EZ Line woes

[Beardie]

Hi all,

Recently bought some EZ Line as everyone says it is the thing to use and I could see the advantages of avoiding having to drill right through to rig. I decided I didn't want to use any turnbuckles or eyelets on my first attempt with the stuff as I never find them that convincing or of positive value to the model. Problem is I cannot get this damn stuff to stick easily. Even trying to get it into the pre-drilled fixing points is like sword fighting with spaghetti and once it is there I have to hold for what seems like forever before the CA gets enough grip to stick.

Desperately in need of some advice and guidance with this stuff.

[bentwaters81tfw]

I have some Schneider floatplanes to rig so I'm hoping for tips.

[Beardie]

What scale you doing Benty?

[Greenshirt]

I use Uschi, but it's the same challenges.

I drill the hole, then put a drop of CA (very very little mind you).

Turn the model so the hole is up and the thread hangs/dangles.

Pick up the thread with tweezers, only about an 1/8th inch from end.

Dip the end in accelerator.

Slowly touch it to the CA drop.

Voila! Stuck hard. Almost instant.

I then turn the model over, repeat for the other end...having cut the thread slightly short to ensure it stretches to the opposite point.

Tim

[fewr9fkr9595]

Hi mate, when working with easy line I use a touch of superglue accelerator (liquid type in a bottle not the spray).

I apply superglue to the point/hole then place the the line. From there with the accelerator I touch it on with a fine brush whilst holding line in place to the post (eg: antenna lines on ww2 german fighters) The other thing I have done when I did my only bi plane so far was to dip the end of the line (only the length that will go in the hole) in the accelerator and leave it to dry a minute. Whilst that dries I put my drop of glue in the hole. Then place the line and it's pretty much an instant grab.

Hope this helps.

Edited August 19, 2016 by Tony Oliver

[Beardie]

That may be where I am going wrong as I only have the spray accelerator here at the moment. Where do you get the liquid?

Another thing I have noticed is that if stretched the easy line separates into fine threads, Does anyone know what this stuff actually is?

[Greenshirt]

I get the liquid by opening the spray bottle. It's not an aerosol.

Tim

Edited August 19, 2016 by Greenshirt

[Beardie]

Ah I have a couple of aerosol cans. Just trying to decant and de-gas some just now.

[JackG]

Up till now, I've always applied the rigging without accelerator - but will have to try some next time.

The other thing to watch out for is cutting the line too short. Not a problem when the first end is attached, but afterwards, the further you have to stretch the line to meet the hole, the more pressure you are asking the glue to deal with.

regards,

Jack

[Shakey]

I find ez line is too flexible and like trying to glue cooked sphagetti into pin-holes as you say Beardie.

Not trying to thread drfit but here is another method....

I have had greater success with 0.15 monofilament fishing line.

It is very strong and will not perish. Not sure how well ez line will last in twenty or thirty years? Will it perish?

Fishing line is pretty much indestructible. It also adds strength to the structure unlike ez line which is purely cosmetic and just deforms under load.

Even if you don't want to go down the Gaspatch turnbuckle or Bob's Buckles routes, you can anchor one end into a deepened rigging hole, filled with thin superglue. It takes maybe twenty seconds to "grab" the line for such a small area.

The other end you can anchor either by drilling all the way through the wing ,and trimming of the end afterwards with a razor blade. A tiny touch of paint with a cocktail stick and the area is invisible. If you don't want to drill all the way through, you have to accurately cut the loose end, plus say 2mm to anchor into the second hole. Again a good pair of tweezers and a thin fuse wire with a tiny drop of superglue will help you. I recommend a set of 2.5x magnifiers as essential to improve your vision and accuracy of the work you are attempting.

To replicate the anchoring points, you can chop 2mm lengths of polyamide tubing ( you can order single lengths of this from amazon, one length will last for ages). Just slide a couple of pieces onto the line before you glue the second end and you can anchor the two polyamide pieces at either end with white glue afterwards.

