vanessamarie Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I just purchased the Buttercup and it's very exciting as it's my first house. My question is this: I started to dry fit my house today, sanding and whatnot, but I arrived at a small issue that I hope may be normal. When I went to align and fit the front entry left piece, it seemed to be completely off slot wise (and it was from sheet 8 I labeled with a pencil as I went) and so I had to position it where the smooth side of the wood was inward for it to fit. Now, I'm not sure what's going on because I arrived at the same problem when I went to fit the front entry right piece. It was the same ill fitting sceneario and I also had to turn the smooth side inward. This way they both seem to fit okay. But I'm just not sure I'm doing this right. Or... Does it even matter if I have to invert the wood? Any help will be greatly appreciated. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I've not built the Buttercup so probably someone else can better answer the specifics of those pieces but I can tell you that it won't matter if you invert the pieces. Folks reverse build kits all the time or add or change sections with different wood or foamcore, etc. I always seal the wood with a primer or clear sealer and sand them anyway so it becomes a moot point for mine. Welcome to the forum. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I once built a buttercup kit that was so misaligned in the die stamping process that the round window above the bay was off both vertically and horizontally by nearly 1/4" and I wound up using my utility knife to make it oval! The lack of interior trim bugged me and I wound up using card to make that trim early on. Dry fitting is where you find out what you have to do to get the pieces to fit together. Once it's primed or stained and painted, papered and sided, no one but you will ever know if you had to reverse any parts. As another member has so wisely pointed out, it's all smoke and mirrors! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minime Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Front entry left and front are opposites of each other. They are labeled wrong. Sheet 9 should be labeled front entry left and sheet 8 front entry right. It's OK to use them inverted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanessamarie Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 Ha! Thank you so much! That's very encouraging. Back to work then. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Sounds like you are doing fine. Dry fitting is a really important part of the process that I tend to do over and over before I actually start gluing. I've built three Buttercups, but they are in half scale. Those pieces are always a difficult fit. I hope you start a gallery so we can see photos of your progress. It helps when you have questions to be able to "see" what you are asking about. And besides, we love eye candy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanessamarie Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) I was trying to post a picture last night, but it was too big. I'm all about progress pics too. I've already dry fit part 1 of the instructions 3 times! Hehehe! My only concern now is that even though the slots seem to fit fine, I have to press the wood together pretty hard and tape for the woods to come together and for it to look flush. I'm worried it might not end up being sturdy once I glue it. Or rather that it might just come apart. I have the glues you all recommend and all that. I've done serious research, but I feel like I'm doing everything wrong already. Edited June 10, 2015 by vanessamarie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Chin up! You are doing fine. It's not a race unless you need it to be. Tight fits are good and, once glued, should hold fine. I've never had a wall pop open. I leave clamps on, weighted with books, taped, etc. all while it dries thoroughly. It all sounds normal so far. As to pictures, 800x600 pixels work great fot fast uploading on this site. You can resize with a quick click of the button in MS Paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suej Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Hi Vanessa, and welcome to GL. I was concerned about the glue holding also, but wood glue seems to be very strong. Once it dried I also went back and put another fine line of glue in the seams again. In the visible parts I used a tacky glue that would dry clear so I could paint. Then when that was dry I went over each seam, as needed, with a tube of RL caulking. I'm still really new at this but it seems to have worked just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanessamarie Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) Wow! You're all so helpful! Thank you so much. I suffer from severe perfectionism, so being new to something and possibly messing it up keeps me up at night. Edited June 10, 2015 by vanessamarie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Wow! You're all so helpful! Thank you so much. I suffer from severe perfectionism, so being new to something and possibly messing it up keeps me up at night. This is when it helps to look at a full size real life version of whatever you're trying to do; real life isn't perfect. And spackle fills gaps nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blondie Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 You'll be fine!! Many of the houses I've build are super flimsy and difficult in dry fit and then rock solid when I glue them. I've also had warped pieces or misaligned parts. Don't be afraid to cut off a tab if it doesn't fit in the slot and just glue it together that way. I understand about the perfectionism. I'm really hard on myself when my house looks a little wonk. I get scared to work on it. But over time, I've learned to keep going and that I'm always learning, which is the really important part. The more you do and mess up and fix and figure out, the better you'll become at your craft. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Wow! You're all so helpful! Thank you so much. I suffer from severe perfectionism, so being new to something and possibly messing it up keeps me up at night. I've done the perfectionist "freeze in the headlights" as well. I've let fear of messing up something keep me from trying new things. Eventually, I've gone ahead and tried different techniques and found them easier than I'd imagined. I think you just have to work through it. Part of this process is learning what works and what doesn't, and that includes what works for you. The wonderful thing about this forum is that you can get varied advice and learn more than one way to approach a problem in building. Then you do what works for you. Remember that just about any faux pas in building a house can be fixed, so don't worry. And have fun! That's really what this hobby is all about! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanessamarie Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Thank you guys so much for the encouragement! It's so fun so far, but I'm sneezing like the dickens! All this dang wood dust! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 You might want to invest in a box of disposable breathing masks to go along with the rubber gloves and safety goggles. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanessamarie Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Yeah! I'm sure I have one in my garage somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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