Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I keep telling anyone that buys a new kit to make sure they make templates of each and every part in that kit. As fast as kits are being removed by manufactures for one reason or another it's up to us as builders to make sure we can all keep building our favorite planes. I'm waiting on the Goldberg Extra kit templates from other builders because I thought the kit would keep going forever and ever so I didn't bother making the templates from the last one I built, my bad, my stupid, my lazy. I'm just beginning to start the build on a Blue Jay kit, the Bridi designed Dirty Birdy, outstanding plane and still being made, very cheap price for all the items that come in the kit too. Just in case Blue Jay goes under for any reason I will be able to help out other builders by getting a copy of the plans, instructions and the templates for just the price of the copies.
Before I ever open a bottle of glue I get some butcher paper and trace out each and every part. I lable what the wood size is and what it is made from, either balsa or ply, maybe just a hardwood block. Whatever it is I have it marked, even the shape of the leading edges. I also make a note of all the sheeting and the sticks, size of wood and length. When I'm finished I just roll the template sheet and after the build I will roll it up with the plans aqnd instructions. A lot of ways to make templates but this is a very easy and fast way to keep these planes alive and built.
As long as we can get these kits you should not be trading this type of thing with others. In this case Blue Jay is alive and well and had to buy the rights from Mr. Bridi to cut them for us.
The little blue plane is something I built a few weeks ago, the Little Gasser from Hobby Shack, not many parts and no longer being made. Makes a great little electric plane with a few mods. Just look at all those parts needed to build it. Takes about a day to frame one up.
Gene

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Gene, I've been doing the same thing myself for a few years now. It's not only helpful for cutting a new kit, but it helps if you ever have to cut parts to repair the plane with. There are a few kits that I wish I had done this with as now I can't get them any longer. One in particular is the 10 sized Lanier Shrike. I've had 3 of these and love them. I have the plans, but they don't include all the ribs on the plans. I can all the rest of the parts from the plans, but not the ribs. I'm hoping I can find somebody that will trace and/or scan the ribs for me so I can build another one of these planes.

Ken

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Ken, I always made templates of every part in a kit and had them put into envelopes, I would make them out of 1/16 card board. I had a gang of them but when I moved I tossed out a lot of stuff, need I say more?? Dumb Dumb Dumb!!!! I even had them for the CG Extra at one point. I built the CG Extra again two or three years ago but didn't make any!!
I also always made two extra sets of builders plans, I would get the copies from Kinko's, cut one up as templates, build over another set and store the originals. I built the 80 inch Sukhoi 29 and didn't bother, it was my favorite plane and I got the plans from MAN, I cut and built that one with the originals, crashed the plane and now I can't afford to buy the new plans and wood. Just one of lifes regrets, I will still build another one some day.

planebuilder66

My Feedback: (8)

I do the same, but scan them into the laptop for safe keeping and download them to a jumpdrive I have labeled plane stuff. But if the plans have the ribs and part outlines on them, I don't bother tracing. I sometimes get too involved in a build and forget to take the copies or even pic's for that sake. I guess those moments are when you can tell the build is getting exciting and fun, you don't even want to stop to take a picture?!

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Gene,
 Yep, I know all about those trials!!!! All of the plans that I order I go out and get copies made, and then I vacuum seal the originals so that they won't deteriorate on me!!!

Ken

Campgems

Iended up making a set of CADtemplates for the 4*60 wing. It all started when I wanted to make a smaller wing to fit a project I had. I had saved the old scrap from the two kits I had, so I had a set of negitives if you will. I scaned the parts that would fit on the scanner, used the scan for a back drop in Rhino, and the ploted points along the back drop, converted them to lines and faired the curves. then scaled them up to the correct size. I now have a set that will take just a few minutes time to scale to any size I want, including making the sheeting and spar cutouts to a stock size vs a Percentage of the scale. I can also print my one time use templates, IEI lay out copies of the rib templates on 3x36, 4x 36, or what size fits the needs a hand, then print these on my old Epson Photo printer that handles Roll feed. Cut the 3x or 4x sheets from the print, 77 spray the back and stick them to a sheet of balsa. Band saw then sander to the outline, then a little scroll saw work for the inside cutouts.

A lot of the Kit instructions have small parts locator drawings. These can also be scanned, and scaled to the correct size. It takes some work, but the results are great.

It would be really neet if we could build a template archive for non-comercial use. Iwould imagine some of the companies though, Great Planes for one, wouldn't like this, even though they pulled the good ole kits off the market. Ifound a Sig LT40 kit after my trip through Vagas and down to Yuma Gene. Ishipped to my granddaughter for her birthday. Itold my son that the condition of giving the kit to her was that he make a copy of the plans and the manual prior to starting construction. Humm. maybe I should tell him to save the shucks also, just in case.

Don

yel914

I've taken to copying the original kit and building the copy-saving the original because -you never know. I use a sanding drum with a bearing to make copies of parts. Plans are easy to copy. So I get the plane I want to build and fly and I still have the kit.
These kits could go the way of the Dodo if we're not proactive. Perhaps we should start some kind of club, like a template/plan exchange?

