Shaving those nubs!

[biggles2]

Does anyone have suggestions for trimming rigging ends? In particular signal flag halyards in 1/700. I use the Caenis hair-thickness line wrapped once around the yardarm, and secured with a smidgeon of CA. After the CA sets, I trim with a pair of Castroviello (?) scissors. These are very tiny surgical scissors. But they still leave .5 - .75 mm of CA hardened line sticking up. I've tried shaving with razors and scalpel blades, but they put too much pressure on the yardarm and mast, and I'm afraid of bending/breaking them, or of snapping the previous lines and rigging. Any ideas?

[sgtryan13]

I use a pair of nail clippers (not the scissors) and it gets right to the yardarm leaving no nub.

[biggles2]

Hmmm...flush cutters.

[Timmy C]

The trick is finding flush cutters that have a small and narrow enough tip that get into all those little nooks and crannies!

[biggles2]

So how do other modelers clip off the nubs neatly, and safely?

[ComfortablyNumb]

I use stretched sprue for rigging...and with that you can dab the offending end with styrene glue and it will gradually "melt" back. You may need more than application of the plastic disolving glue, but it usually works quite well. The thinner the stretched sprue, the more quickly it will "melt" back. If the sprue leaves any residue, just wipe it off before it sets. Cheers

[marijn van gils]

I simply use a fresh scalpel blade. I do have to be careful not to put too much stress on yard arm or rigging (usually I very gently press down on the yardarm, just beyond the glue joint), but it works for me.

Cheers,

Marijn

[biggles2]

I have a pair of flush-cutting sprue nippers that work like tweezers, that I never thought of using. I'm going to try that next time. I find they're not strong enough to cut most sprue attachment points, so they're remained neglected in the toolbox, but may be perfect for flush-cutting rigging/halyard lines.