Coth Hinge Pictures

Hope it works this time.

John,

I'm not certain that I understand. Could you please post a few more pictures?

Nice Job!

>John,
>
>I'm not certain that I understand. Could you please post a
>few more pictures?
>
>Nice Job!

Can you let me know what it is that you would like to see a picture of and I will try to post what you want. I did post a separate explanation but couldn't get the pictures up on the same post. Sorry about that. Thanks for the compliments. This method is really not that difficult and it works and looks good.

Beatiful work! It adds an extra element of craftsmanship especially if the model will be covered with transparent tissue.

>Beatiful work! It adds an extra element of craftsmanship
>especially if the model will be covered with transparent
>tissue.
>
>Eggy

Thanks Eggy,

I really wanted to share this method with others because it really is slick. It's one of those things where once you learn how to do it, it's pretty easy. And, it's one of the few things in this hobby that I've learned to do well.

Thanks again.

John

John

It's a long time since I used cloth hinges--they were cotton tape and were stiff and gummed up with paint.

Are there any special precautions needed with the synthetic fabrics to prevent the finish stiffening the hinges?

>John
>
>It's a long time since I used cloth hinges--they were cotton
>tape and were stiff and gummed up with paint.
>
>Are there any special precautions needed with the synthetic
>fabrics to prevent the finish stiffening the hinges?
>
>Cheers, Geoff

Geoff,

I think the best thing is to not get the dope or paint too thick. With a clear finsih, that's not much of a probelm. If you are going for a top level color paint job that might be hard to do. I usually use a clear dope finish or color with colored tissue. The trouble of course with that is most of the colored tissue fades in the sunlight. Also, I do not use any thinner with acetone in it. It melts the taffeta. Sig thinner works well. Or, you might try another type of fabric. I use taffeta because that's what Ted Fancher recommended in his article in Stunt News a few years back.

Don't sand them very much either, especially at the edges where they fold over and under. It's real easy to sand right through, sort of like sanding silkspan with open bays...got to be careful.

I used this type of hinge on a scratch built Flite Streak where I put on several coats of Sig clear, 3-4 coats of sanding sealer and then shot Rustoleum over it all. Had absolutely no problems with the hinges, but did have problems when it came time to repair the silkspan on the wings as the Rustoleum can't be repaired like a dope finish can. Live and learn.

Regards,

John

I know it sounds like a lot of trouble, but I do think it's worth it for getting a traditional finish on a sport plane or for an old time or perhaps a classic era ship.