wonwinglo
SMF Supporter
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 6,754
- Points
- 113
- First Name
- Barry
The one item that will add great strength and integrity to our structures is the humble Gusset,with very little weight attached it re-inforces those awkward little corners hidden away in your model,next time you are unsure of how a certain area will stand up just fit a gusset,cross members,frail tail structures,centre section joints all benefit from their application,make sure the gusset has its grain running the correct way which should be at 45 degrees from corner to corner of the joint ie where the lower longeron meets an upright the grain will run at 45 degrees on the gusset.
Another area where gussets are very useful is when undertaking repairs,those tricky joints will benefit from our humble piece of wood inserted at just the point of the breakage,thus old wood is renewed with the extra support.
Another tip is at the end of the day when you have finished your modelling,dont throw away the small pieces of wood that you will have accumalated,convert them into gussets,get out your small X-Acto or similar square,place it onto the wood noting the grain as above and cut a batch of ready to use gussets,place them into a box and keep them for another day,when required you just need to select the right size and density of wood.
Finally when used say at a cabin frame,glue into position and allow to dry,then gently add an inner curve with a half round file to gently blend them in,tremendous strength with so little extra effort.
Another area where gussets are very useful is when undertaking repairs,those tricky joints will benefit from our humble piece of wood inserted at just the point of the breakage,thus old wood is renewed with the extra support.
Another tip is at the end of the day when you have finished your modelling,dont throw away the small pieces of wood that you will have accumalated,convert them into gussets,get out your small X-Acto or similar square,place it onto the wood noting the grain as above and cut a batch of ready to use gussets,place them into a box and keep them for another day,when required you just need to select the right size and density of wood.
Finally when used say at a cabin frame,glue into position and allow to dry,then gently add an inner curve with a half round file to gently blend them in,tremendous strength with so little extra effort.