Building board - recommendations please!

[Ian Whittaker]

Hi,

just as the title really, what would be suggested for a building board for kits? I used Sundeala previously and found it ideal for the job, being soft enough to push pins but it's about £60 for an eight foot sheet - which is somewhat bigger than I need!

thanks in advance,

ian.

[dan h]

Hi Ian.

Plaster board works very well.

Dan

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Loads of chat in here Ian re building boards. **LINK**

[2.4g Shaun]

Hi Ian,

Plasterboard is good but I use it on top of a sheet of 3/16" glass. This gives an extremely flat and true building surface. My workbench is an old Formica kitchen top and this supports the glass preventing it breaking.

[kc]

Yes plasterboard is the stuff. it's handy to have loose pieces of varying sizes - some wing sized and some smaller for tailplanes etc. If stored vertically when not used they stay flat.

It's very cheap but builders often throw out pieces that would be big enough for our use. If you buy a sheet it can be cut easily by scoring with a Stanley knife and snapping it over a batten.

I use wooden clips to hold wing spars down to the board - the screws hardly leave any hole after removal so the board is not damaged. Much better than pins as they don't pull out whilst working.

[dan h]

KC

have u any pics of the wooden clips you use? I remember somebody on here showing some pics of some wooden ones to hold spars in place with black screws.

I thought I'd have ago and make some turns out they worked a treat.i wonder if it was you I got the idea from.

[Ron Gray]

Plasterboard is good, takes pins well, glass is good, use CA to 'pin' bits down but I do like a metal surface with magnets.

[Dale Bradly]

+1 for steel. I've tried just about everything else, and it's the way to go

[Ian Whittaker]

Thanks all for the usual excellent speedy advise!

Ian.

[Andy J]

Like the concept of using sheet steel but two issues come to mind. First is the high cost of magnets and how do you stop rust forming on the surface of the steel?

[Dale Bradly]

My Aliexpress order history lists this as my order

32 pcs Ceramic Magnet Block 40x25x10 mm bar grade C8 Permanent Magnets ferrite Magnets for advertising board home use (These appear to be the same as in Ron Grey's photos above and i find the most useful

120 pcs Ceramic Magnet Block 20x10x5 mm bar grade C8 Cerramic Permanent Magnets for advertising board home use (these are less useful, i should have got less of these and more of the larger.)

Total cost was NZD$86, about 40 pounds somewhere. For something immensely useful, and will last as long as i do, i don't consider that expensive.

Re rust, I live in a dry climate, so isn't an issue. Occasionally i take to the steel with a chisel to clean up any lumps of glue/paint that have dropped on it, and even more occasionally hit with the orbital sander, which removes any last surface issues, and leaves the surface just about polished. I would suggest even in an indoors UK climate, it wouldn't rust enough to need more that a quick sand to remove any surface rust that might develop.

[Ron Gray]

Posted by Andy Joyce on 24/01/2021 03:04:29:

 

.....................and how do you stop rust forming on the surface of the steel?

Paint, doesn’t need to be anything fancy but if you’re concerned about rust you could always use a galvanised steel sheet.

Regarding the magnets, don’t use rare earth ones as, for the size that are best for modelling, they are too powerful, ceramic (ferrite) ones are what I use. As for cost, approx 40p each.

Edited By Ron Gray on 24/01/2021 07:39:20

[Andy J]

Well looks like I will use steel for my new bench. One modification I did think of trying was to cover the steel with thin Cork. Has anyone tried that?

[Ron Gray]

The wooden magnetic blocks I got from Magnefixit

[kc]

dan h, I expect it was my photo of the wood spar clips you recall.

The clips are made by getting a length of ply etc a fraction thinner than the spar ( so that it grips ) and glueing another piece on top. Once glued the long length - perhaps 8 clips - is then drilled for screws and then sawn up into individual lengths. Quicker than working with single bits of wood.

My rather poor photo shows a sample piece quickly done just for the photo some years ago. Screws should not be long enough to go though the plasterboard into the bench! Modern screws designed to be put in without pilot holes are much better for this purpose than traditional woodscrews. Just a hand screwdriver works well on plasterboard, but an electric drill/driver might make it easier for some. The essential thing is to locate the screws where they can be withdrawn once wing is built - so not under an area to be sheeted!

Edited By kc on 24/01/2021 12:27:17

[dan h]

Hi Kc

Yes that's the picture I remember, I made some the same for my latest build as I was using hard balsa spars. Like I said they worked a treat thanks for giving me the idea.

Dan

[kc]

Andy, just spraying the steel with an aerosol would stop it rusting.

Whatever building board you use my view is that it needs to be able to be moved so you can use the bench for other things whilst the glue dries. It's very limiting if that part built wing is in the way when you need to use the bench! So a board for each process is they way - in my opinion - fuselage jig, wing board, tailplane board and a cradle for installing motor etc into built fuselage.

Plus a lightweight board to clip plans to whilst you study them ( a piece of card from a TV box etc about 22inch by 32 inch for RCME pullout plans )

[Andy J]

You could well be right KC regarding the need for a bench for other activities. After all the bench is more likely going to be used for repairs and maintenance rather than new builds as currently have 5 near completed builds on the go. So highly unlikely that I need to start another model for some time! Have got fixated in the need for a building board jig but in reality not sure how much use one would be.

Still like the idea of a cork work surface for the bench work top but uncertain of its longevity when the bench is used for both woodworking, metal bashing, and as a supporting surface for my various power tools (6 inch grinder, disc sander & pillar drill).

Edited By Andy Joyce on 25/01/2021 16:05:34

[kc]

Many of the tasks we have in model building need a hard surface not a soft cork surface. Other parts like wing building do need a surface to stick pins into. So that's why I say have loose boards for building on.

Things like grinders, engineers vice, pillar drill ( bench top type) etc possibly need a narrow bench on the opposite side of the workshop.

One of my favourite ways of working is to have proper woodworking bench with inset carpenters vice. Then all sorts of items like small engineeers vice, fretwork V, bench hook, jigs, shooting board etc etc all have a block underneath which is used to clamp them into the carpenters vice just when they are used.  When unused they are stored underneath.

If you dont have a carpenters bench then a B&D Workmate or clone can be a substitute which also can serve as a bench in the middle to take a plane whilst being assembled so you can get right round to all sides.

Years ago Record published a plan for a fold down bench attached to garage wall - sort of gate leg table idea - which might still be worth considering especially for certain tasks.

Edited By kc on 25/01/2021 19:42:48

[Mike Etheridge 1]

I have an A0 drawing board as a building board. In early 2000 we were obliged to get rid of our drawing boards at work, and use CAD instead. We then of course used up far less floor space, and I was able to take my drawing board home. I just wonder if there are any such boards on E-bay but I would suggest that drawing boards can warp?

It looks like there are plenty of drawing boards available but only the older wooden boards would be of use and not those with a Melamine finish. 

Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 27/01/2021 14:12:51

[John Stainforth]

At the risk of being boring by repeating myself, I will say it again, in one word:

Glass.

[Ady Hayward]

Hi. I use end grain balsa insulation boards. Easy Composites is but one UK supplier. It can be supplied in various thicknesses and has a cloth type backing which enables it to be glued in place. I fixed mine to a 12 mm MDF board 2 m long by 0.75 m wide, 25 mm thick and fixed it down with spray photo addhesive. I sanded mine perfectly level (as far as can be done) and it has been in use for a couple of years, with many more to come.