Hi Don,
Thanks for your rolling explanation - there's more than one way to
skin a cat.
I've heard of wetting wood by only running it under the tap, but
never tried for fear of wood splitting - I like to marinade balsa
for at least 20 minutes. I do you bit of the process where some of
the moisture is removed betwixt thumb and forefinger, but the reason
I've never tried rolling with tissue dry is because the tissue seems
to expand and crinkle at the mere mention of water, leading me to
think that these crinkles might get trapped in the sandwich and
damage the wood.
I don't bake my forms either, letting them air dry instead. I think
this gives more chance of booms in particular staying dead straight
as there's no thermal shock involved.
Hey ho, each to their own.
Nick.--- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, Don Slusarczyk
<don5490_at_...> wrote:
>
> Here is my method.
>
> I take my form, I use brass tubing for motorsticks and aluminum
rod for
> booms, and lay it in front of me. I cut a piece of tissue about 2"
> longer than the balsa blank and about 4-5 times wider than the
blank. I
> then lay the one edge of the tissue on top of the rod about at
midpoint.
> I then take a fine soft brush (like used for apply water to
microfilm)
> and stick the tip in my mouth to get it wet with a little saliva.
I then
> dab it along the tissue to stick it to the form. I never have good
luck
> using water for this part. In any case, I then carefully lift it
up and
> turn it over and then do one complete roll then about an
additional 1 /4
> -1/2 roll of the dry tissue around the form. Make sure it is
tightly
> wrapped. It is very much like making a tissue tube, but instead of
> gluing it to the rod, I use a brush with a little bit if saliva
and it
> will hold it long enough to let you do this first roll. I then
place a
> weight on the rod as if you let it go it will try to unroll
itself. I
> then take my blank to be rolled and run it under the faucet with
fairly
> hot water. I run the sheet back and forth a few times. Then I hold
it up
> by one end in my left hand, and using my index and middle finger
(of the
> right hand) on either side of the sheet, 'squeeze' the excess
water off
> with a pulling down motion The squeeze is made by placing the
sheet of
> wood between your two fingers like if you were making a 'V' with
your
> two fingers, and you clamp the wood between them. By pulling down
you
> put the wood in tension, and the excess water will get squeezed
out from
> your two fingers. (Like and old fashioned washing machine with the
> ringer rollers). When you do this you will find that there will be
small
> balsa 'flakes'/dust mixed in with this water. I rewet the sheet
with
> water and repeat this two or three times. Generally by the third
time
> the excess water is clean. I have thought that these extra loose
balsa
> fibers were the reason for sticking to the tissue. as I felt they
would
> act like a weak 'paste' between the sheet and the tissue, but that
is my
> voodoo reason behind it. Then I take the sheet and butt the edge
of the
> blank into the area where the tissue and rod meet. I then roll
it
> quickly. If you leave the sheet sit for more than a few minutes it
dries
> out pretty quick as you have squeezed off all excess water so pay
> attention it is still wet before you roll. Once the sheet is
rolled on
> the rod, I keep rolling until the tissue is used. This is usually
1 to 2
> more rolls past the end of the wood blank. I the place masking
tape in
> the middle, then each end, then in between again, so in 5 places.
I
> bake at 200F for about 20-25 minutes, then take then out and let
them
> sit until they are cool to the touch. I then unwrap. I always
unwrap
> after they just cooled off. I do not let them sit overnight or for
days
> as I had the masking tape adhesive leech through the tissue to the
wood,
> and the balsa stuck in only the places the tape was applied.
>
> That is they way I have rolled booms and bodies for 15-20 years.
> Individual results may vary.
>
> PS: one other thing I forgot to mention, as I used brass rods a
lot they
> tend to tarnish. Before I use them, I always sand with 400 or 600
grit
> sandpaper to shine them up and then clean off with acetone.
>
> Don Slusarczyk
>
Received on Thu Feb 09 2006 - 09:45:51 CET
This archive was generated by Yannick on Sat Dec 14 2019 - 19:13:44 CET