Agree! I do have a local individual here who has a barn full of all different species of wood- including some huge slabs 8-10 ft long... All is rough cut, and his prices are excellent! I just built a dining table out of maple and cherry- $4.00/bd ft.
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Midwest kits
- Thread starter 11320 Titanic
- Start date
- Watchers 11
Received my kit from Midwest, in good shape and promptly screwed up the Dory. The planks that were marked for shaving had the pieces that showed where and how to shave were laser etched and fell off when I cut them from the boards...being impatient, I tried putting the Dory together anyway, messed it up, and ordered a new Dory Kit. Waiting for it.
The customer service at Model Expo is terrific. Thnak you Dave!
The only mild complaint I have is that for a neophyte, the directions could be better!
The wood is more delicate than I thought, Balsa, and I broke some of the framing pieces, much more delicate than plastics!
I did not let the planks set getting wet long enough, and some of them broke as they bent around the frames...the price of impatience. Yet the glue does not hold well if the wood is wet. I used clamps at first instead of rubber bands, and that distorted some of the planks.
My reorder of just the Dory is arriving tomorrow, so we will see what lessons learned has taught.
Would pins be better than rubber bands to hold the wetted balsa while it dries, to hopefully hold it's desired shapre?
The customer service at Model Expo is terrific. Thnak you Dave!
The only mild complaint I have is that for a neophyte, the directions could be better!
The wood is more delicate than I thought, Balsa, and I broke some of the framing pieces, much more delicate than plastics!
I did not let the planks set getting wet long enough, and some of them broke as they bent around the frames...the price of impatience. Yet the glue does not hold well if the wood is wet. I used clamps at first instead of rubber bands, and that distorted some of the planks.
My reorder of just the Dory is arriving tomorrow, so we will see what lessons learned has taught.
Would pins be better than rubber bands to hold the wetted balsa while it dries, to hopefully hold it's desired shapre?
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Ok second kit arrived, doing the bottom of the Dory. When you wet the wood to bend it, how hot should the water be, boiling hot, tap water hot, luke warm, and do you wet the planks or soak them? For how long? The bottom is glued together, next step is to bend the bottom into a slight curve.
Just hot water from the tap will suffice. Just soak it long enough to allow a careful, safe bend. Are you using a bending iron? Steam works really well too. When I steam wood parts, I typically steam for 45 minutes. But thickness of the wood has a lot to do with it. You might try bending scrap pieces first to get a feel as to how your parts will behave. I also use a bending jig to hold the pieces while they dry. Or I clamp the part in a patterned jig.
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For bending the bottom- I tried the Windex recommendation- and found it worked very well. Didn't soak it, just lightly wet it- let it soak in for a few moments- and screwed it down on the jig board carefully. Worked great.
Just need to ensure if you do this, the Windex needs to contain Ammonia.
Just about finished up with mine.
Just need to ensure if you do this, the Windex needs to contain Ammonia.
Just about finished up with mine.
Wow, thanks! I don't have a bending iron, will check that out, studying your photos now. Where did you get that bending jig? Never heard of using Windex.
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Jigs are homemade in my shop. And I've never heard of using windex either....
Actually, in the Midwest Dinghy Kit # 950, Rubbing alcohol or Windex is called out in the instructions as options to help bend the bottom of the Dinghy. Being a newbie at the time, I tried the Windex routine and it was a disaster. Not only did the Windex NOT work, it turned the material a light shade of blue. I was able to rebuild and finish the kit to my satisfaction.
It was because of this experience that caused me to read ahead in the instructions before executing each step. There are traps just laying in wait for those who plowed ahead.
...henry
I built this for serious bending and shaping. (my first experience in bending wood was with my building hand nets for fly fishing)
Bending wet wood is not terribly difficult when bending the short axis. The hard part for many of us is edge bending without the plank lifting. Your jig looks like it would work really well for that as well. I like to soak the pieces until the water (or alcohol) penetrates the wood thoroughy, then bend with a jig and finally a minute or so with a hot air gun will soften the lignin and when the piece cools it will hold its shape thus avoiding lifting and reduces the need for clamps or pins to glue a plank in place for most strakes.
Allan
Allan
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