Works a treat and in 1/32 looks better than ez line IMHO.

One last tip, be careful with accelerator because it can cause the superglue to expand as it dries and hardens. As ever, best practise on a dummy piece first before comitting to your expensive and flawless model!, I think Uschi has a video either on his website or youtube on how to rig WNW biplanes....worth a look.

Edited August 20, 2016 by Shakey

[bentwaters81tfw]

48 scale. I've never used an accelerator before. I think I will need some, I have an Avro Triplane to knit rig too.

[wyverns4]

Hi Beardie,

Be really careful how you handle the accelerator. Inhaling the fumes can cause a number of unpleasant side effects/symptoms ranging from headaches and blurred vision to organ failure. If you can smell it, then it you can start having health problems.

Best version to get is the liquid and use a dedicated brush, (if, like me you are a dedicated brush-licker, this stuff is even more unfriendly if ingested, even in very small amounts) and always have the windows open, or use it outside. Decanting the spray into a seal-able jar would be a good way forward, but again be really careful about the vapour.

'Elf & Saftey rant over.

Christian, exiled to the dark place, again

[colin]

what's in the accelerator as I've seen videos where people spray the stuff over the piece their gluing covering their hand at the same time.

Don't know if it's the accelerator that's bad or the chemical reaction with the glue that gives off the toxic fumes

[Shakey]

The Tamiya accelerator smells not unlike lighter fluid or nail varnish remover.

Must be something with a high volatllity?

As the previous posters imply- carefully does it.

[Bear Paw]

I drill all the holes first and then thread the ez line through the holes with a needle cut down. I try and get as much of the rigging interconnected as possible and then tape all the ends with cut strips of Tamiya masking tape. I then use a needle to apply tiny blobs of gel superglue. That way you do not have to hold any thing while it is drying. When it is dry I cut the end of the ez line off fill any holes with liquid filler and paint or if possible cover it with a decal as well.

[Bear Paw]

Here it is completed 1/72 Revell Albatros DIII.

[Paul Thompson]

Couple of points. As said earlier, try to gauge the length so that once stuck there's is only a tiny bit of tension. If the area is hard to get at and measure I use an overlong piece and trim it just short (sharp scissors will do it) once one end is set up. If your blob of CA is small enough, I find the contact time before I can let go is much reduced. 30 seconds holding it in place should be enough for the glue to grab, without accelerator.

If I do use accelerator, I use liquid stuff, applied with the end of a bit of stretched sprue or wire, whatever is to hand. After I used up my first bottle (which took 8 years) I could only find an aerosol, so I take that outside and extremely carefull spray it into the old liquid bottle. One 2 second squirt provides enough useable stuff for a couple of 1/72nd models.

Something else to check - CA gets old, particularly the gel variety. I've had various brands whose curing time has extended to what feels like infinity by the time I've chucked it.

I rarely use any sort of aftermarket turnbuckle as such, but have found some of the Eduard overscale stuff useful to cut into small lengths. I stick these to one end of the line if I can see I'll have difficulty placing the end in the right place. In this case (in 1/48th) I drill a hole deep enough to swallow most of the PE bit, put glue on the bit and wack it into place. Usually doesn't need accelerator. This sidesteps the difficulty of poking a wibbly thread into a hole of the same diameter. but you need to get the PE bit well in for it to look acceptable.

Paul.

[wyverns4]

what's in the accelerator as I've seen videos where people spray the stuff over the piece their gluing covering their hand at the same time.

Don't know if it's the accelerator that's bad or the chemical reaction with the glue that gives off the toxic fumes

Amongst other chemicals they contain dihydrous monoxide, orthotoluidine, metatololuidine and paratololuidine.

A Google or Wiki search will supply the relevant information.

