Wing fabrication question

[FlyingS]

Interested in hearing thoughts on best practices for fabricating wings.
1. Carve wing fillets on fuselage and "butt" glue the wings.
2. Carve the wing fillets on the wing and glue to corresponding floats on fuselage.
3. One piece wing with profile carved into the under side of fuselage.

Also what type glue is most commonly used?
I'm currently using Titebond II
Used 2 part epoxy on my first model.
Thanks for your input!
Harvey

[lastvautour]

I use one piece wings and notch the fuselage to accept it. My glue just white glue similar to Titebond. Feel free to surf the cook up board where many different methods are mentioned.


Lou

[Model Maker]

For me the method of wing fabrication depends on the scale, wing shape and wing position on the fuselage.

Most of my models are 1/32 scale which results in a 1" to 1-1/4" fuselage width. With this width I am comfortable with a mortise and tendon style of wing attachment as the tenon can be 3/8" to 1/2" long and about 1/4" thick. However, I did have one tenon split when the plane was accidentally dropped. Not sure if it was a wood defect or I had left a sharp chisel mark. This seems to work well when the wing is located in the mid section of the fuselage

If the scale is smaller and the wing is near the mid point of the fuselage I have opted to go with Lou's approach and used a single piece wing with a filler piece from the underside of the wing to the bottom of the fuselage.

If the wing is near the bottom of the fuselage I prefer a single piece. For the spitfires, the wing sweep towards the tail was too long for a single piece of wood, so I opted for the mortise and tenon approach.

So in short I don't have a single preferred approach.

With respect to glue, I use the standard yellow carpenter's glue for wood. It's stood the time on my model boats which are approaching 40 years of age.

I believe an equally important part of the longevity is how the wood is sealed to minimize the swings in moisture content over the various seasons. No matter how the wings are attached, there will always be a joint. I'm not worried about the strength of the glue, but the potential differential expansion due to changes in moisture which may cause a crack to form at a joint. Hence when finishing a model (other than a children's toy where non toxic finishes are important), I typically apply a thinned coat of polyurethane followed by 2 full strength coats of polyurethane. The thought being the polyurethane will act as a sealer to minimize changes in moisture. After a gassing off period, I then apply a spray coat of Zinser white shellac and then prime / paint as required. Dare I say, the finishing usually takes longer than the carving.

[FlyingS]

Thanks for the info guys. good points to think about.