American Scout C-2 Cargo Ship by Sterling Models

[Vfordyce]

Oops! The clamps made dents in the balsa. Time to buy some wood putty. I tried using pins, but they didn’t hold. Next time I’ll use plywood sheets to even out the pressure.

 

[Davidp]

i presume there was no frame under that section of the hull skin were the clamp was? why not use masking tape to hold the balsa skin in place till the glue dries instead of the clamps?

 

[Vfordyce]

It was there. Just a little to the left. I had to put the clamp at an angle.

 

[GrantTyler]

Oops! The clamps made dents in the balsa. Time to buy some wood putty. I tried using pins, but they didn’t hold. Next time I’ll use plywood sheets to even out the pressure. View attachment 533264

Good afternoon Vic. This drives me nuts and I still do it…. Never learn. Cheers Grant

 

[Vfordyce]

Good afternoon Vic. This drives me nuts and I still do it…. Never learn. Cheers Grant

I’m just glad it will all be covered, Grant!

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Good afternoon Vic. This drives me nuts and I still do it…. Never learn. Cheers Grant

Like I said... BALSA!

 

[Vfordyce]

Like I said... BALSA!

Yep. I just tried masking tape and that seemed to work okay. I just bought some epoxy and fiberglass. I'll test it out on some soft wood to see how it works. Never used it before. Supposedly it will make it stronger.

i presume there was no frame under that section of the hull skin were the clamp was? why not use masking tape to hold the balsa skin in place till the glue dries instead of the clamps?

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Yep. I just tried masking tape and that seemed to work okay. I just bought some epoxy and fiberglass. I'll test it out on some soft wood to see how it works. Never used it before. Supposedly it will make it stronger.

Epoxy and fiberglas will make a hard skin on the wood, but it's STILL balsa.

 

[Davidp]

most of my big model warships 1/144 scale are framed using balsa then skinned with 1mm styrene plastic with no issues even after 35+ years.

 

[Roger Pellett]

A tip. I learned this the hard way! Don’t try to glue the fiberglass cloth on to the model with the epoxy. If you do you will wind up with a wrinkled mess. The correct way is to first drape the cloth over the model and then apply the epoxy, working it into the weave of the cloth with a squeegee.

Roger

 

[Vfordyce]

A tip. I learned this the hard way! Don’t try to glue the fiberglass cloth on to the model with the epoxy. If you do you will wind up with a wrinkled mess. The correct way is to first drape the cloth over the model and then apply the epoxy, working it into the weave of the cloth with a squeegee.

Roger

A just saw a video on that. I’ll watch it again a couple of times and then practice on a piece of plywood.

 

[Kurt Konrath]

Oops! The clamps made dents in the balsa. Time to buy some wood putty. I tried using pins, but they didn’t hold. Next time I’ll use plywood sheets to even out the pressure. View attachment 533264

Try wetting area and heating with plank bender or similar tool to heat wood, often the fibers relax and dent comes mostly out.

 

[Vfordyce]

Try wetting area and heating with plank bender or similar tool to heat wood, often the fibers relax and dent comes mostly out.

I have a feeling that might be especially true with balsa.