Clamping Funny Angles - for spaceships!!

[Stanleymonkey]

I keep a box of wings and fins for the kids in my classes to make planes / rockets / spaceships etc.

I had an idea to run a chamfer along the 'body' part of the spaceship so that the wings can be attached at funky angles.

Lovely idea - nightmare for clamping. I think wide masking tape is going to be the simplest option. Bearing in mind this could be for 15 pairs of wings or more in an afternoon!!

Am I missing a clever trick?

Not a massive fan of glue guns - unless there is a product / method that produces a neat join (as opposed to a silicone round the shower type look)

 

[eribaMotters]

I taught secondary school Tech for 35 years so know how you feel. Rub joint and pva, or Titebond, with masking tape is the logical way to go. But sometimes I used to have the glue gun handy. Rub pva on as usual, add a couple of very small dabs of hot glue, bring surfaces tightly together and hold for 10 seconds. If you are lucky and have the surfaces tight together then the hot glue will hold everything whilst the pva goes off, ready for the lesson later in the week.

Colin

 

[Setch]

Mitrebond

 

[stuckinthemud]

Celotape can work wonders, not the cheap stuff but the proper tape is strong and stretchy and sticky, it makes a great impromptu clamp, it can even pull into a kind of string to bind parts together while glue sets

 

[DavidConnelly]

Fractal vise?

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1055301629/fractal-vise-diy-kit

 

[TheTiddles]

Masking tape

 

[--Tom--]

Holes drilled for dowels and can then be assembled and dismantled without the need for glue?

 

[Thingybob]

Multi angle biscuit jointer

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Multi angle biscuit jointer

Do they make smaller ones for children's hands?!!

I would love a biscuit jointer but it might not work in children's woodwork lessons I'm afraid

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Holes drilled for dowels and can then be assembled and dismantled without the need for glue?

I wondered if there might be a thin dowel / skewer technique for lining up the joints - but drilling them on a 30 degree chamfer I think will cause more problems than it solves.

 

[TRITON]

Construct a jig that assembles the joint upside down.
So basically two wedge shapes far enough apart for the sloping sections to sit on. Then its only going to need downward pressure along the edges. Epoxy will give a strong enough bond as epoxy prefers less clamping force than regular adhesives.

 

[TheUnicorn]

as setch alluded to above, I'd go for a pva joint, but leave a couple of patches clear for some dabs of superglue, spray activator on the other half, put together and hold firm for a matter of seconds (though I tend to hold for closer to a minute), the superglue will clamp it together while the pva cures

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Construct a jig that assembles the joint upside down.
So basically two wedge shapes far enough apart for the sloping sections to sit on. Then its only going to need downward pressure along the edges. Epoxy will give a strong enough bond as epoxy prefers less clamping force than regular adhesives.

I assembled that little mock up for the photo by holding the body at a 30 degree angle so the 'wing' could just sit on the chamfer while the glue dried.

If I keep the 'body/fuselage' wood to a standard size, I could make a couple of jigs where the wings are held with little spring clamps and the larger piece rests on top. Maybe a little weight or rubber bands to help press down. Going to think about this

 

[Stanleymonkey]

as setch alluded to above, I'd go for a pva joint, but leave a couple of patches clear for some dabs of superglue, spray activator on the other half, put together and hold firm for a matter of seconds (though I tend to hold for closer to a minute), the superglue will clamp it together while the pva cures

I would love to try this method but I'm not making these on my own. It's a fun project with children (probably 7-11 years old) and I want them to glue the parts together as much as possible. I had a superglue tube split on me a couple a couple of weeks ago at home and glue two finger together for a while. That was horrible enough!! Couldn't imagine having that around children. Plus the COSHH sheet for the activator spray is pretty horrible - I don't want to chance it.

 

[GuitardoctorW7]

I taught secondary school Tech for 35 years so know how you feel. Rub joint and pva, or Titebond, with masking tape is the logical way to go. But sometimes I used to have the glue gun handy. Rub pva on as usual, add a couple of very small dabs of hot glue, bring surfaces tightly together and hold for 10 seconds. If you are lucky and have the surfaces tight together then the hot glue will hold everything whilst the pva goes off, ready for the lesson later in the week.

Colin

Or try a dab of CA, on one piece and activator on the other as well as using Titebond, there'll be less cushioning between the pieces as it's not so thick as hot glue?

 

[Thingybob]

Do they make smaller ones for children's hands?!!

I would love a biscuit jointer but it might not work in children's woodwork lessons I'm afraid

Do the children make the space ships from scratch or are the components pre made if so a biscuit slot could be pre cut in wings/body ready

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Do the children make the space ships from scratch or are the components pre made if so a biscuit slot could be pre cut in wings/body ready

I see what you mean now

They are provided with suitable sized timber for the body and they cut that to size with pointy bits and angles for the front.

Wings comes out of a box of angled scraps of they cut their own on a hand mitre saw.

I was just going to move it up a notch by chamfering lengths of timber along two edges.

Then they cut the chamfered wood to size and make make whatever ship they want.

 

[TRITON]

What about those little n shaped things ? I forget the name, but its basically 2 prongs and you hammer it into the joint at the end and it holds it together while the glue sets

Excuse my really poor 2D sketch, I never was any good at drawing.

 

[TRITON]

@20 mins shows the thing im talking about.

 

[Hornbeam]

Bike inner tubes wrapped around it. You can adjust the tension to account for the angle of the wings