The wooden ruler trick works well - except I don't like wooden rulers, since they usually have an edge on one side, the glue gets on them and eventually sticks and they become hard to use, etc. Plastic rulers are nice, but they can break if you apply too much pressure.

However, Home Depot (or Lowe's, or whatever) usually have paint stirrers the same size as wooden rulers, and they are usually available for free (assuming you buy something else). I like them a lot, because they have no edge like a ruler and they're totally disposable, cause they're free.


As far as gluing goes, sometimes you glue to do have to glue 2-3 tabs at one time. I apply glue to the longest tab first, then the shorter tabs. I then fit the piece, then apply pressure on the longest tab first (to make sure its in line), then once I'm sure its not moving, I put pressure on the the shorter tabs.

With most liquid glue (white glue, UHU, etc), the biggest problem you'll run into - or at least, the biggest problem _I_ ran into - was using too much glue. You want a thin film, not pools of it. The more glue the longer time it takes to bond, the more your surfaces will slide around, and the more water content goes on your model (which means more warping).


Side note: my daughter's brilliant kindergarten teacher taught her class a song that I absolutely love - the "Glue Song":

(Sung to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it")

A little bit of glue holds a lot, <clap clap>
A little bit of glue holds a lot, <clap clap>
Don't eat it, don't wear it,
Don't smear it, just share it,
A little bit of glue holds a lot.

Cool!

Thanks again for all the help

Bramier