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Don, if you remember, I tried to scan the parts sheet on the instructions on the CG Extra, as I recall it turned out to be something like 409%, anyway it was a huge blow up. I tried to get GP to at least start making up builders plans for the kits they own and discontinued. Wouldn't it be nice to have the builders plans for the CG Sukhoi and Extra on hand. Anyway, no reply from them. Plans builders may build too many planes that would compete with what they sell or something?? I may sound bitter because it's two of the planes I really want to build. Anywho, I may start adding some glue to some wood tomorrow if I can get off my dead mule.

jetpack

My Feedback: (1)

I'm faced with tracing out a bunch of my boats as templates because the wood is not what I want to use for them.

I want to make durable templates so I can use them more than once, and not have to spray glue paper to my wood.

I am wondering about the right size mylar to choose that I can trace my existing parts onto, then clean them up on the drawing board and then cut out with an exacto and a straight edge.

I've even thought of using sheet aluminum, I dont know...

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Try a product called See-Temp, do a web search or I can maybe find the address for you. Really a good product!!!!

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Yel914,
Where did you get this sanding drum???

Ken

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

That looks a lot better then a router, I want one too.

Revy

My Feedback: (1)

Dremel drum modified to fit one of my old laminate bits. I use one too, but not for this!

foodstick

Sometimes I will trace all the parts on the back of the plans, then if I ever want to build it bigger or smaller I can have them increase or decrease both sides the same. I usually buy a spare set for that, and build on another...

LouisB

I never build on the original plan, I rather do the construction on a copy. If I don't see a rib/ spar/ joiner/ former/ whatever on the plan, I turn the original plan over and trace the component onto the back of it. In addition, I enter the type of wood and the thickness into the outline as well. Fortunately I have access to a suitable scanner to scan the plans in afterwards. One must just remember to add a scale onto the plans as well. This will aid you in enlarging/ reducing the scanned images afterwards to suit.

Busy with a 1/4-scale Spacewalker, completed a Gentle Lady. I plan to make fiberglass copies of the cowl pieces etc as well.

turbo.gst

My Feedback: (8)

I guess I am fortunate, because my Dad taught me to trace every kit from my very first build ever. I didn't always like it, as you had to do it before building the kit, but I have done it faithfully for years. Some of the materials have not aged well. I would always ask to copy a friends plans of their new kits also. I would make them a set of every new one I got to make it work for them also. You can learn alomost as much from the drawing / studying the plans as building it. I have learned to draw, analyze building techniques and eventually even design my own from the whole process. A very rewarding hobby, plus I get to fly them....eventually. I love this Hobby........

turbo

lilhachet

My Feedback: (2)

Wood workers wharehouse carriers these sanding drums in three sizes. They are about $25.00 each.

spaceworm

Harbor Freight have expanding sanding drums on 1/4 inch shafts with sleeves in a set which are really cheap and even better priced when on sale.

ml3456

I'm starting to think about copying some parts also as I am getting back in the hobby. Have am Ultimate bipe. Could the process be easier if you used a router bit and a slightly larger bearing to rough cut the pieces then followed by the sanding drum pictured above? Much easier than making from a paper sheet. I like the idea...

ML

stumpffy

Maybe if we send Great Planes enough letters they'll give us the builders plans,  if they're not going to do anything with them, they should sell them or give them to the AMA for their plans service.  You know what, I'm gonna write them a letter right now.

spaceworm

I also scan the plans or at least parts and save in CAD DXF format. The images can be reduced or enlarged to suit, and can be reversed to allow printing a reverse image that I use to iron on to the wood to be cut out. The injet image transfers nicely and leaves no residue like contact or rubber cement sometimes does. With a DXF image, the lines do not pixilate when enlargeing the image, and stay crisp and clean. There used to be free CAD software that was given as a teaser to get people into CAD and then to sell the 3D version. I am still using a free 2000 2D version of Intellicad; you could look them up.

kwblake

Hey. Just so some of you veteran builders know, some of us rookies actually listen to you. After I finished my building boards, I intended to start building my 4*60. Then I came across a thread that incouraged builders to make templates of all the parts. I ordered 5 sheets of See-Temp which arrived the other day. I would like some advice as to the best way to use the material. I started off with some of the more basic shapes, made from something other than balsa ie. firewall, hatch covers etc. The first few parts I just laid the part on the See-Temp, and started cutting around it with a #11 blade. This worked not too bad, but I did tend to wander just a little bit now and then. I knew this was going to be a problem with the balsa parts when I got to them. Next I decided to trace the parts on to the material with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie. I tried to smudge this but couldn't, so I figured it would stay on long enough to do the cutting. I used a steel ruler and again started cutting. I found it a little difficult to see the black lines on the See-Temp, against the dark green of my cutting board. I cured this by putting a sheet of printer paper under the material. These fifty two year old eyes arn't what they used to be. Also a small worklight clamped to the kitchen table helps. If anyone has any helpful advice it would be greatly appreciated. For the moment all work on the templates has stopped. One other thing I plan on doing is to measure all the parts I can, and make a list of all the dimensions. What do you use for holes, such as in the landing gear plate? I guess I could just measure them and add them to the list.

yel914

The sanding drum was just one I had that came with a kit of different sized drums. I added a bearing of the appropriate size. You can get these drums with a bearing from places like Woodcraft, as noted above. With a 1/4" shaft, they can be used in a drill press, or a variable speed router table-SET ON LOW SPEED. I've tried routing balsa with a router bit, but with mixed results. It seems to cut unevenly. I usually bandsaw the parts to rough size first, then sand to final size. Sorry, but that's no help for those who don't have a bandsaw. For Template material, I use Plastic laminate (Formica). You can get free scraps from laminate distributors or cabinet/countertop shops.