Blog

The well deck floor & sides.

The ‘box’ of the prototype I’m building is made of balsa wood, later production models are produced in ply and have the planking lines laser etched on the floor panels, and as balsa doesn’t take stain particularly well I have used separate obeche panels to line the box internally that can be finished with the Teak stain that I’m using. This does, however, mean that I can apply the deck lines using a black indelible marker pen and incorporate some detail lines around the motor housing. I started by cutting and shaping two obeche panels that join along the centre line of the deck and fit neatly around the motor mount and prop-shaft, then I used some tracing paper over the panels to make a test pattern for the planking lines. When I was happy with the layout of the lines I first applied two coat of Teak stain to the panels, and when that was dry I used a .8mm pen to mark the deck lines, the ink takes a while to dry fully and I found it all too easy to smudge some lines 😡 which had to be very quickly taken off with a dampened cotton bud and re-applied. After 24 hours the ink had fully dried and was impervious to smudging and resistant to removal by any means (except a solvent). The floor panels were then glued down to the balsa floor with an even spread of and weighted down over all of the area as there was a tendency for the panels to curl and lift. Each side panel was made in one piece and then separated into two parts to make the fitting easier, the join will be covered with a vertical detail strip, and they were also stained before being glued and clamped in place. No lining detail was applied to the side panels as I’ll do this with other surface applied pieces later but only in the area outside of the cabin. All the panels were given a couple of coats of satin lacquer to enhance and protect the finish.

5 years ago by robbob

Blog

Detailing the deck.

Some obeche coaming strips were added to the insides of the well deck and a piece was added at the rear which notches into the side coamings, this required shaping to the curvature of the deck so I wound some masking tape around a pencil to the required diameter and marked a line on the coaming to sand the profile down to. This piece won’t be fixed in place until I have added some internal detail in the rear of the well deck. Some thin strip was fitted along the sides of the deck which form part of the ‘treads’ that run the length of the cabin sides, these were glued and pinned in place after the edges and ends were rounded. At this point I applied some ‘Antique Pine’ stain to the bulwarks, rubbing fenders and deck strips. The position of the treads that run along the deck for the length of the cabin sides were marked by taking a measurement from the plan and transferring this to the deck strips. The tread angle from the plan was determined to be 68 degrees using a digital angle finder (another little bargain find in Lidl for less than a tenner 👍👍) and position marks pencilled on the deck. I chose to mark and apply these treads as per the model that is in the National Maritime Museum which I’m following to recreate my version of the Police Launch. These ‘photos have been very helpful in detailing this model. They can be seen here: https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/67590.html I used some temporary spacer strips along the cabin sides and deck strips and then cut and shaped each tread individually to fit in the desired positions, all the treads were fixed using a couple of dots of superglue making sure that no glue got onto the deck surface as CA and does affect the way the obeche accepts the wood stain as I discovered when I did some ‘colour tests’ earlier. The whole deck was then given a very light rub down with a fine abrasive pad before the first of several coats of ‘Teak’ stain was applied. The contrasting colours of the Antique Pine and Teak stain works well on this model and is in keeping with the wood colours of the NMM model that I’m using as a reference. EDIT…..I have just noticed that the digital angle finder and digital callipers are back on sale at Lidl on 3rd of March for £9.99 each…….still a bargain 😁👍 https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/MiddleofLidl.htm?articleId=20539

