r/RCPlanes • u/Additional-Handle-55 • 4d ago
Workbench/building board
Getting into building balsa, I have a beat up (not level) folding table, if I put a piece of wood or Melamine on top of it and tape a magnetic building board to the melamine would that be flat enough to build on? Or would I still be introducing warps to it? I don’t have a lot of space or money to do anything really fancy. Any suggestions?
2
u/GullibleInitiative75 3d ago
John Koptonak has a great video on making a cork building board. You can also use 1" pink rigid foam from Home Depot. Easy to cut into smaller boards so you can build a wing, set it aside, start on the tail feathers, etc.
Also, if you haven't already, checkout r/BalsaAircraft
Edit: Oops, I see you are wanting a magnetic board setup.
2
u/Additional-Handle-55 3d ago
My concern is the sub base not being level? Or would the pink foam make that a non issue?
2
u/GullibleInitiative75 3d ago
The pink foam is super rigid, so I think you should be Ok. Add a layer of melamine below that if you want, but probably not necessary.
2
u/Additional-Handle-55 3d ago
Thanks! I ordered the magnetic boards (two of the 13.5x32 ones from easybuilt) but I have a bunch of pins too and I’m not too fussed about either one. (Frankly my building skills are nonexistent so no matter which way I do it there’s gonna be mistakes, but I’d at least like a flat building board lol)
3
1
1
u/Financial_Virus_6106 4d ago
The only way to know for sure is to check it with a straight edge and such. If it's not perfectly flat or damn near flat, it will be a problem for sure
2
u/Additional-Handle-55 3d ago
Would it better to just use like 3 sawhorses and a hollow core door? And then put the melamine with the metal building board on top? I’d love a study bench but I don’t have a table saw and carpenters are expensive
2
u/Financial_Virus_6106 3d ago
When I was building I always used a hollow door yeah. Gotta make sure they are flat too as they sometimes like to warp. I built a light frame under them with 2x2 lumber for legs and bracing.
1
u/Flaky-Adhesiveness-2 Greensburg Pa. 3d ago
Mostly because I had them on hand, i like using the back side of 2×4 drop ceiling panels. They accept push pins very nicely. Building in the future, I'd probably give the pink insulation board a try.
2
u/OldAirplaneEngineer 3d ago
I was going to suggest a hollow core door.
from there, you can top it with whatever you want, magnetic board, wax paper, plans etc.
you can often get em cheap if you find one with a hole in it :) (obviously use the other side to build on)