For me, one of the most valuable pages was "The Idea Box".
I did some screen grabs and will feature some older ideas that still have some value today.
The original Estes Copy:
"Remove those dents in balsa nose cone, etc. by the method suggested by Jim Merriman of East St. Louis Illinois.
Put a drop of water on the dent and touch lightly with a wood burning pencil or soldering gun.
Heat and moisture will swell the wood fibers and refill the depression."
One thing the article didn't mention -
This tip is for bare wood (not finished) nose cones. If the nose cone is finished you would have to fill and sand the dent (or Estes smile) smooth.
All the wood is still there, the fibers are just compressed making the dent.
Water and heat will swell the wood and raise the depressed area.
I wouldn't apply a soldering iron directly onto the wood, you might burn the balsa.
Wet a paper towel and set that over the dent. Then set the hot soldering iron over the paper dowel.
This will protect the balsa surface.
I’m catching up on older posts. I too really enjoyed the MRN Idea Box tips.
ReplyDeleteI have a covering iron used to affix RC airplane coverings (Monokote). You can adjust the temperature for different coverings, and this makes it ideal to raise dents using direct contact with the tip to the dented area on the balsa part.