Difficult to attach components - what’s your method?

[Rob S]

All modelers know that gluing/attaching some ship components are relatively straight forward through the use of ‘classic’ temporary means (e.g., nails, clamps, weights, etc.). What I’d like to know is those little secrets modeler’s use to attach those pesky/difficult items where a classic method isn’t readily appropriate.  I’ve attached an example where the main rails on the Mamoli Victory were difficult to attach.  You can see in the example by the red arrows the two places where the starboard main rail attaches. The right end simply sets on top of the beak head.  However, there was no obvious (at least to me) way to temporarily hold both ends in place while the glue set. I did not have a clamp/area that I thought would hold either end in place. The area was too small for a nail to work.  I couldn’t set a weight on top of the beak head to hold the right side in place. I was a bit stymied. Perhaps I just didn’t think it through enough......

 

In this case I ended up lodging a small screw driver in the bow area to hold the left end up while the right side simply sat on a bubble of glue.  Very precarious and unstable.  However, in this case it worked. Not the ideal way to get the job done.  

 

Are there other difficult to attach elements/components in your ship build(s) that required some out of the box thinking to temporarily hold the piece in place while the glue set?  

[RichardG]

I find sometimes that just holding with my fingers until the glue sets is easiest. Just don't use 30 min epoxy and not too many times a day. 

 

I glued a 1/16th square strip down the length of my ship using 5-minute epoxy and hands. Of course this was over 30 years ago and I was a lot younger.

[Jaager]

That species of wood - coarse grain and friable - looks unsuited to the job it is being asked to do.

A better species would take to having a cove scrapped on it and small bamboo dowels at the ends.

[Dr PR]

There are always some tricky parts like this, and some always seem to be asking to be broken off!

 

One thing you can try is using very fine wire or a wood sliver as a nail. Get a small drill bit slightly larger than the wire diameter. Use a pin vise to drill a hole through the piece and into the part it fastens to. Fill the holes with glue, position the part and insert the "nail." After the glue has set file the end of the nail flush with the surface.

[Louie da fly]

If you have a fine enough drill you might be able to drill holes at each end of the part to be added, and insert a brass "sequin" pin (available at art suppliers - they're about the same diameter as a dressmaker's pin) in each hole, with a mating hole where the pin will go on the main body of the model.

 

I used a cut-down sequin pin as my drill bit. The end of one of these pins isn't a perfect point - it's more like the point of a nail, so it acts like the cutting point of a drill.

 

This is how I attached cleats to my dromon model:

 

Mass produced cleats with holes for pins.

 

Then I cut the piece into individual cleats. Then;

 

 

And cleat in place:

 

 

I hope this helps.

 

Steven

[Jim Lad]

For delicate parts like that, I use a combination of Richard's and Steven's methods.  I use a fairly fast setting glue and simply hold the part in place while the glue sets, then when the glue is hardened I drill and dowel with fine bamboo dowels to reinforce the joint.

 

John

[vaddoc]

Tree nails, thousand of them. They can be made in bulk down to 0.6 mm or even less. These ones are 1 mm thick, in these pots there are about 1000 tree nails. The pieces can be positioned accurately and securely.

[RichardG]

4 hours ago, Jim Lad said:

 then when the glue is hardened I drill and dowel with fine bamboo dowels to reinforce the joint.

👍👍

[Chuck Seiler]

21 hours ago, RichardG said:

I find sometimes that just holding with my fingers until the glue sets is easiest.

    Sometimes the ol' five fingered clamp is your best option.  It provides subtle angles and levels of pressure other clamps cannot.

[Harvey Golden]

Painters' Tape is helpful.