scratch building with wood

The wood commonly used in kits, and available in sheets for modelers' use is basswood...often milled, with a pattern such as clapboard, board and batting, etc.

Basswood is available in strips of various sizes for framing and detail.  Thickness

for the milled sheets is usually 1/16". Unfortunately, only a few local hobby shops will have this in stock, so MicroMark, among others, is a mail source. 

There are a lot of model glues, but in my experience, some do not age well, and they, too, are harder to find, but your big box home stores will have Titebond wood glue for wood on wood, and I am now using Liquid Nails for wood to other materials, such as styrene and foam "stone" wall material. Testor's red tube plastic cement works for styrene on styrene.

Gary:

I buy basswood/stripwood from the local train shop. As mentioned in the previous post the figured panels coms pretty thin. I sometimes back them with a 20 or 40 mil plastic sheet using Walthers Goo. The stripwood beams however come in various sizes and thickness so can be used as support beams or planking (see attached photo).

When in a hurry I use superglue gel to attach - when not white carpenters glue works. Just be sure you stain/paint the wood first. I use Micro mark Tie and Bridge Stain. 

I've done a lot with basswood and it's my wood of preference because of how cleanly it cuts.

J. Barrett pushes balsa and I tried it just to see.  It doesn't cut nearly as cleanly as basswood.  You can sorta "crush" it if you're not careful.

I'm sticking with bass.

- walt

I like hot glue gun for scratch building due to its fast cure/drying. Elmers wood glue is also good,the yellow stuff.

I get some wood supplies at home improvement stores, (1/4thick is about as thin as it gets there) or hobby lobby places.

The old stand by popcycle sticks and wood coffee sticks can work also

northeastern scale lumber has a great selection of basswood, clapboard designs, strips,  and others. wall sections are available in various thicknesses. mt. Albert also has these. Rusty stumps has wood wall sections too as does the previously mentioned micomark. you can use wood glue although the yellow carpenters glue while providing good adhesion, is a liitle difficult to paint on if it shows through the joints. that is why I use Aikeen's tacky glue. sets pretty quickly, dries clear, water clean-up and holds well and is available everywhere.

two suggestions i would consider with wood, per bar mills models, which specializes in wood kits,  is to brace on the backsides with strip wood ( make sure you leave room on the corners for connecting the walls together), and then prime on both sides with cheap (e.g. wal-mart) primer, which is a very thin spray. this will almost eliminate warping and if you do get any, just leave overnight with some heavy books on the unattached wall section. next day, voila, they will be totally flat and you can add your final wall color or assemble first. frankly, it is easier to do all the finish work before assembly as you are working on a flat surface. I use acrylic craft paint for my finish color as I don't like working with toxic enamels. since I am after a worn, weathered look, I put on light coats withsome if the undercoat showing through (but you can cover it all, just go easy on the amount of paint as they are water based and can further warp things). 

wood is a great, forgiving material and you will be very pleased with the results. 

jerrman

Don't write off balsa completely. For some purposes, its softness can be an advantage. I prefer it when I want an old, weathered look, for example. The lines tend to be a bit softer and it takes I/A stains nicely. Also, it tends to be easier to find locally than basswood. It should be cut with sharp X-acto or razor blades.

Finally, for detail work, don't forget heavy card stock and bristol board.  Their properties are very similar to and compatible with those of wood.

Well what do big box craft stores sell? Balsa or Bass wood?

And a quick note on fastening...I have learned that when using a hot glue gun, having a small can of compressed air, like that used to clean off key pads, works very well.

after applying the hot glue, invert the air canister and just give it a quick blast. Out comes a very cold propellant and the glue sets almost instantly.

give it a try...

spaceghost