5 years ago by robbob

Blog

Building the Cabin. Part 1

The superstructure of the launch is very simple, and from a practical point it was designed to give the crew a large field of view across the river and fast access in and out to deal with emergency situations. Consequently the construction is quite basic and would be quite straightforward if permanently fixed to the boat but this cabin needs to be removable to give access to the battery location and motor. Because of this the cabin needs to be a strong and rigid structure of its own and yet fit invisibly to the rest of the model, it’s also only a three sided structure because of the open access at the rear and that alone will be a point of weakness to the structure. I started by glueing the internal bracing strips to the insides of the deck sides as described in the instruction sheet and some strips that form the base for the sides that sit on the deck, these also needs to be sanded to an angle to sit flush on the deck and also create a vertical face that some further strips are fixed to which meet the inside walls of the deck well. Although all the parts for the cabin are accurately laser cut I chose to do a dry ‘test fit’ using pins and elastic bands to hold the side panels and roof braces together. This 'dry fit' was neccessary because I had previously decided to fit false obeche panels over the balsa sides and floor of the well to get a better surface to finish in the way I intend, balsa does not have any pleasing grain and does not look good even when stained, so I pinned all these panels in place to account for their addition to the internal dimensions of the well deck. When I was happy that the geometry of the side panels and front window panels was correct I glued all the roof braces in place and added some reinforcing fillets to make it more rigid, temporary braces were glued across the front and rear of the assembly to keep the whole thing rigid and square during further assembly. The pins and rubber bands were used to pull in the side panels while the set. All of this was done with the cabin on the boat so that the correct ‘dry’ fit converted to a permanent fit. Part 2 will continue with the addition of the front window panels and roof.

5 years ago by robbob

Blog

Internal wiring & bottom skins

Because I am keen to conceal as much of the wiring as possible I have decided to place the battery at the bow and the operational equipment at the stern, the engine on the original boat was central and covered with a soundproof box and this is convenient as the motor can be positioned and concealed in the same way. This means that some of the wires will have to run the full length of the boat and the easiest way to conceal them is to run them beneath the ‘box’ around which the hull is formed, and this needs to be done before the bottom skins are fitted. Holes were bored through the bulkhead formers under the port side of the hull and battery cables were run to the stern where the ESC will be and three motor wires from the ESC run to the centre, emerging near the motor position. For good measure I put in a servo cable and a separate draw wire just in case I needed to put more cabling in for any additional features, perhaps working navigation lights? Satisfied that I had all the cabling in place I was able to fit the bottom skins starting with the starboard side first. Before doing so I put a very slight 'hollow' in former F1 which should help blend the shape of the the hull where the ply skins meet the balsa blocks that will to be carved and shaped to form the bow. This can be seen in the last picture. The process of forming and fixing the skins is the same as for the side skins but in addition to the pins holding the skins in place I used some brown polythene ‘packing tape’ to pull the skins tightly against the bulkhead formers and strakes. The packing tape has a very high tensile strength and is ideal for this, and of course cheap and easy to remove. Once the had set thoroughly overnight I removed the excess from the skins with a small block plane and finished them with my sanding plate. Before I fit the skin at the stern I will have to arrange the water cooling for the ESC, with the pickup just behind the prop and the outlet on the stern. I’ll cover that aspect in the next update.

5 years ago by robbob

Blog

Fitting the side skins.

The side skins are made from 1.5mm ply and require a slight curve towards the bow and I found that this is best achieved by gently warming with a heat gun, which seems to relax the glue between the laminations, so that when bent to a gentle curve and allowed to cool will set the shape very easily. The skins are supplied are slightly oversize and when the skins have been bent they can be roughly clamped to the hull and then marked for trimming, also while the skin is clamped in place the positions of the bulkhead formers can be marked on the skin. Back on the bench the skins were trimmed with a craft knife (with a fresh blade) and then drilled with a 1mm bit to allow pinning through into the formers and strakes. was applied to the hull formers and strakes and the skin positioned so that the drilled holes were in correct alignment with the formers and then clamped and pinned in place. Because the skin was pre-formed to the hull shape the clamps and pins are not under much tension and the hull was set aside while the glue set. When the port skin had fully set overnight, the pins and clamps were removed and the skin was finished with a plane to remove the excess down to the strakes and the F1 former at the bow and the sanding ‘plate’ used to finish it all off. Where the side skins meet at the prow there needs to be a wide flat area for the external keel to butt to and so the trimming and sanding there will be done at a later stage before the bow blocks are fitted and carved. The process was repeated for the starboard side skin and while the glue was setting I gave some thought to a means of concealing some of the wiring that needs to run the length of the hull 🤔.

