Monday, July 21, 2008

Building the keel


keel build
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.
The Fantail launches keel is a complicated component made up of 3 wooden parts sandwiched around a couple of brass tubes for rudder and drive shaft.

The instructions say you should cover the full size plan with plastic on a board and pin the parts to this while gluing. To me that's a recipe for bits stuck to a plan. I decided to clamp the bits with bulldog clips while the glue dried. This worked well - the keel is straight and not stuck to anything it shouldn't be. OK the process might take longer as you have to work a tube at a time but with quick set Araldite this isn't a big problem.

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