There's a chance that this won't work, but I'm going to try to hand-scrape from basswood the contours and profile of the (3) fins of the Semroc WAC Corporal.

I've selected a piece of really tight Midwest 3/16" basswood and drawn the blanks onto it using Semroc's supplied pattern. TBC

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Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

It took approx. 3 billion passes with a #24 blade but I got the first blank roughed out.

This had better ****ing work! TBC

p.s. Mary was able to stop the bleeding, finally.

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Next, I shape the corners of the blank with my dead-flat, Corian sanding board until it matches the Semroc provided pattern. TBC

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Now for some technique: I first spread a thin film of Alleene's Tacky Glue onto my fingertips so I can really put pressure on the basswood without it slipping. Starting with the trailing edges, I bevel-sand the fin--one side at a time. TBC

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Next, I bevel-sand the leading edges using the same technique. BTW, in case you hadn't surmised already, the reason I'm doing these in basswood is because I can get a much crisper bevel than with balsa and I can press as hard as I want when sanding it without it being damaged. It weighs a BCH more, but the fins are small and a good quantity of weight will be removed through sanding. TBC

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

And now the leading and trailing edges are scraped in on both sides of ONE fin. Time for a Scotch and an IPA. Good night. TBC

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

After sanding the fin eliptically (or was it hyperbolically?) on the Corian board, the shaping is finished. One down--two to go! TBC

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__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Nice work! Creating scale bevels on small scale projects can take quite a bit of patience and ingenuity, not to mention a hefty tolerance for frustration, but with persistence one can pull it off. Doing it successfully is hard work but the results are so worth it! I am looking forward to seeing your completed rocket. As your posts demonstrate, it really helps to have a few tricks up your sleeve. You acquire those with building experience.

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SAM # 0011

Thanks.

__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Now that you have three balsa "spares," would you mind sanding one of them and convincing us that going basswood was the better way?


Bill

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: countdown begin cr dup . 1- ?dup 0= until cr ." Launch!" cr ;

Give a man a rocket and he will fly for a day; teach him to build and he will spend the rest of his days sanding...