Originally Posted by cbarnes0061

sub'd. Where do you go to get the old wood from restored planes.

I live in a center hub of restorations....There are 6 areas nearby,where a friendly word will get you some wood.
I originally had a modeling friend who also restores airplanes for others.When I visited his facility,there were 12 spars stacked into a corner of the hangar,in his way.
I asked for and received all of them...30 years of building has depleted that stock.
I'd suggest visiting any local airport,and search for an EAA(Experimental Aircraft Association) Chapter-they're every where.Those members know people who know people,who have old wood.
I find it in the rafters,and in old wing panels stored for future use.Any Museums may have cast-off spruce available.
It's not airworthy any more,but they like to know it's going to be recycled.Most all of it has been varnished forever,and it's perfectly good for our purposes.

sounds good. Also is there any way to easily enlarge a set of plans on the computer? I found a set of Cob plans in the Vintage and old Timer Plans thread on here that I like but it is only like a 20" wingspan and I would like to double if not triple them. They are in PDF format and would like to do it myself as an engineer at work will print the plans out on their plotter for free

You can do it easily within Adobe. When you print it, give the printer driver a custom paper size and tell it to print on that.

Another option is to print it at the desired scale and tell Adobe to "select paper size by page size" (or something close to that) as a checkbox.

Andy

I'm not computer savvy,as I've only had one since November...My solution is to take any set of plans I have,and go bounding off to my local Rubenstein's,to let those girls work their magic.
I'm not a stickler for perfection-if I want something enlarged 200%,and it comes out 200.011%,it doesn't upset me,as it does some folks.

Friends bought me this computer when I retired,and it's 'way more capable than I am.....I need to learn to take advantage of it.

I'm sure someone can print a file for you to use.

I had a chance to go to The Museum today to work on the C-47.
I got John to machine the holes in the Wheels RC Robby made for me.We drilled them 5/16" and put in brass bushings.I really like the look of the plywood wheels,all varnished up.
I only have two more contract models to finish,then we'll go full bore for a bit.The Sparky needs to be done in September,for test flying before the October fly-in.

I spent a little time this last week,sanding and finishing the wheels for Sparky..

I've decided to keep them in their natural finish for now,and if they get stained,I'll paint them.

I used a Minwax product,a Urethane,hard as nails,sold under the Helmsman name.

It has the slightest yellowing tendency when applied,but delivers a wicked shine when dry.I did 6 coats,24 hours apart,sanding with progressively finer paper.

Gotta thank RCRobby again,for the excellent job he did making these wheels.
He makes all sorts of things,give him a call.

Nice wheels! The wood look will certainly complement the scaled up "small model kit" look.

Yes-the wheels are nice- Now,I 'm going for the look of a tissue covered model,but of course, I can't use tissue on a 114" aircraft.

I'm wondering about natural ceconite,clear doped,to yield that translucent glow in the sunlight.

Modern building techniques demand perfection,but I want that rough-hewn,hand built look,reviving the feeling of being IN the 40's and 50's at a flying session.

-I sense a testing period approaching !

Great job on the wheels Earl, Glad I could help!

Originally Posted by epoxyearl

YNow,I 'm going for the look of a tissue covered model,but of course, I can't use tissue on a 114" aircraft.

Check out the vintage forum... Guys are using Dolcum (Sp?) with tissue over it for that old-timey tissue look. The Dolcum comes in many thicknesses.. http://www.laminatorwarehouse.com/la...aminating-film

Not sure how the thicker stuff will work with models, but the 1.5 is what most guys seem to use. 1.5 may have the strength for a model your size.

Note: I haven't used this yet, just was researching for a future project.

Originally Posted by rcav8r2

Check out the vintage forum... Guys are using Dolcum (Sp?) with tissue over it for that old-timey tissue look. The Dolcum comes in many thicknesses.. http://www.laminatorwarehouse.com/la...aminating-film

Not sure how the thicker stuff will work with models, but the 1.5 is what most guys seem to use. 1.5 may have the strength for a model your size.

Note: I haven't used this yet, just was researching for a future project.

The Doculam can get heavy FAST on a model of this size. Also to consider the tinsle strength of the covering adds to the overall strength of the model. Just not sure thats a good option on a plane this size.

I see you are in Coraopolis, not too far from me. Where do you fly?

Well.... most ANYTHING is going to get heavy on a model of this size. But it's got the wing area to easily carry it.

And if we're talking about the same thin film stuff used for laminating restaurant menus that remains thin and flexbile then it would not be a bad weight for an underlayer for strengthening a suitably light but "correct" looking material over top of the film. IE; Jap tissue.

I'm going to find out more about Doculam,wherever I can-the sales pitch left something to be desired.....Apparently it has adhesive on one side,thermally activated,but does it shrink tight,as most films do?
This looks interesting as a base for plain old silkspan,which would certainly look authentic-YUH-THINK?

Doculam,silkspan,and dope-a good combination?

I'll be at Delaware Warbirds the next 4 days-Oh ,-there'll be some hangar talk !

Yes, the Doculam does shrink just like the other films. But as I recall it takes a little more heat to bond to the wood. And the adhesive isn't all that thick. So some playing around with scrap wood is well worth the time to get a feel for it.

Unless you fly from a field where there are a lot of puncture risk sort of plants on the edges you don't really need the Doculam underlay on the wings and tail. 00 gas model grade silkspan is TOUGH even on it's own once doped. On the fuselage which will recieve somewhat rougher handling it's not a bad idea though. Or simply double cover with the silkspan. A coat of silkspan, two or three coats of dope then another coat of silkspan followed by a few more coats and that fuselage would be very resistant to all but the worst handling.

Just so you have something to compare the Doculam to Monokote weighs in at .20 oz per sq.ft or 10.8oz per 25ft roll. Servos average out around 2.3 oz each.