Fabric Covering Iron
Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:46 pm
I'm sure several of you have fabric covering experience. I'm about to get that experience and am looking for a good iron for heat shrinking fabric. Anyone got a brand/model preference?
Thu Oct 08, 2009 10:15 pm
Brand or model don't make much difference, whatever you can steal from the wife will do...........what is important is a good thermometer to set the two temperatures you will need to use. Get it too hot and oh oh. your are in big trouble.
Thu Oct 08, 2009 10:27 pm
What he said 
I always do a test piece to make sure heat is ok,cheers,Pete
I always do a test piece to make sure heat is ok,cheers,Pete
Fri Oct 09, 2009 8:02 am
A small modeler's iron works well in tight spaces too. It makes a nice addition to your wife's iron.
Gary
Gary
Sat Oct 10, 2009 9:47 am
retroaviation wrote:A small modeler's iron works well in tight spaces too. It makes a nice addition to your wife's iron.
Gary
Ditto on this as I have both. The hobbie iron is great for getting those seams tight.
Sun Oct 11, 2009 3:41 am
Hi Kyleb,
Before snatching your wife's iron make sure it does not have any holes in ironing surface. These holes in more modern irons are there too let out steam (that is what I heard of course). What you need is actually the most basic electrical iron without any steam spiting capability. In Europe they are usually in the 20-25 EUR price range.
However these irons usually do not have any temperature guage. The reostath button that controlls the temperature of the iron is usually set up to the type of fabric you are ironing (wool, syntetics etc). One of the reasons this is the case is that the exact temperature is dependant also on your electrical network in the workshop. Therefore for the first few times make sure you ''calibrate'' your iron with a thermometer before the start of shrinking.
Lastly, I think that most of us go through the trouble of calibrating the iron only the first few wings or fuselages. After that you can, in my opinion tell perfectly well how the fabric is shrinking visually looking at the tauntness or the weave.
Final advice: when laying fabric treat is as sheet metal. Make a lot of templates, tack it in place, trim it to size, and always remember - you can shrink the fabric for about 10%, but you cannot streach it at all. So with complex curves leave surplus material.
Kindest regards
Saso
www.aereform.si
Before snatching your wife's iron make sure it does not have any holes in ironing surface. These holes in more modern irons are there too let out steam (that is what I heard of course). What you need is actually the most basic electrical iron without any steam spiting capability. In Europe they are usually in the 20-25 EUR price range.
However these irons usually do not have any temperature guage. The reostath button that controlls the temperature of the iron is usually set up to the type of fabric you are ironing (wool, syntetics etc). One of the reasons this is the case is that the exact temperature is dependant also on your electrical network in the workshop. Therefore for the first few times make sure you ''calibrate'' your iron with a thermometer before the start of shrinking.
Lastly, I think that most of us go through the trouble of calibrating the iron only the first few wings or fuselages. After that you can, in my opinion tell perfectly well how the fabric is shrinking visually looking at the tauntness or the weave.
Final advice: when laying fabric treat is as sheet metal. Make a lot of templates, tack it in place, trim it to size, and always remember - you can shrink the fabric for about 10%, but you cannot streach it at all. So with complex curves leave surplus material.
Kindest regards
Saso
www.aereform.si
Re: Fabric Covering Iron
Fri Nov 20, 2009 11:33 pm
I recently tried to replace my old glue infested irons. Had a hard time finding one that would reach 350 degrees. Walmart finally started carrying a cheap iron that would get to 400 plus. I will check the model number when I get to the hanger. I use an infrared thermometer to check temperature. This won't work on a shiny surfaced iron. The swing if the temperature is aggravating to me. I keep the iron in one hand and the thermometer in the other.