Railing Construction

I have not seen any pictures on the Internet showing how railings are made from thread and cyanoacrylate glue. So while rebuilding the Krakus, I took a few pictures for those not familiar with the process.

First, you need to make a jig:

I made mine (rather roughly) from a 7-inch piece of 1X4 mahogany board. I cut out the middle with a jigsaw and rounded all of the corners with sandpaper.

I drilled four holes (in each corner) and drove metal pins through so that the pins stick out about 3/8 inch on both sides. (I used brazing rod for the pins.) These pins are used for tying off the thread (and they are really handy to have).

You can see three more L-shaped pins attached to the inside. These are used as attach points for making rat-line-rigging for sailing ships.

Many models come with railing templates. If not, you can you can readily make them (by hand if necessary). Here are the railing templates I made for the Krakus:

(The image is shown in reduced scale;
Click on the image to see actual sheet at 4-times resolution.)

I cut out a template and temporarily glue it to the edge of the jig. Then I wrap thread around the width of the jig so that the thread matches the railing posts on the template. Then I wrap the thread round the length of the jig to make the rails. Then I tie off the thread on the pins. Now, I push and slide the thread around so that the thread position matches the template. Here are a couple of insights:

§ Most railings (as is the case with the Krakus) have two rails. But, as shown in the pictures, I always wind a third "rail" at the bottom of each railing. This railing is cut away eventually. But in the meantime, it makes it possible to cut the bottom of the posts to exactly the right length.

§ Notice that in the accompanying pictures, I am making two railings at one. Since the left and right railings are mirror-images of each other, they can be made at the same time. I simply wind six "rails" instead of the normal three.

Next, I soak the thread with thin cyanoacrylate glue. There is a trick to avoid having the glue drop right though the jig: Hold a small strip of paper towel between the dropper and the thread. Let it actually rest on the thread. The drops are caught by the strip of paper towel and are distributed to the thread.

Next, I let the cyanoacrylate glue dry. (Actually I always ZIP it.) I then check each interstice to make sure that the threads are actually glued together. (There is the occasional miss). I re-glue such interstices with a toothpick dipped in cyanoacrylate glue.

Now it is time to cut out the railings. I use a small pair of sewing scissors. There are four steps:

When doing the cutting, I find that there is a particular way to place the railings against scissors that works better.