BEFORE YOU BEGIN
A
word about laser cut parts and adhesives.
There are three primary types of adhesives recommended for constructing your model. They are CyanoAcrilate
(CA) in all viscosities, Aliphatic Resin Glue (carpenters glue) and Epoxy. CA is the pri mary adhesive to use
however there are times when it is not the best choice. They are:
When you need more time to carefully position a part than a fast setting adhesive will allow.
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When attaching plastic such as a windshield (Use Pacer formula 560 here).
2.
When gluing laser cut aircraft grade plywoods. The microwave set adhesives used in aircraft grade plywoods
3.
ablates at a much higher temperature then the surrounding wood. As a result it burns the wood fibers near by
leav ing a thin charred edge. Fast setting CA adhesives do not allow time for the adhesive to penetrate this layer of
char and bond to the wood fiber underneath. Use a slower setting adhesive such as Aliphatic Resin or for maximum
strength use Epoxy on aircraft grade ply parts. Lite Ply’s do not use this type of adhesive and do not suffer from
this problem.
To apply thin CA I recommend the Dave Brown pipets available at your hobby shop. Be sure to stretch the end
(pull it with a pair of pliers) to a thin applicator tip, as they are not supplied in this configuration and some folks
don’t know that you have to do this. No mention of this is made on the package they come in.
PIN REGISTRATION
A great shop technique introduced by Top Notch Products is the use of 1/8” piano wire pins to quickly and precisely
position laminated parts such as fuselage doublers etc. Many of the parts in Top Notch kits utilize this method
and are supplied with pinning holes. Take the time to construct two of these handy tools. Use two small hardwood
blocks and two short lengths of 1/8” music wire. Round the ends for easy insertion into the parts.
Below are two examples of this technique as used in the Cessna 195 kit. On the left, two fire wall com ponents are
being assembled using the pins. Any time precision placement is required, this method is used. You will find the
pinning holes are easily filled after completing the model. This method allows the use of fast setting adhesives such
as CA because the parts cannot be out of register. In the photo on the right, landing gear components are being
assembled with the pins. Precision placement of these parts is required to assure that the 1/8” landing gear wire will
fit snugly into this assembly. In the background is the completed fire wall assembly.
Use a sheet of Wax Paper to protect your plans. When assembling flat sheets such as the stabilizer skins I recommend
laying the parts on a sheet of parchment paper. Assemble the parts, apply thin CA and frequently lift the part and
wipe up any excess CA from both the part and the paper with a piece of paper towel.
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OK, LETS BUILD A TOPNOTCH MOONEY M-18
