Fuselage jig

[Doppiejohn]

I am interested in finding a good fuselage jig, I am in the process of building the Guillows SBD Dauntless and would like to keep everything straight. Does anyone know of a good jig I can purchase. You can send your answer to my email address. doppiejohn@aol.com

Thanks in advance for your help

[Wildpig]

I've never heard of a pre-made jig for these models. Making your own is not hard to do.
(answer also sent to your email).

[Brenda]

I use the magnet board from easy built. Perfect 90 deg and no pin holes.

[Mitch]

I have a jig, but did not use it on my last build. It however would be just a bit small for the 1000 series. It would acept the 400 series, but seemed more trouble than it would be worth and I built my last few builds in the same way as Guillow describes.



The tools I use for near perfect rib alignment is magnets and I always have a small square to check my work in progress.


example of magnets on my 1000 series build.

I forget where I got it, but it would be too small for the 1000 series.

Another tool I recommend to everyone is to use pin clamps. Shorty's Basement has them. You get 28 for $3.50. I bought 2 packs. They slide over a 1 inch T pin. They have enough grip to stay where you put them when you slide it down the T pin. They last forever.


example of using 'pin clamps'... you just get the little black 'clamp', you provide the 1 inch T pin. They do not fit over a 1-1/2 inch T pin.

So that's how I build near perfect frames and all parts assembled without a single pin hole.


Mitch

[Doppiejohn]

Hey Mitch;

Thanks for your response, I have seen the fuselage jig you show in your posts, Rockytop Models offers that jig on their website for around $24.00. My daughter gave me three Guillow's models for Christmas, the B25, the SBD that I'm building now, and the F6F that is in the closet for later. Those pin locks look interesting and I think I will buy some and may go ahead and buy the fuselage jig from them as well. I have been building model airplanes since I was 7years old and am now 74 and still learning. I guess for now I'll go back to my old way of building the fuselage.

The fuselage is the part that always gives me the most trouble, it is not the half that gets pinned to the plan but the other half that gets hung out in the air while you try to get it square. Also I don't cover the WWII planes in tissue, I use 1/32" balsa sheeting, it makes a smoother surface. Oh, by the way I don't fly these planes, I don't want to put many hours into the build and take it out and crash it. I cover the WWI planes in tissue though. I build all my planes for detail, scale and the paint schemes are as the plane was during the war with the same markings.

Hey thanks again for your input, I like your version of the Zero that was in the picture.

Fellow builder, John

[Mitch]

John,

Now I remember... It was RTM, I surf the net and have found several sources... I need to start taking notes. The jig could be helpful for the second half of ribs to keep them straight. What I have found that works for me is... First get the first ones on straight. Second I use these colorful little clamps. You can find then at Harbor Freight at the check out line.

If the clamp can not reach then I use a Popsicle stick like Guuillow says to hold things in place. In the case of the Hellcat... I also used those little paperclip clamps you can get at Staples. I use 2 different sizes. Some of them I strech open so they are not so tight. They also work well for holding the stringers in place at the tail of the fuselage. Third, when I lay in the side keel if I see one that looks out of straight, I will move it to position and clamp it there.

This system works for me. And as I said that jig might be a bit too short for some of the 1000 series. I find that most rubber models are in the 24-30 inch ws range and the Guillow 1000 series and the 2000 series P-38 are larger than most other kits.

As for those pin clamps... They are the best tool I have for pinning things down!

Mitch... building Guillow models since I was 10 yo...

PS: If you like those Zeros, what until you see my news ones that are on the assembly line now... I am really excited about my K model the Trainer!

[Doppiejohn]

Hi Brenda;

You mentioned a fuselage jig from easy built, can you give me a website so that I can follow up on this jig.

Thanks, John

[Brenda]

Hi Brenda;

You mentioned a fuselage jig from easy built, can you give me a website so that I can follow up on this jig.

Thanks, John

Howdy John,

It's the same one Mitch uses (he showed me the link). Just get the big one unless you have a slab of steel laying around.
http://easybuiltmodels.com/b04.htm

Brenda

[Mitch]

Hi All,

I think we are talking about 2 different items. Both of them are good.

First is the Magna-Board with magnets from EasyBuiltModels:

I have the 32 inch board and taped it to the back of my 36 inch Guillows Balsa board. I don't bring it to my ship anymore as my desk is metal and that is now my building surface.
The other is the Fuselage building fixture from RockyTopModels:

That one is specific to build straight and true fuselages but too small from the 1000 series planes.

It seems the Balsa Boards are no longer in the Guillows line up. I hope the bring them back as I think they are great. I bought two 4 foot boards and one 3 foot board. I cut one 4 foot board in half to have two 2 foot boards. I keep one at my Dad's house and the other 2 foot board is what I take to my ship to make the tail parts. For that I use the pin clamps that are available from:
1. RockyTopModels
2. Sam's Basement

Mitch...Happy Building