Transferring plan templates to wood stock

[Drobie]

I thought this was noteworthy enought to post here. It's a simple method of transferring plan templates to wood prior to cutting parts.

http://home.fuse.net/ryan/acetone.html

[Doug Forrester]

Jim Ryan's method sounds like it would work fine(he is a highly respected model airplane buider and kit producer). It does however require you to use a lot of acetone which may bother you with its fumes. It is possible to transfer the image from a photocopy to wood without solvents (the acetone) by using heat which is how the image toner is fused from a powder to a solid on the paper by the copier in the first place. The simple use of a household iron (don't let your wife/mother catch you) applied to the facedown copy on the wood should transfer the image to the wood.
Another method that I use, since it involves the making of photocopies of the parts as well, is to simply spray glue (3M Spray 77) the paper pattern to the wood and cut through both. Only a light dusting of spray adhesive is necessary. I use a rubber cement thinner from an art supply store to dissolve the spray glue and help remove any stubborn patterns. This method is handy since I rarely cut out just one set of parts at any time. I just spray glue a stack of balsa together (usually 3 pieces) and glue the pattern on the top surface. Then I saw through the whole stack at once (jigsaw or bandsaw) to the paper pattern. Application of the rubber cement thinner helps to remove the pattern and separate the balsa parts.

[eddieh]

Doug/Doug, Haven't used the acetone trick, I normally use the spray adhesive too,,, I thought that Andy Kunz"s Tip about putting the photocopy face down and using an Iron was great,,,as your making photocopies anyway,,,, Thanks for the tips,,,,

[Don Wollard]

Some very good ideas.

Has anyone every tried Toner Defuser as the transfer agent? I am not sure this stuff is still around however it can remove the lines from the paper. Just wondering.

[TomMoorehouse]

you guys are way to technical for me... I just use double face tape :)

[Paul]

Hello Guys,

All I do is glue the plans to poster board and cut them out with sissors. After that trace them on the wood and you have templates for more boats.

Paul.

[K.R.Joye]

I have been using the same method DOUG uses with the 3M spray adhesive. It works great.Also for cutting out duplicates with the same pattern(bulkheads especially)i stack rough cut lite ply together and apply small dollups of wood glue outside of the pattern lines inside the pattern lines were lightning holes will be drilled out. I then cafefully finish cut the stack on the band saw then sand to the pattern glued to the top bulkhead using a circular table sander. Lightning holes are drilled out with a drill press and the bulkhead duplicates come apart.This way i can make 3-4 sets of the same bulkhead using 1 pattern.Warning,you have to really make sure your work tables are 90 deg to saw blades, sanding surface and drill press to accomplish this accurately.

[AndyKunz]

Ken,

I have a challenge for you.

Gather up all the wood you cut out of the lightening holes some time and weight it.

You will be surprised BIG TIME!

On another subject, I just went through my wood pile last night to finish weighing everything (got more wood at the WRAMS show). The disparity in weights is really something. I'll write down some tonight and share with all tomorrow on the Builders forum.

Andy

[Drobie]

Originally posted by AndyKunz
Ken,
I have a challenge for you.
Gather up all the wood you cut out of the lightening holes some time and weight it.
You will be surprised BIG TIME!

Challenge aside....the suspense is killing me! (I don't have a really accurate scale on hand.)

Will the suprise be because the lightening holes save a lot of weight or because it's negligible?

[K.R.Joye]

ANDY & DOUG i think having lightening holes in balsa wouldnt make much difference but with lite-ply or ply it will.( of course this depends on the size of the hull) Plus i like having them for water drainage and running wiring from 1 compartment to another.
Theres nothing worse than having water trapped in a wood boat!

[AndyKunz]

Step 1 to building good models: Get a good scale!

The best would be a balance, like you had in HS chemistry class.

Second best would be a postal scale. Mine only goes down to 2g increments, but that's adequate for most of what I do. If I were building RBFF planes still I would go with a balance.

$50 should be enough.

Andy

[Jeff Wohlt]

Carbon Copy paper. (old blueish stuff) Found in all old offices like mine!

Put your plan over top of it and the wood below...then just take a dull pencil and trace...it leaves an image on the wood and you never have to cut up your plans.

You lay a few sheets out if a 8.5x11 is not large enough...which is usually the case for larger parts.

Anyone else ever used this?

[ccboatworks]

Before I got into using a laser cutter I used to use plastic sheets for templates.

Get your templates photocopied, cut out and ready. Head to the hardware store and buy a cheap plastic bath tub surround for $20. Glue the paper templates to the plastic sheeting, score with an exacto, break them out and you have templates that will last for a good long time.

Chris
CCBoatworks

[AndyKunz]

Originally posted by Doug Robichaud


Challenge aside....the suspense is killing me! (I don't have a really accurate scale on hand.)

Will the suprise be because the lightening holes save a lot of weight or because it's negligible?

Doug - see the Builder's forum for a related thread.

There's a spreadsheet printed at http://www.users.fast.net/~montana

Andy

[T.S.Davis]

Guys,

If your going to photo copy, just use full sheet labels from avery. Adhesive is already there. Works good on aluminum too. Design your pieces on the computer, print on the label, stick it to your material.

Terry

[Doug Forrester]

Terry
That's a good idea. You would be limited to 81/2" X 11" sheets however and the cost might be a factor.

I'll tell you a funny story about making photo copies to make patterns from. One day I needed a quick copy of a drawing for a pattern to make a aluminum piece of hardware. I thought I was clever in using my old fax machine in copy mode to make a paper pattern to stick on the aluminum. Forgetting that the fax machine used thermal paper, when I went to grind the part edges to the pattern lines, the heat produced suddenly made the paper pattern go black!

PS: Oh yeah, Terry - Happy Birthday!

[T.S.Davis]

Thanks Doug,

I suppose it could get expensive if you had a bunch to do. You can print in multiple pieces and tape them together if your project is larger than a sheet. This works great for masking a pattern when you want to paint. The avery clear leaves a really crisp line between colors.

Terry

[rcguy76]

I use sticky back paper from office supply stores..the company I use is Avery 8.5"x11" stock white sticky paper....you just photo copy the bulkhead on the sheet and cut it out...stick it to the wood sheet and cut the wood..when your done...just peel it off..

[barrmer]

Great tip. Thanks, Pat

[jstlokin]

I use SEE TEMP template material for my patterns. It comes in 22"x 52" sheets, that are .011 thick. You place the sheet over the part or plan, and just score it with a sharp knife, like a #11 exacto blade. You don't have to trace it or draw the parts out, because once scored the template just snaps out. That way I have permanent templates for later use in case I want to build another hull. I just pull out that set of parts templates and cut out my kit. It's @ $5.00 a sheet, or five sheets for $22.00, but lasts just about forever. You can find it at www.SEETEMP.com

[AndyKunz]

Yes, it's a pain because it slips around too easily.

That avatar looks like one of the German hydrofoils from WW2. Can you tell us about it?

Andy

[pondripper]

I use this on my scrach build planes, I have not tride it on boats yet but it will be the same.