5 years ago by robbob

Forum

Pretend deck planking

The bend was done using a "jig" and two strips of a thin plywood as a protection of the planks (nor to distort them by clamps as it happened for the first time). First, I cooked them a little, of course. When dried, they kept the shape nicely. For caulking, the epoxy (or aliphatic wood glue) could be "injected" into the gaps left between the planks. I have tried all three methods (black paper, epoxy and ) and went for paper, at the end.

5 years ago by Zdenek

Blog

Constructing 'The Box'

Phil Smith, the original designer of the Thames River Police Launch, based the construction on a rigid box structure around which bulkhead formers are fixed to give the hull it’s shape, a design feature of many of the Veron kits. In the Vintage Model Works kit all the components of this box are laser cut and require no additional trimming before assembly, I have used Titebond 2 throughout the construction as it bonds wood very firmly and dries quickly too. I started by joining the edges of the two sheets of balsa that form the base of the box, these were held firmly together with some scrap wood and weighted down on the cutting mat and left to dry. Meanwhile the box sides were similarly glued together taking care that the two pieces that form each box side are in perfect alignment using the laser etched vertical lines that mark the bulkhead former positions, these were also wedged together and weighted while the glue set. Once the bottom and sides are dry the ends can be added to complete the box construction, a try-square was used to check the box for accuracy and everything was held together with some ‘push pins’ while the glue set. As this box forms the foundation of the hull it’s essential that there’s no twist or anything out of square. This was all done in one evening, clearly the assembly of this kit could be completed quite rapidly if you really wanted too!

5 years ago by robbob

Blog

The wheelhouse navigation light.

This is a small item but very visible on the wheelhouse and since the standard for this item has been set I have to follow suit. So first of all get some 3mm blue LEDs ordered and then it’s on with preparing the white metal body. I used by hand as suggested a series of drills increasing in diameter until 3.1 dia was reached but only 2/3 down the length from the front the smaller hole (1.5mm) was bored right through for the wires to exit. Arrival of the LEDs, first check the LED using my power supply, just over 3 volts seems to illuminate to the correct level. Next was to remove the shoulder on its plastic casing so the whole body does not exceed 3mm over its length and lightly abrade the outside to give a diffused light. Next cut the LED legs to 2mm from the plastic casing noting which is positive, next prepare the wires. I used Futaba servo wire cable 22awg which is very flexible and with the white signal wire stripped off leaving a red and black wire. These were tinned and cropped to 2mm and then quickly soldered to the appropriate terminal. Next check the LED still works! first hurdle over, I now needed to check the that when the LED goes into the body it doesn’t short out so checking the diameter over the widest part which is over the soldered terminals this was 0.1 below 3mm. I decided that shrink sleeve was too thick so I mixed some epoxy resin and coated all around the terminals, this proved to be satisfactory in both non-conductivity and dimensionally. Now the final test, using some aliphatic wood glue I slid the LED into the body whilst it was illuminated as it was a tight push fit, bingo it’s still lit – leave to set. I used , as it would be easier to remove should I ever have to change the LED. The body still needs painting white but this will be done with all the other fittings at a later stage.

6 years ago by mturpin013

Response

Cabin roof hatches

Adhesives are a combination of Epoxy for the structural joints and aliphatic for non structural joints unless the type of material is an issue eg white metal fittings adhered to wood would be epoxy and canopy glue for transparent components.

6 years ago by mturpin013

Blog

Mid Deck

Now I am in the swing of planking I may as well do all the remaining decks that need planking. Therefore, very much the same procedure as before with a mahogany border, followed by caulking the inside edges of the mahogany border, then cutting the planks roughly to length, and then finally trimming on the disc sander for an exact fit. When all he planks have been dry fitted, they can are removed and glued with . A couple of days to completely dry then it’s on with the sanding before finishing with sanding sealer I marked all the nail holes using the marking tool I made. This is all on this deck until final finishing which will be done with all the other decks.

