Profil „L“ 4,0 mm

An L-profile with 4 mm legs

An L-profile takes care of two things at once in the workshop. On the outside it gives the build the look of a bolted or welded steel part, on the inside it serves as a brace holding a right angle between two walls. Modelers use it to make the frames of hatches, the rims of hulls, the edges of roofs, the footings of columns, scaffolding structures and hidden ribs under large surfaces that would otherwise sag.

The basic data

Both legs are of the same length, four millimeters, the strip measures 35 centimeters and is supplied on its own. The exact right angle is the main value here: it saves you the measuring out that would take considerably more time if you were putting the shape together from two flat strips.

How to work with it

To shorten it, score one leg and snap the material, then level the cut with abrasive paper laid on glass. When gluing it inside a box build, press the angle into the corner and apply the cement with a fine brush along the edge; it will find its own way along the whole joint. The corners where two angles meet look best cut at a forty-five degree angle.

A note on the surface

The extruded material has a smooth wall with no pores, so even a gloss varnish will stay even. Anyone who needs a more matte impression of steel can run a fine sanding sponge over the surface before spraying.

Alternative uses

Short pieces of the angle will serve outside the model itself as well. Glued to the edge of a cutting mat they create a reliable stop, two of them assembled back to back work as a simple jig for gluing, and a longer section laid against the outside will hold a wall upright while it dries. Such aids are worth making in several sizes at once.