34Ford

My Feedback: (2)

So what are the necessary tools to work on helis? Who makes the best ball link pliers.
I have seen several different ones, and some rather expensive.

How about pinion pullers, what else?
I hope to get my T-Rex 450 today.

oops

Essential tools to work with your Heli?

1. Soldering Iron. A good quality iron is a MUST, as are soldering skills of some sort.
2. Diagonal Cutters. Sharp diags are good for everything from cable-ties to re-wiring.
3. Multimeter. You will need it.
4. Dremel tool. With a LOT of cutting disks.
5. Drill and bits, 0.5mm, 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, 2.5mm, 3mm, 4mm.
6. CA glue.
7. Needlenose pliers.
8. Big hammer.
9. Small scales - 1g resolution min.
10. Micrometer. Vernier caliper type. 0.1mm resolution.

Just to name a few

David

34Ford

My Feedback: (2)

Okay, got most of these except the scales. I guess they are all mostly digital now.

bdavison

My Feedback: (1)

Dont buy those expensive ball link pliers. They are a waste of money.

Go buy a pair of those FLAT pliers. Use a dremel cut off wheel to cut out a U in one side, and then drill, tap and insert a set screw on the other side. Takes all of about 15 min to make one, and you can buy some cheap generic pliers at the Harbor Freight store for 4 bucks or so vs. the 20-40 bucks the hobby shop charges for them.



In addition to the stuff he listed above, I would suggest the following:


Set of "ball-end" Hex "Allen" wrenches. both Metric and English.
Go to Lowes or Home Depot. Look in the tool section where they have the machinists tools, like dial calipers, etc.
They have a set of diagonal cutters, and small needle nose pliers made by Crescent. Usually they have baby blue handles or red handles. BUY THEM. These two will quickly become your favorite tools.
A set of jewelers screwdrivers.
A pitch gauge
Blade Balancer




Soldering....there's a good topic.
Here are soldering tips.

1. Dont use a soldering gun. Soldering guns fry electronics. You need a soldering IRON. Dont buy the cheapo hobby shop one. Go to an electronics supply place in your city, and buy a benchtop Weller soldering iron with adjustable temp. They arent cheap, but they are worth the money.

2. Turn the soldering iron to between 15W and 30W (sufficient for soldering most electronic parts like tail motors and such).
3. NEVER use Acid Core solder. Use Rosin Core Solder.
4. First, take alcohol and clean the soldering tip, and the parts to be soldered very throughly.
5. Plug it in and heat it up.
6. Apply solder to the tip of the iron. This solder is not the solder that actually joins the parts, but just helps conduct heat from the iron tip to the component to be soldered.
7. Apply the tip to the part to be soldered. Feed solder into the part to be soldered....NOT the iron tip.
8. Once you have soldered the joint, remove the solder first, then the iron.
9. Do NOT move the parts until it has cooled and solidified otherwise you'll get a "cold" solder joint.

A cold solder joint looks dull grey color. If you see a joint like this, it has not made a good contact between the two parts. You need to re-solder it. Heat it back up and flick it with the iron, it will "flick" off the old solder. You can also use a desoldering gun for this. Now resolder it. A good joint will be very shiny.

If you are soldering a heat sensitive part, use a pair of pliers as a heatsink between the solder connection and the component

Use a wet sponge between joints to clean the soldering gun tip. Clean the tip by wiping it on the sponge, then apply a little fresh solder to tip, and solder the joint.