6 years ago by mturpin013

Blog

Aft cockpit deck

I first cut the base material to size allowing a card thickness all round for final clearances. The lower deck has a number of features in it that need to be measured. I took dimensions from the plans and marked out the base. Again following the upper deck which has a mahogany boarder I cut and planed a further amount of 6mm x 1.5 strips of material. I started by outlining the mahogany boarders, Some years ago I made a mitring device for picture framing which has come in very handy for doing the corners. Having all the pieces cut they are then glued and temporally pinned in position until set. The next job is to prepare all the edges with black card and then measuring each plank across the width starting from the centre line. I must take into account how the planks sit against main access hatch and the battery hatch opening however, all seems to look good but until each plank is positioned and glued with its caulk divider it’s difficult to tell. When preparing each plank I first cut each piece oversize with wire cutters then using the disc sander I trim square one end, then place in position and mark for final length and finish again on the disc sander giving each plank a nice push fit Because lime planking varies in colour across a batch I numbered each plank across the deck varying the pattern of colours as I cut each to length. Next I cut a number of card pieces to length and start to glue (using ), plank, followed by card filler across the half width, then repeat the other side. Finally the battery hatch and main access hatch are treated in the same manner. Next comes the finishing , I use a very fine grade on my belt sander (I attach a block on the underside of the main access deck to control the sanding process) to remove the majority of excess irregularities followed by an orbital sander for a fine finish. if there is any staining by the black card residue I simply remove it with a pencil rubber. Next I put the nail holes in again using the jig I made to ensure uniform spacing and then gave a coat of sanding sealer. Final finishing will be done as a complete assembly. Preparation of the side panels is the next process before final assembly

6 years ago by mturpin013

Response

Cabin detail Pt 1

Hi there Colin I used 0.3 mm black card just cut in to strips using a rule and Stanley knife then using , gluing each piece in followed by a plank and working across the piece, then removing the excess card with a blade followed by sanding with dry sandpaper, if there is any staining of the planks this is easily removed with a pencil rubber.

6 years ago by mturpin013

Blog

Cabin windows again

Having remade all the front cabin window frames I then decided to fit the acrylics into the opening (nice tight fit) all done! Or maybe not, someone then said how about “opening windows” it’s been done before. So would opening windows be a problem with water ingress? And would putting foam seals solve this problem? I’m not convinced. Having given the problem some days thought, how about going with the windows as planned which are now 1.5mm thick and inset into the surround. Then fitting an over window frame 1.0mm ply/plasticard with another thinner (1.0mm) acrylic window and hinging this above each window. This would solve the issue of water ingress and also give the appearance of opening front windows. Looking at how one other person approached this, it looks like the hinge was a brass tube across the majority of the window top and then a shorter piece the same dia tube at each end with an internal wire for rotation these short pieces are then fitted to the body of the inner window frame. These additional window frames can be added at a later stage and this doesn’t hinder the final finishing of the roof skins. So final fitting and adjustment and then pin and clamp in position the forward roof skins. When these are dry the window frames can be finally trimmed and then pinned into position and checked for fit then removed and then to each one apply the and fit –pin and clamp in position

6 years ago by mturpin013

Forum

wood glue

Hi dennisw - I use both Titebond 3 (green label) and the Aliphatic Sandable Wood Glue which I get from Cornwall Model Boats (not the first plug I have given them but no connection, just a very satisfied customer). it is described as "quick grab, excellent sanding, shock & weather resistant, bonds porous materials, ply, balsa and hardwoods, non-toxic and non-fuming". So far it has not let me down. Best of luck with your build. Smiffy