Christian, exiled to africa

Edited August 20, 2016 by wyverns4

[Beardie]

Thanks everyone for the input it is much appreciated. Thanks for the info Christian although I find it (historically) deeply worrying., At one point in my varied career I worked as a technician for perhaps six months building and testing special laboratory incubators which involved tons and tons of cyanoacrylate and accelerator. To give you an idea, a weeks work would see a 'tray' of loctite glue bottles (around 24 x 24ml bottles) and a 'tray' of accelerator (around 12 small spray cans) and the small workshop didn't have any special ventilation.

I had thought accelerator would be a relative simple affair. A spot of Alkali to neutralise the acid in the glue and some oxidising agent (Alcohol of some form)

[bentwaters81tfw]

I'm using Bear Paw's method with a pin and no accelerator. Works so far.

[fingers]

I find ez line is too flexible and like trying to glue cooked sphagetti into pin-holes as you say Beardie.

Not trying to thread drfit but here is another method....

I have had greater success with 0.15 monofilament fishing line.

It is very strong and will not perish. Not sure how well ez line will last in twenty or thirty years? Will it perish?

Fishing line is pretty much indestructible. It also adds strength to the structure unlike ez line which is purely cosmetic and just deforms under load.

Even if you don't want to go down the Gaspatch turnbuckle or Bob's Buckles routes, you can anchor one end into a deepened rigging hole, filled with thin superglue. It takes maybe twenty seconds to "grab" the line for such a small area.

The other end you can anchor either by drilling all the way through the wing ,and trimming of the end afterwards with a razor blade. A tiny touch of paint with a cocktail stick and the area is invisible. If you don't want to drill all the way through, you have to accurately cut the loose end, plus say 2mm to anchor into the second hole. Again a good pair of tweezers and a thin fuse wire with a tiny drop of superglue will help you. I recommend a set of 2.5x magnifiers as essential to improve your vision and accuracy of the work you are attempting.

To replicate the anchoring points, you can chop 2mm lengths of polyamide tubing ( you can order single lengths of this from amazon, one length will last for ages). Just slide a couple of pieces onto the line before you glue the second end and you can anchor the two polyamide pieces at either end with white glue afterwards.

Works a treat and in 1/32 looks better than ez line IMHO.

One last tip, be careful with accelerator because it can cause the superglue to expand as it dries and hardens. As ever, best practise on a dummy piece first before comitting to your expensive and flawless model!, I think Uschi has a video either on his website or youtube on how to rig WNW biplanes....worth a look.

Hi, have you got a direct Amazon link as a simple polyamide tubing search didn't seem to bring anything suitable.

Thanks.

Dave

[redcap]

+2 re the tubing question as I had the same result as a lot of it seems high grade & medical standard stuff etc. Also a diameter Shakey please that you find is compatible with 1/32 ?

Thank you.

Gary

[Beardie]

Couple of things I was wondering about the EZ Line.

1. Has anyone used accelerator and can say that it won't affect the EZLine any time down the line?

2. I wonder if it would be worth dousing the EZLine in accelerator so that, no matter what length you cut it would be ready coated for quick sticking. Has this occurred to anyone and have they tried it? Not the cheapest stuff and I would be wary of ruining it.

[Selwyn]

I use invisible monofilament mending thread available at most sewing shops, they do colourless or smoke coloured varieties.

I have a slightly different method, I drill right through when I can. I make sure the hole is only slightly larger than the thread. I thread the hole with the thread but leave it slightly loose. I then apply a small drop of liquid superglue and then pull the thread tight, this draws the glue into the hole. I then just leave it to dry for a minute or so, I don't use accelerator. A bit time consuming but a strong job in the end. Afterwards cut off end flush as possible a dab of tippex and a light sand to finish before painting.

I have also when the biplane wings have separate tops and bottoms glue the bottom of the top wing on to the struts thread the rigging through and glue. and then glue the the top of the top wing on to hide the tops of the holes. its the other way round on the bottom wings of course!

Selwyn

[Beardie]

That is the method I traditionally employed when I was building in 1/48 but, moving up to Wingnuts etc. I decided to try out the EZ Line that is raved about as I thought it might be a simpler less stressful option.