Rolling paper tubes/struts

[airdave]

Thats the diagonal wrap I was talking about!
Wish the photos were a bit bigger.
I have not tried this method yet, but this might the perfect method to form a shaped tube.
Say, something like an eyelet or TowHook.
Or maybe shaped Railings?

The "thin strip" inside the tube probably acts as a support for the tube and for the glue.
Otherwise you would have to fill the tube with glue...difficult and messier.
Maybe the strip acts like a wick for the glue too?

He suggests a diluted glue injected throughout the tube...
once the strip is soaked in glue, it will act like a former (I think).


That miniature Shovel that mbauer posted, is very nicely done.
But the Handle tube is 6-7mm diameter.
Its not that difficult rolling tubes of that diameter.

The trick is smaller tubes, under 3mm,
and there is one common aspect to all methods...pre-rolling and pre-forming.

I say this about every assembly, the more you pre-form a part, the easier it goes together.
When I roll card or paper for tubes, I roll onto smaller and smaller dowels, reducing the size as I go,
and eventually I try to roll the paper smaller than I need,
before I attempt the final roll and glue (whether it is free-roll or around a dowel/rod).

[gchucky]

There is the paper cotton swab for shorter length. If you look around, children swabs are thinner. Tamiya has three sizes of craft cotton swabs. The largest is a hair smaller than the regular cotton swab. The smallest is about the size of the children cotton swab. I don't have the middle size yet.

Gchucky