6 years ago by Smiffy

Blog

Boatdeck bulwark & boatdeck planking

I haven't posted for a while as I have only been running on three cylinders, but all four firing now, so off we go. An edging is glued around the boatdeck, this then allows a thin piece of plasticard to be glued in place for the boatdeck bulwark, after the glue had dried, planks cut from a sheet of veneer were glued inside and out and the bulwark and finished with a teak capping. A cardboard template was made for the boatdeck overlay planking, this was then transferred onto 1mm ply for the planking to be laid on. Using planks cut from a sheet of veneer and cotton thread for the caulking, , a tooth pick and my best glasses the planking was completed. The finished planking was given several coats of clear lacquer rubbing down in between coats to give it a nice finish. Planking at this scale with fine thread as caulking is definitely a labour of love.

6 years ago by AlanP

Blog

Cabin sides and deck supports

Before we continue I must mention some fine detail that should have been mentioned in the previous build update and that is the preparation of the cabin sides. Because the bow end of the cabin sides narrow there is a need to score/cut through partially in the places indicated in the build instructions, this is around the cabin side window and enables the side to bend without cracking the external faces, and this also applies to the rear of the cabin sides where it joins B5. The cabin side extensions can also be glued into position as well To continue, having secured all the bulkheads to the keel I can now epoxy the cabin sides to the bulkheads ensuring that the height is maintained side to side and bends smoothly round to the bow and stern. Allowing this to set for a couple of hours I can fit the deck stringers from ¼ x ⅛. These are cut to length to suite the gaps between the bulkheads and glued in place using aliphatic resin glue. I also added some extra support where the cabin side extensions are since its only a butt joint.

6 years ago by mturpin013

Forum

Smit Nederland Model

Hi Ed ABS and wood can both be glued with Epoxy (two part) but white aliphatic wood glue will work just a well on wood to wood joints. Billings kits I have built in the past did tend to give advice on the glues to use. A light coat of sanding sealer works well for me. Make sure you coat both inside and out and support flat sheets to prevent warping. A Build Blog of your progress would be great! Good luck

6 years ago by Dave M

Directory

(Pleasure Craft) Dolphin 16 (19)

This is the Meccano Magazine January 1967 issue plan, built in balsa. I didn't do a build blog as the construction is well covered on the net. Started with an A4 plan and used Excel to enlarge it onto 9 A4 sheets. I chose something simple as I haven't built a boat for thirty years. Really enjoyed the build and re-learning how to overcome the problems that always arise. She is oversized being 19" long and having a 7.5" beam. She sits nicely on the water and begins to plane. Will upgrade the the battery sometime. The decking is worktop edge strip pre-glued but in future will use the unglued strips. The cabin was adapted to extend over the whole boat as there was little space for modern electrics. I will add in and out air vents as the motor will need to breathe. Also, the true model should have an upper deck and windscreen and this will be easy to add sometime in the future. Really surprised and pleased with results from aliphatic wood glue. The finish, which I am not completely happy with, due mostly to my own impatience, was achieved with Ronseal multi purpose wood filler, lightweight fibreglass laminate with Eze-Kote. Paint is Acrylics and Marine varnish. The electrics are: Acoms AR 201 Reciever, Servo Acoms AS 12, Cheap Chinese ,supposedly, 320 amp ESC and 7.2v Nimh battery pack. The Graupner Speed 600 8.4v, bought it cheaply some months ago, was already in one of my boxes and you can see the adaptation required to fit it into the boat. All the Acoms controls I picked up at a boot sale including an Acoms Techniplus Alpha Transmitter on 27mhz. inside I used Hammerite Smooth Gold as I couldn't buy silver. Modern Hammerite is thin and squeamish and took 3 coats to provide reasonable coverage. One final rant I do like the new silicon wires but they are a nightmare to solder to a motor. I think I will use soldered connectors in future. So there we are, first model in 30 years and now so many models to build and so little time. Lessons learned...... don't be impatient. (Motor: Graupner Speed 600 8.4v) (ESC: Chinese 320amp) (7/10)

