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Gluing the frame for Orchid


redkite81

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This is my first dollhouse and I am having trouble getting the walls to stay in place and at the correct angle while the glue dries.  I am using rapid fuse wood glue.  Has anyone used hot glue in combination with wood glue to help hold it in place while the wood glue dries?  Not sure how to make it hold with masking tape.  Not sure if I have shaved the tabs enough. Help, please!

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These are all the reasons you first always dry fit your kit together.  I keep rolls of 2" wide painter's tape on hand; a couple of 6" strips will hold walls together to determine what it's going to look like and you can adjust your tabs & slots while you fiddle with the fit.  I tend to manhandle my kits when I build them, so I reinforce the fit with heavy duty steel staples whilst the glue dries.

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I don't have any experience with this.  I did try shaving the tabs down, even accidentally shaved one tab too much and it broke apart.  :-(  Is it easier if you get most of the frame up all at once so that it is more stable?  

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39 minutes ago, redkite81 said:

Is it easier if you get most of the frame up all at once so that it is more stable

It is a bit of a house of cards at first and it will make you wish for another arm!!!

Start by sanding the very first tab/slot the so the sides  edges are flush.... Emery boards are good for this. Use masking tape to keep that part together, Then move onto the next thing making sure the new piece ends up fush and the tab and slot play nice toether. Even if the tab and slot go in together. there shouldnt be a gap down the way. Make sure you have the majority of the shell done, then move on to any complex things like the stairs. bay window....al before gluing

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Also, I suggest waiting to glue acetate inserts to window & door parts until those window & door parts have been sanded to fit and painted.  I wait until after I have done whatever I'm going to do to the walls, inside & out, before I install those windows & doors.  Mistakes can be repaired and you are learning things to do and not to do for next time.

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You can never underestimate having someone help you hold. I use masking tape for my Orchid, but I had to have someone help hold a few things until I got it - the 3 outside walls and the first floor all taped down. I had dry fit everything and trimmed, but then when I got to the 2nd floor, I realized I had done that one yet and had to hack off one of the glue laced tabs. Part of the fun is the drama of assembly and how bad it could go and then getting it done. Then the feeling of victory when its done.

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6 hours ago, MLPMagic13 said:

...Part of the fun is the drama of assembly and how bad it could go and then getting it done. Then the feeling of victory when its done.

Yup, that about sums it up.  Because it's wood it can be fixed.

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