russ skinner

Can anyone suggest the best way of sanding the root ends of veneered foam wings to achieve an accurate dihedral angle when joined. The plan calls for the wing halves to be jigged on a ¾” packer (1.5 degree dihedral angle) at their roots to set the dihedral and for the root ends to be chamfered to form a flush/accurate joint to suit.

Many thanks.

JWN

My Feedback: (42)

If you have, or have access to, a radial arm saw, you can prop up the wing tip the correct amount and simply pull on the saw to trim off the excess. With this method, measure 8 times before making the cut. You don't want to shorten your wing But, it works great and is fast.

The other way is to build yourself a 90 degree sanding block. This will place the sand paper perpendicular to the building table. Then, you prop up the wing top and sand on the root until the excess has been removed. Use 50 or 80 grit and the job goes really fast.

John

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Here's what I do. Line the wing up with the end of your workbench, block up the tip to the correct angle (And make sure it's square), then take a wide sanding block and only cover the top half with sandpaper. Now you can sand the root using the edge of the workbench as a guide.

russ skinner

Many thanks for the replies . I haven’t got access to a radial arm saw so it will be one of the other two methods you’ve outlined. It would have taken me sometime to come up with anything approaching your methods – probably months with a dramatically reduced wing span.

JWN

My Feedback: (42)

Russ,
Mike's suggestion, and drawing, is certainly the easiest method for the everyday modeler. If you have no other means available, I'd use his method. It will result in an excellent center joint and is quick and easy to do. It's also very cheap!

John