Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[mattf1000]

Hi I'm new to the forum. But I have built a few balsa scratch built fast electrics in the past. Now I fancy building a riva aquarama 1:6 scale. I have the plans but can't seem to find suitable  4.5mm plywood for the frame. Can anyone help

[grasshopper]

Can you get hold of 4mm? That's a standard thickness . If so,  use that but make allowances for the loss of the .5mm.

[mattf1000]

That's a possibility. Do you know who stocks a decent grade. Most of what I've seen in diy shops is poor at best. I did try Travis Perkins but the closest they do is 3.6 mm. Perhaps I'm being  too fussy 

[barriew]

Try The Balsa Cabin - http://balsacabin.webs.com/plybirch.html or SLEC in Norfolk - www.slecuk.com

I think that Plywood is still manufactured in imperial sizes and the metric sizes are therefore approximate


Barrie

[grasshopper]

The prices for small thicknesses of birch ply is really quite high, you may be better served looking at your local timber supplier for waterproof or exterior ply - you won't see it when the boats built.


Trace your outlines, cut along those drawn lines with a sharp blade to 'heavily score' the first ply then cut with a fine tooth saw and sand back to the outline - that way you won't get so much splintering.

[mattf1000]

I'm not worried  about the cutting out as a friend has let me have the use of a cnc machine so hopefully he can adapt the the cad template to fit 4.0mm ply

[mattf1000]

Well. So much for timber merchants. You can have 3.6 or 5.5 mm and it's rough. Think I'll pay the extra when I find out if the templates can be rejigged to fit on 300 mm wide ply.
Ps  is there a reason I have to type in a captcha  and answer a load of questions every time I post. It's quite annoying on a phone  with my eyesight

[roycv]

Hi I think Marine qualiy ply is best quality with a 'Thames' version (?) a bit less so.
Do you have any marine stockists your way?
 
I bought some a few years ago from a marine source, very good.

Model Aircraft suppiliers such as Balsa cabin have supplied me in the past, sometimes length is a problem.
I am currently building model boats from my hoarded wood as when I kick the bucket it will probably be thrown away!  Some of that wood came from deceased club members left overs.
You can always order a 8' x 4' sheet of ply via your wood yard, depends how much use you can make of the stuff, good time to share a cost with another modeller.  If you can share get them to cut it for you otherwise not easy to get home.
Main thing I have learned is do not use cheap wood.
regards Roy

[Colin Bishop]

I think it is always best to go to specialist model suppliers, the quality is much higher and they will sell you small quantities. Timber merchants often have minimum sizes intended for the trade which are of unsuitable quality for modelling.

Marine ply is obviously much better quality but it can have a more open grain than birch ply and thus requires more effort in finishing. The edges can be rough for modelling purposes as well.

In the end it is best to go for the material designed for the job, usually cheaper in the long run too. The cost of decent modelling ply is a small proportion of the overall cost of building, painting and fitting out a model boat.

Colin

[mattf1000]

thanks for all your help, I'm definitely using a company like Slec or similar. I'll see my mate with the cnc machine and see how many sheets I need at what size

[w3bby]

When I built in wood I used aircraft birch plywood, more layers/thickness and no voids.
Check out
Swindon aircraft
Travis Perkins
Smaller sheets - Always Hobbies

[aeronut]

You won't find better plywood in the UK than this - https://www.mantuamodel.co.uk/4_Model_Wood/Birch_Plywood/
Not cheap and the sizes are slightly odd, but the quality is superb.

[Stavros]

Mattf1000 where in North Wales are you from.....Have you tried The Hobby Corner down on the cast raod Near Abakhan fabrics nr Holywell
 
 
Dave