Cloth hinges

Stuka Stunt Main Forum · 8 of 8 known posts recovered

Jake · Sep 18, 2001 04:22 AM

These really work quite well, properly done. They were quite aggravating to me when I first started modeling a few decades back. It took me a long time learning the best techniques and such to use, and my early efforts worked, but were pretty ugly.
I think we might have a bunch of newbies out there who might be equally frustrated with these. I use either the old standby cotton cloth, or else nylon today.
But there remain the questions of how best to apply them, i.e. what glue(s) do you use, how long and wide to make the hinge strips, how far apart to space them (cover the entire hinge line?), how to get them on in the neatest way, how best to finish over them?
Let's see what the pros say.

Jake

"It'll probably feel real good again, once it quits hurting".

Currell · Sep 18, 2001 07:50 AM

#1 source

I'm not an expert, but let me make a few observations. I use cloth almost exclusively, and they can be tricky. One of the problems is having the stab and the el exactly aligned once the glue dries (I use Sig). I glue all of the hinges on one surface, usually the stab, let dry, and then attach the hinge ends of one side only to the el. I'll pull the two surfaces as close together as possible, pin them down, and use weights on either surface to keep them flat. Then I'll do the other side. I may not attempt to glue all of the hinge ends at once, but may work with the end ones only.

I always buy Perfect (cloth) hinges when I see them in the little packages at the swaps. And I buy muslin cloth at a fabric store, have the lady cut them in 1" (or smaller, for smaller models) strips with pinking shears right at the store.

I'll admit that I never am completely satisfied with this technique. I never get the two surfaces as close to one another as I would like, and often the surfaces are just a smidge out of alignment. So I am eager to read other posts.

Currell

Jake · Sep 18, 2001 08:27 AM

#2 source

Have you had any problems with rotted cotton cloth? I encountered some hinges in a kit fairly recently that while the kit was 20 plus or so years old, didn't look at all bad, until I tested them and found they broke easily.

"It'll probably feel real good again, once it quits hurting".

Old Rusty Lines · Sep 18, 2001 09:13 AM

#4 source

I think I've used every kind of hinge known to man, in racing planes, stunt, combat and speed models with a lot of failures along the way. A couple of years ago I built a Brodak Super Clown and instead of using the hinges that came in the kit I used a package of Perfect large hinges, with 25 to 30 flights I started having hinge failure (never use old cloth hinges). Brodak sells fresh cloth hinges; I'm a little bit leary of buying from a fabric shop, some materials do funny things when they're painted. Another alternative is to pick up a roll of material from your local airport; this stuff is about 3" wide and it is used to cover the fabric stitching on things like Piper Cubs, etc., it's stronger than nails. For racing we lay out two pieces and stitch it down through the middle, this probably could be used on stunt planes also partically profiles with thin flaps and elevators or you can use this the over and under style; I have never had a failure with this material.

Larry F · Sep 18, 2001 08:59 AM

#3 source

LAST EDITED ON Sep-18-01 AT 09:31 AM (CDT)

You know, this may be the best thread ever! Hinges are not an issue with the big guys with competition planes, as a Slot Machine or some variant of nylon hinges is the only way to go. I believe other threads have covered this aspect well. I bought a bunch of old magazines from Currell, and you can see the evolution of hinges, and appreciate that some classics used cloth hinges, including nylon.

Sport planes may have 1/8 stabs and elevators, which don't work well with inserted hinges, at least not for me. Practicing on scrap balsa and extra hinges, I have not come up with a better solution than cloth hinges in these size ranges. The 1/2 A size planes with 1/16 surfaces must present a bigger challenge, but I have none of those.

The conflict is how pretty we want to be, and how confident we need to be in the strength of our control system. Linen hinges are butt ugly. Silk hinges can blend in with a sport plane "concourse" profile plane, and make you happy as a builder. If the hinges fail, you are an unhappy builder. Personally, I hate those big ugly pinked linen cloth hinges, that no finishing technique can hide.

But I am afraid of silk and nylon that can be blended in and make a prettier airplane. I would like for someone to tell me that something like 9 momme silk hinges last forever. Can we go "cheap pretty" and not risk our airplanes?

Late Edit:
I assume that all would agree that if we go silk or nylon, we make the hinge line continuous, not the "every now and then" pattern used with linen.

Larry F

Jim T. · Sep 18, 2001 10:07 AM

#5 source

LAST EDITED ON Sep-18-01 AT 10:09 AM (CDT)

When your cloth or modern plastic hinges start to fail, replace them with figure-8 hinges made of dental floss which will last forever (for several hundred flights, anyway). Dental floss is free at your dentist.

To give credit where credit is due, Tim McTigue put me onto clamping the stab and elevator together whilst hinging them. I had been doing it freehand in the air and wondering why they never lined up.

JIm Thomerson (well-know user of dental-floss hinges)

Nils · Sep 18, 2001 11:59 AM

#6 source

LAST EDITED ON Sep-18-01 AT 12:06 PM (CDT)

I never had very good luck trying to glue cloth hinges on. I always got something crooked or a corner would curl up, or things would slide around or something. Now I iron 'em on using Balsarite. One wet coat of balsarite (let it dry to the touch) on each surface is enough to hold them in place while ironing them down initially. I iron half on one surface & the other half on the other surface. Align the two surfaces with the hinges over/under & weight them down on the bench so they can't move, with the appropriate half of the loose ends of the hinges up. I use some 1 pound lead ingots made out of wheel weights & poured into an RSBS ingot mold, &/or sand bags. (I make my own bullets so I always have lots of lead ingots, very handy for building.) Pull gently on the loose ends of the hinges until the surfaces have no gap & iron them in place. Brush a coat of Balsarite over them wet enough to saturate the cloth, allow to dry for half an hour or so & give it one more coat. Flip the assembly over & do the same on the other side. Give 'em a light sanding between coats. I smooth edges with Evercoat Metal Glaze (part # 100-416 at any auto-body supply store) if I want them to disappear.

Nils

One more thing- pinking shears aren't really very expensive. I have a pair & I bought a yard of unbleached muslin at the yard goods store (I think it was about $1.19). Now I can make hinges whatever size is appropriate for the job at hand, probably for the rest of my life. I have cloth hinges on nearly all my airplanes. My Oriental profile has well over 800 flights on it & the hinges are just fine. On sport half A's I leave a slight gap between the surfaces & iron a strip of hinge material full length on the bottom only.

Ty M. · Sep 18, 2001 12:08 PM

#7 source

I answered this thread on Iskys board, so I will keep this one simple. I have tried them all at least once. It depended on the type plane, figure eights, muslin, Kapak, Perfect, Monocoat, Klett and now back to the ones sold by Tom Morris. These are very thin, will not rot and I use Ambroid to glue them in place. I preglue and place them side by side the entire span. No gaps. I wipe the excess glue on my Levis cause that's how I did it in 54. I also get to chew the dried glue off my fingers and this drives my wife nuts. I love it.!!! These hinges are hidden quite well by silkspan or polyspan. If they do show, well that is part of their charm. My opinion for what it's worth. Ty M.