7 years ago by AllenA

Forum

Glue Applicator

Not quite the same thing but something useful When using say a Bottle of Aliphatic or P.V.A. or similar glue it can get abit messy with lack of control of the flow. Bang good sell small plastic dispenser bottles which you can decant you glue into from your bigger bottle.Makes things a lot neater. Very cheap too

7 years ago by onetenor

Forum

''Vanity'' leaves the building board

Just made my first dovetail corner joint on one of the decklights. Seemed to work out OK once I'd I'd got the shape of both parts in my head. Used the vice jaws as a guide and a piercing saw to cut the joints. My had dried up, so I had to use PVA, so no pics till tomorrow in the daylight, in 1/16th scale the decklight over the main saloon (see above picture) is 4ft. x 2ft-6in....3"x 1.875". Nowhere near big enough to fiddle in my sail winch system so I think she may have to be a rudder only job. No sweat really. I had hours of good sailing with an old plastic 375, rudder only. Unless I can work out an invisible method of lifting a section of decking. AND keeping it waterproof! Martin

7 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Waterproof glue

Hi Chris. Like yours, my very first wooden boat was held together with Cascamite. I'm very happy to recommend Titebond 2, it's an aliphatic resin that's waterproof, dries very quickly and forms a very strong bond on wood to wood joints. I have used it extensively in the construction of my crash tender project. The other glue I have used is Z-poxy 30 minute epoxy resin, great for wood to metal and various other materials. I hope that is helpful. Rob.

7 years ago by robbob

Response

Planking the Hull

Various wood used ie, Ramin, Mahogani, Annegre, Veneer ply, Balsa. Strip planking is Obechi. Glues used: Cyno, Aliphatic wood glue where sanding required and where strength and waterproof glue is required I've used EpiGlue two pot Marine glue. The planking is used because of the many difficult shapes and curves of the hull construction. Once the sanding and shaping of the hull is completed the hull will be sheathed with a fibreglass cloth skin and resin then sanded smooth and spray painted replicating the steel hull of this vessel. Cheers, Kevin

7 years ago by sandkb

Response

The wheelhouse, pain tempered by an inspired suggestion!

Aliphatic resin glue is what we commonly know as 'yellow glue' or 'carpenter's glue'. it is similar to PVA (white glue), but has been modified to make it stronger and more moisture resistant. Titebond Original is one of the most common s sold in the US

7 years ago by figtree7nts

Response

The wheelhouse, pain tempered by an inspired suggestion!

Can anyone help , ! I want know what as I never heard of it. As mentioned in rob bobs article.

7 years ago by Bobdunn

Response

The wheelhouse, pain tempered by an inspired suggestion!

Hi Bobdunn. Like you I am a born again modeller. I discovered while researching building techniques and materials on this site prior to starting construction of my model. It's a bit like PVA but it is waterproof and has other additives to increase the bond strength among other things. My first crash tender was constructed with 'Cascamite' resin which was the most appropriate at the time as the PVA glues available then were not waterproof. See the start of my blog for the full story. I have been using a combination of 30 minute epoxy and 'Titebond 2' throughout my build. Robbob.

7 years ago by robbob

Response

The wheelhouse, pain tempered by an inspired suggestion!

Very interesting , but as a born again modeller what is please?

7 years ago by Bobdunn

Blog

Fitting the side skins.

The temporary pins holding the bottom skins on the bow chine former are removed and the bottom skin is very carefully cut back to reveal the upper half of the chine former back to bulkhead B1 as the side skin needs to butt against the bottom skin at this point, the remainder of the side skin overlaps the bottom skin all the way back to the transom. The side skin is then temporarily clamped in position and carefully measured and marked for trimming to abut the bottom skin on the chine former. I can't afford to make a mess of this so I measure three times and cut once !. Once I'm happy with the fit the skin is steamed and formed to the correct curvature. The fixing process is the same as with the bottom skins with pins into the bulkheads and the chine former but clamping only to the gunwhale stringers, no pins were used to fix to the chine stringers, the provides a very strong bond and the joint will later be strengthened when the chine rubbing strakes are fitted.

