help a newbie with building

[jack]

hi there i d/led the hydromite plans and cant find ne thing about building it.
im totaly new to this is it just made out of balsa and ply or do u fiberglass it?
what do you use to glue the balsa with?

cheers

[AndyKunz]

Jack,

Do a search for "hydromite" on this site (the "search" option looks like a globe, near top right corner of window).

There are complete bills of materials and lots of building suggestions. Several have been built by others as new as you, from what I've seen.

I hope this helps.

Andy

[lundell]

I dunno if it was here u dl it or not but here u have alot of pictures at it in different stages of the building it might help

http://www.microhydros.com/doug_forrester/doug.htm

//Erik

[jack]

still cant find ne thing on what glue that u use, theres a materal list for the wood, but what glue do u guys use?
cheers

[Ryan_from_OHio]

30 minute epoxy is what I use, worth the wait. I use cybertronics epoxy, good stuff.

The boat is all wood, but I guess your supposed to glass the top of the sponsons, not to hard to do.

[Doug Forrester]

Jack
The type of glue to use for wood construction is a matter of personal preferance. I prefer to use cyanoacrylate glue (Ca) because of its speed of curing even to the extent of also using a spray accelerator (kicker). I use both the thin and medium (or thick) types depending on the task or type of joint. I like the thin variety because it is possible to hold the two parts in position and to apply the water-thin glue from the outside of the joint and the glue will "wick" itself into the joint. By using gravity and turning the structure around it is possible to cause the glue to flow in the direction you want. It also means that it is not necessary to clamp or pin parts together until glue dries, you can accomplish the same thing with your fingers. This allows for much faster assembly. Of course it also allows you to glue yourself to the model too. Sometimes, if your not very careful, the thin CA will flow where you don't want it to and the result is usually leaving some of your skin as a part of the structure to be sanded off.

Some people are sensitive to the fumes that CA glue gives off when it cures. It is said that this can be a gradual sensitization and it can prevent some people from being able to use it.
The other most commonly used wood glue is aliphatic resin type. This is the common yellow coloured carpenter's glue such as Elmers or Titebond. It is also very good to use but, of course is much slower drying and therefore requires pinning or clamping of parts. It is a waterproof glue and it is considerably cheaper than CA glues.

The sponson decks on the hydromite are 1/16" balsa sheet. I never leave balsa surfaces exposed on any of my boats. Balsa is too soft and has very little dent resistance and it also has a grain that takes a lot of sanding and filling to give a good paint surface. I usually cover balsa, on exterior surfaces, with either lightweight glass cloth (around 2 oz.) using thin CA to adhere it or with silkspan and clear dope. Silkspan is an oldtime model airplane tissue type (non-woven) covering. On small models it gives the balsa a lightweight hard skin and provides a grainfree suface that paints well. I usually avoid the use of epoxy in surface covering because it adds a lot of weight.

[jack]

cheers thanks for the info.

[Spawn_X]

Another question for the newby thread... What is this micro balloon I keep hearing about? I did a search but either didn't do it right or nothing came up..

Thanks.

[Doug Forrester]

They are very tiny hollow spheres (so tiny that they look like powder) made from different materials such as glass or phenolic resin. Mixed in with epoxy resin they thicken the consistancy from a thick soup right up to a paste depending on the ratio used. Because they are hollow, they add bulk and viscosity to a filler without adding much weight. Microballoon filled epoxies are commonly used to mount the stuffing tube through the hull and also in positions where thin epoxy will flow out of position before it cures. A thickened paste of epoxy/microballoons can be made to adhere to difficult to reach areas and stay put.
It has been my experience that the addition of microballoons to epoxy accelerates the cure time, so it is better to use the next longer cure epoxy that is available. I tend to use, for different applications, 5 min., 30 min and 24 hour epoxies.