jmurphy18

Hello everyone
I am new to the hobby and forum. I have been lurking a bit reading and trying to decide my route. I made my first meeting last night and I ordered a Goldman Protege kit last night. What I would like is some advice on the material for a building board. I have a work surface that is 24x49 and I can gain more area when I build the wing by removing my monitor from the desktop. I am working on my sewing table, use to make stunt kites. I saw some posts on using ceiling tiles and gyp board. I would prefer not to use gyp board as it messy. Celing tiles I have to buy the whole case [] I tried rolled cork but it's real thin ~ 1/8" I would think you would want thicker material to put the pins in. I found some cork on line on a commerical site in varing thickness but not sure here what size to use. I could laminate the cork to some MDF board I have in the garage. Can you folks offer this beginner any suggestions? Looking forward to starting my 1st build.

Thanks
John

exeter_acres

My Feedback: (2)

I use drywall on a perfectly level work bench....
except for the initial cut to get it to fit... there is no mess at all.....


(sanding balsa will make a much bigger one!! )

waterloged

Hi i use celing tile sheets, you can get them single at menards, lowes or mose home supply centers from broken open lots. I get the 2'x4' for about 2.00 each. If you have one of these or a tile store around there. Good luck

Sneasle

Here is what I recommend if you are up for having it be heavier and less mobile.

I built myself a mini bench using 3/4" ply and 2 TV dinner tray tables (From world market, theirs were better quality then the ones from walmart)

I went in and attached the Tray tables to the 2'x4' ply using big blind nut type things (they recess into the wood) and bolts. Then I glued on a piece of project board onto the top of the plywood using contact glue. Project board can be gotten at most places you can get wood. It is usually kept over where you can get smaller pre cut pieces of ply. Project board is basically VERY high density non corrugated cardboard. It is very hard and similar to what is used as stylized bathroom walls. It is 1/4" thick in a 2'x4' sheet.

On top of this I glued pieces of 1/4" cork board that I found in the office section of walmart. They come in a package of 4, and each piece is 12" square. I put them side to side and used contact glue here as well. If you want to get rid of the seem, you can then use the cork board roll that you found and put it over it )it is about 1/8" I think). On top of that I put a piece of ceiling tile from the hardware store (you can get single pieces, just ask really nicely).

This might be a bit over kill for you, but it is quite nice to have a (relatively) sturdy table that I can move around as I need. I can remove the tray tables at any time by removing the bolts and then place the board on top of any other table.

total cost:
Tray tables $30 for 2
Ply wood ~$5 for the sheet I think
Project board ~$3
Cork pieces ~$8
Ceiling tile ~$3
Misc hardware ~$6
and then whatever glue you want to use.

If you do it without the tray tables, it is actually a very cheap board that is nice and strong with plenty of depth to sink T-pins into.

ag4ever

I built my first plane on a sheet of 1" thick foam insulation board. The plane flies great and for basic planes the foam will be flat enough if you ar careful to shim it properly and have a good strong flat surface under it. The ceiling tiles are better for pinning as it is more dense, but they make a big mess. They are very fragile and shed dust like you would not beliee. Wall board is actually much less mess, but it is more dense so your fingers will be sore pushing in a bunch of pins.

I personally use the foam under ceiling tile to give me a flat surface that accepts push pins well.

Weasel Keeper

My Feedback: (16)

Noticed in Wally World yesterday, a 2' x 4' cork bulletin board for about $12. Looked like a nice pinning surface for building. I think it was manufactured by Rose Art.

Kelsey_B

I've always used ceiling tiles glued to gypsum board. The ceiling tiles will bow, so glueing them to the drywall keeps them flat. They are easily stored along a wall when not needed and lay down flat everytime. If you are concerned about the gypsum being messy, wait until you see what a little CA, balsa dust, and epoxy are going to do.

Jigley3

Hi. have a look....http://www.airfieldmodels.com/inform...oard/index.htm

carrellh

I use the Great Planes wooden building board. It is 16x48x3/4. It is balsa glued up like a butcher block. Pins go in easy and hold tight. It's expensive ($30) but it works well for me. Here's a link:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXPF36&P=0
They offer smaller sizes.

jmurphy18

Thanks everyone very much! I will look for some gyp board as what I have here is to small 18". I will be forwarned on the sanding. Cannot be as bad as the pine loft bed I just made my daughter
Carrell, how do you like your board for the larger .60 wings? I am building a 72" wing kit. I like that block idea. I found another but it is more $$ [link=http://www.guillow.com/guillowdetail.asp?UID=3114659&Num=2&SeriesId=31&FamilyID=6#]workboard[/link]

lilhachet

My Feedback: (2)

There's all kinds of things you can use, but if you enjoy this hobby and plan on building often, I use the Great Planes balsa building board. It comes in three sizes, I bought the biggest on they carry which is 18x 48,3/4 inch thick,$30.00 Mine is firteen years old and it is still level and dead flat.thats the whole reason for the building board, build straight, fly straight.cheap insurance.welcome to the money pit.

bhady

I use a hollow core door for a base over saw horses built for my working height, then sheet-rock over the top of the door. If you're concerned about the wall-board dust, seal the edgeas with packing tape. this makes a FLAT building surface taht holds pins very well

bhady

jmurphy18

Thanks everyone for the response and the ideas! I apperiate everyone's effort. I have a choice to make now, I think I will try the sheetrock idea 1st as I was offered a piece by an office mate for free and I have a flat table and a section of MDF I can spray glue this to.

carrellh

I used the board for my PT-60, which has about a 72" span. Each wing panel is about 36" so framing them up was no problem on the 48" board.

huck1199

I get 2'x4' ceiling panels at Value Home Center, they sell singles.