cured, wet the outside of the sheeting (I just use water, but adding amonia helps if it's a radical bend). now apply glue to the tops of the ribs (Medium CA or carpenters glue) then apply glue to the spar (for this I use Med CA so I don't have to pin it).

Then fold the sheet over the ribs and hold it against the spar with something long and flat (I use a big aluminum level). Hold it for 30 seconds or so until the CA sets, and Voila!

Old Mill

Minnflyer,

thanks, I read alot here, you have alot of useful info. I guess my biggest problem is, the trimming, trueing, and fitting of the sheeting. Try as I may, the straightedge/hobby knife just never seems to make a straight cut. Thats the biggest reason I am hoping a video is out there, so I can see somone do it.

My fellow club mates may be able to help though. Just haven't known them very long, not sure who the builders are yet.

Thanks, love all your pics and diagrams hehe.


mill

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Exactly what type of areas are you trying to sheet?

Old Mill

leading edge to spar on a GP .60 sized cub, and the center wing sheeting, lined up terribly, have alot of sandnig/filling to do, and I really tried to take my time. I didn't realize how nasty CA is to sand. Gonna try wood glue mostly next time, with a little CA to tack it in place.


mill.

nascarfan88

Hey Mill,

Something that I've found out about cutting balsa straight is patience, a very sharp blade, and a good straight edge. Using your patience, don't try to cut thru the sheeting in one cut. Start off with a light cut then progressively cut deeper until you've finally cut all the way thru. Especially when cutting across the grain use light cuts and take your time. It's not unusual for me to use a couple dozen or more blades (#11 exacto) when building a plane. When working with monokote, etc. this material dulls blades very quickly so keep plenty on hand. I buy mine in the hundred pack! Good luck and patience to you.

Mike

rajul

My Feedback: (58)

I find the Harry Higley and Model Airplane News series on building extremely informative. But nothing beats RCU for the best advise you can get from experienced r/c modelers.......

Spike

My Feedback: (1)

The Dave Platt (sp?) videos on scratch building are really good. They dont' give them away but in my opinion they're worth every penny.

- Spike

CafeenMan

Old Mill - You might find my website helpful too. There are a lot of sites on the internet that provide tips and tutorials for certain things. None of them are all inclusive, but if you search around a bit, you'll find a lot of info. The link to my site is in my signature.

Also, I've never seen them, but I've heard the videos by Dave Platt are excellent. I doubt they're geared for beginner modelers though. You might want to give him a call and ask him what they cover.

Also, there are some bright yellow books by a modeler whos name I won't mention. The books contain some useful information, but a lot of the info seems contrived just to add content to the books. Also a lot of what is covered is unnecessarily complicated for reasons I don't understand. Still, there's a lot of good info in them. Just look in your LHS for yellow books and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Welcome back!