I am so frustrated with the Taft General Store

[kathi17]

I have used Carpenters glue, clamped, taped and weighted until it is dry, but in order to build the Taft, you have to keep turning it upside down, or onto it's side to complete different steps in the construction. Every time I turn it, other parts come apart. For instance, sometimes part of the roof comes off, or the base comes off, or a wall comes loose from the side it is glued to. I have reglued the foundation I don't know how many times.

There is also a problem with part of the entry bay, where parts of the wall are smaller than the part they join to, so they aren't long enough to go from floor to ceiling, and the window for the door wasn't even in the box. This was bought new from Greenleaf, so it wasn't mistreated.

I don't think it's user error, since I've built 11 dollhouses, and never had this problem, even though I have taken them to dollhouse shows and moved them around numerous times. I can't get the Taft to stay together long enough to finish it, nevermind having it stay together long enough to get it out to New York and give it to my grandson. (It's the laser cut one).

What do you guys do to keep a house together that doesn't want to stay together?

I'm wondering if I should take it all apart and add quarter inch basswood strips wherever the walls go together with each other and the base and roof so there will be more surface for the glue to adhere to? Or is Gorilla glue stronger than carpenters glue? I also have Zap cyanoacrylate glue, would that work better?

I've finished the whole store with the exception of the front door because I need to find an acrylic sheet for a window, and I will need to add shims to the two pieces which are too short, but I still can't keep the whole thing together. Any ideas???

[havanaholly]

22 minutes ago, kathi17 said:

I have used Carpenters glue, clamped, taped and weighted until it is dry, but in order to build the Taft, you have to keep turning it upside down, or onto it's side to complete different steps in the construction. Every time I turn it, other parts come apart. For instance, sometimes part of the roof comes off, or the base comes off, or a wall comes loose from the side it is glued to...What do you guys do to keep a house together that doesn't want to stay together?

I'm wondering if I should take it all apart and add quarter inch basswood strips wherever the walls go together with each other and the base and roof so there will be more surface for the glue to adhere to? Or is Gorilla glue stronger than carpenters glue?...

I invested in a heavy duty Stanley stapler and the heavy duty steel staples and when I glue two edges of the shell together I hit three or four staples along the lapping side to help hold the rascal.  If it's for a child to play with, I glue a strip of 1/4" stripwood from the hardware store to the interior corners and staple to that.  Siding or whatever I use for the exterior treatment covers the staples.  I'm constantly flipping the houses on their various sides or upside down to build & decorate, and stapling has prevented many *magic* words from harming little birds flying overhead.  As Doogster remarked, Gorilla glue foams up whilst it cures.  I won't use it for that reason.  I like Titebond and Probond about equally.

[kathi17]

Thanks Holly, that's a great idea about the stapler. I will probably take it apart and try that if I can get hold of a stapler. I was just reading the Gorilla glue site, and they make a wood glue that doesn't foam up. I've been using Elmers and Titebond so far because those are what is available on the island, but neither is doing the trick. I'm not going to side it, there isn't time enough, but I'm not really worried about it showing.

I do think I'll add the 1/4" wood. My husband just got home in the middle of me typing this, and suggested epoxy. Maybe I will do the epoxy and 1/4" wood together and see how it works. I hate working with epoxy, but it is strong.

The house is up at my mother's, and I was wondering why there were all those injured birds laying around up there!!! ("Magic" words)

Brimbles has a lot of pieces that interlock and seems to be much sturdier. The interlocking pieces make it more difficult to put together, but they do help to keep it together.

[Soapz]

I used regular pin needles with flat tops (all steel ) on some parts. - they are practically invisible fortifications,  and then used epoxy to spackle the gaps. - that has worked rather well on tricky parts. If the room/wall/house allows it I make columns or beams - and use them like Holly to fortify corners. 

[kathi17]

Thanks Chris, I am so glad I asked about this. I was feeling so alone while the store kept coming apart. It's so good to know that I am not alone, and to see what everyone else uses to solve the problem!