8 years ago by robbob

Blog

Fitting the bottom skins.

The skinning of the hull is probably the hardest part of the assembly as it involves careful trimming and shaping to ensure a good fit without resorting to fillers for making good. The skins can be bent quite successfully with the application of steam or with a heat gun. I used a combination of the two with the steaming initially relaxing the wood allowing it to be bent to the correct curvatures and the heat gun (electric paint stripper) to 'set' the shape and dry the skins. The bottom skins are fitted first and the edge that meets the keel is trimmed to get a good fit and the edge given a slight chamfer to eliminate a gap where it meets the keel. I marked the keel with pencil marks at the centre of each bulkhead and marked the skins with a line meeting the chine stringer so that the brass pins in pre drilled holes would drive in easily and not split the bulkhead formers. Working from bow to stern the skin is pinned to the false rebates on the keel and the bulkhead formers with the application of , the edge that meets the chine stringers is just clamped into place along its entire length with as many clamps I had to hand. I used pins temporarily to hold the skin firmly where it lays on the bow chine former and these were removed when the glue set. When the glue has thoroughly set the skins are roughly trimmed where they meet the chine stringers and finished with a plane being careful not to take any material away from the stringer and keeping a good straight edge with no hollows or bumps. Having repeated the process for the other bottom skin it's the side skins next and they are a bit trickier to do !

8 years ago by robbob

Forum

Question about Adhesives

Just to add my pennyworth, I am building a similar model (sea rover) at the moment and am using , it grabs after about 10 minutes, strong after 8 hrs, waterproof when dry and will take a stain if needed. Brilliant Alan

8 years ago by AlanP

Forum

Question about Adhesives

Hi Mickky Wood is easily glued with a white aliphatic wood glue, epoxy resin or even superglue. Assuming your model is intended to be sailed then the glue needs to be waterproof. That said many modellers cover the outside (and sometimes the inside) of their hulls with glass cloth or fibre mat impregnated with resin. The end result is a very strong and waterproof hull. The glue used will be covered by the cloth/resin so need not be waterproof. Wood glues tend to be slower setting so you have more time to position the pieces, but then have to arrange a method to hold the pieces together until dry. All three glues will give a strong joint and the resin will also fill any small gaps. If this is your first foray into working with wood I suggest you visit your local pound shop and purchase a sample of each type of glue and practice with some scrap wood to see which you prefer. With any glue the surfaces need to be dry, close fitting and free of any contaminants. The oil off your fingers and hands can cause problems so avoid touching the joint surfaces after you have prepared them for glueing. Good luck wth the build dave

8 years ago by Dave M

Forum

New construction Glue?

I have always found aliphatic resin good- it is waterproof and has a quick grab time. it also sands well. I know some people speed up building time by using only cyano glues but this seems very expensive to me. As for a sealant, I find ZPoxy to be brilliant- it goes on nicely with the help of a bit of heat from a heat gun and again sands well. This is just what has worked for me.

12 years ago by ianed57

Forum

Restoration Help!

hI again if the paint is really old and brittle and seperating from the hull.. you should be able to dry strip it without using a chemical stripper, try stripping the paint off with a really sharp chisel, keeping the flat side of the chisel against the wood. its well worth the effort to add Spray rails and it will be quite easy to install once all the paint is stripped, I have added them to mine after stripping,I wetted the strips and taped them to the hull to get them to shape first, then used aliphatic resin wood glue to fix them, just take your time and don't try to stick em on in one hit, you may need to re wet them. I have some photo copies of the original plan for the 34" fire boat, a really usefull reference for locating fittings etc. (no bulkhead or former details) p.m. me if you would like a copy db

14 years ago by dbninja