Problem with a seam across grooves

[amrogers3]

Any suggestions on how to smooth out the seam across a surface with grooves?

[Andrew Gorman]

Needle files!
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-piece- ... t-468.html

[Richard Baker]

Needle files!
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-piece- ... t-468.html

If those are the same needle files I saw at Harbor Freight brfore they sre garbage - stripes of metal with grit glued on which comes off quickly.
Needle files will do the job for you, but invest in some Xacto versions- they cost more but last forever. Most hoby and craft stores carry them.

[Rogviler]

I have those and they work great. Another option would be making yourself a sanding stick that's the same width as the slots (including the paper) and use that. A little time making a special tool will save lots of time and frustration in the end.

-Rog

[Zubie]

Also, make sure grooves will align during the test fit. Deal with that first as best as you can. This might mean widening the location pin sockets or slightly filing the location pins. If this misalignment is particularly severe, you many need to cut one or more pins off and rely on careful gluing or fixing some scrap plastic tabs to help secure the pieces while the pieces set. At that point you will minimize the amount of filing and filling necessary. Besides, it won't do you any good to file and fill the grooves just to end with a smooth zig-zag rather than a jagged one.

Other problems with this sort of part is thickness mismatch on the groove (file or fill to match) or flash in the groove (file or carefully cut out before joining the piece).

[seam-filler]

...This might mean widening the location pin sockets or slightly filing the location pins. If this misalignment is particularly severe, you many need to cut one or more pins off and rely on careful gluing or fixing some scrap plastic tabs to help secure the pieces while the pieces set.

I remember the days when one would routinely removed location pins in plastic kits - it was the only way you'd ever get parts to align. Thankfully, it's less common nowadays.

[SpaceRanger1]

Cut off the location pins, then sand the mating edges of both halves flat on a sheet of sandpaper taped to a flat surface. It shouldn't take much sanding; just move the parts in a circular motion on the sandpaper. Assemble carefully.

[Dukat, S.G.]

Alternate solution:

Find a very thin styrene sheet and place it between the two halves (you'll want to do this on both sides), kind of like putting meat between two pieces of bread. Apply liquid cement where the seams would come together, let that cure for a day, then you could come back with a fresh Xacto, trim the excess, then sand with progressively higher grains of sandpaper.

[naoto]

Needle files!
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-piece- ... t-468.html

If those are the same needle files I saw at Harbor Freight brfore they sre garbage - stripes of metal with grit glued on which comes off quickly.
Needle files will do the job for you, but invest in some Xacto versions- they cost more but last forever. Most hoby and craft stores carry them.

http://www.meyette.us/hf_tool_sale.pdf

[Richard Baker]

Love it!
Going to print that out for work- several people shop there every twenty minutes ..

[Dukat, S.G.]

Just out of curiosity, what are you printing out, Richard?

[Monsignore]

Easier, maybe:
- Cut the grooved part out. Sand (and fill) the smooth parts.
- Make a roll out of putty (I'm partial to Sculpey products, but Green Stuff or similar would also do) of the desired width.
- Pass it through a texturing surface (I use a RollMaker)

- Replace and glue the grooved part.


I use this system to make corrugated tubing, and the result doesn't look bad:


Hope it helps...

[Kylwell]

Needle files!
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-piece- ... t-468.html

If those are the same needle files I saw at Harbor Freight brfore they sre garbage - stripes of metal with grit glued on which comes off quickly.
Needle files will do the job for you, but invest in some Xacto versions- they cost more but last forever. Most hoby and craft stores carry them.

Yes they are. Most needle files are drek if you want to do precision work. I don't know how many sets I've bought over the years hoping to get a square file that's actually square, not a parallelogram, not a trapezoid, not something in between. I stopped using them because I was tired of fighting them. Then I bought a set of Grodet Cut 2 files. My god they are beautiful. You'll pay more for one than for an entire set of crappy files but they're actually true to shape and a number of them have dead sides.