Y-Wing nacelle spars

[TazMan2000]

Is there another distributor, besides Plastruct, that makes Tee structural shapes, in either metal or plastic, that is greater than the T-8 size?

I'm making the engine nacelles of a 1/16 Y-Wing and these are for the spars that support the engine exhaust deflectors. The T-8 size is 6.4mm (1/4") in height and width and seems very tiny.

Failing the manufactured route, I'm thinking of gluing an Evergreen styrene strip to correct the height, at least. Is there any glue, that would provide a strong bond with both PVC and styrene? CA seems to have poor lateral strength.

TazMan2000

[ajmadison]

Is there another distributor, besides Plastruct, that makes Tee structural shapes, in either metal or plastic, that is greater than the T-8 size?

I'm making the engine nacelles of a 1/16 Y-Wing and these are for the spars that support the engine exhaust deflectors. The T-8 size is 6.4mm (1/4") in height and width and seems very tiny.

Failing the manufactured route, I'm thinking of gluing an Evergreen styrene strip to correct the height, at least. Is there any glue, that would provide a strong bond with both PVC and styrene? CA seems to have poor lateral strength.

TazMan2000

If you run a bead of low viscosity CA along the entire seam, you should have plenty of strength for what you want to do. You just want the two strips to not flex out of straight, not necessarily transfer load from one axis to the other. You may need to check the seam, and re-apply in spots.

MEK might be your best bet, in terms of solvents. Plastruct's own solvent-glue product never worked that well for me.

[Kylwell]

Small Parts?

[TazMan2000]

Small Parts?

Not certain what you mean, Kylwell.

TazMan2000

[Kylwell]

Click on the link.

[TazMan2000]

Click on the link.

Dohhh! Didn't realize embedded link.
Unfortunately looking for something slightly larger than 1/4 inch, and the largest size they have is 1/8 inch.
But its a good find for future projects. Thanks.

But I think I will go with mjmadison's suggestion and use CA, and hope for the best. Perhaps I'll build the spars last so I don't bend them when handling the model, since its going to be over 3 feet in length. Not much weight there (for the spars, the model, is already about 10 pounds) but when you see the present condition of the original studio scale models, if its going to break anywhere, its going to be the spars.

TazMan2000

[MillenniumFalsehood]

Why not simply take brass strip and solder it together? It would be strong enough to withstand any pounding the model might take (evergreen will snap before brass does), light enough to keep from sagging, and won't warp in mid-summer heat. For a project of this magnitude, it's the best of both worlds: simple and strong.

[TazMan2000]

Hah! I never thought of that. It might take a lot of heat though, since its going to be around 20 inches long. How would you recommend I clamp the two pieces together over that distance, so that it is perfectly in the middle?

TazMan2000

[AbsoluteSciFi]

Hah! I never thought of that. It might take a lot of heat though, since its going to be around 20 inches long. How would you recommend I clamp the two pieces together over that distance, so that it is perfectly in the middle?

TazMan2000

If you are soldering a long line use several techniques at once- glue the brass in spots with CA, then heat sink it as you solder it. After the soldering, pop the CA off- if it hasn't burned off already. Depending on how much material you are talking about- you might be able to tape it.

If you have to spot a point, like a "T", then make a rig to hold the two part in place. I would try to place the two parts on a flat surface and clamp or tape them so they don't move.