The story so far....In preparation for building my first plane I discovered that my tool selection is a bit substandard. A few old dull X-acto knives and other assorted tools, but no balsa stripper nor a mitre box...So I decided to try to buy a complete tool set on theebay.

Does anyone have any experience with the following items:

One choice is item #5987294727 (3 Hobby Knives, 24 Assorted Blades, A Balsa Sander, A Block Plane, A Balsa Striper, 8 Gouger, Awals and Routers)

Another choice and the one which I'm leaning towards because it has a mitre box and a saw is item # 5987298780 (14 Assorted Steel blades, 4 different handles, 1 Balsa Sander, 1 5ΒΌ' miter box, 1 5' Miter Saw, 1 Tweezers, 1 Sanding Block, 1 Wedge Scriber)

And yet another choice is item #8205401380 (18 Assorted Steel Blades, 3 different handles, A Balsa Sander, Stainless Stell Spokeshave, Tweezers, Sanding Block, Wedge Scriber, Block Plane, 2 Gouger, Awals and Routers)

Obviously all 3 are somewhat of a compromise because niether one of the 3 contains all the tools that would be useful in plane building.
I need the mitre box for those nice precise 90 and 45 degree cuts but that particular set doesn't contain a balsa stripper (which I assume is a miniature plane). All 3 sets are the same price (about $20 including shipping) but obviously I can't purchase all 3. Also, I'm sure these are China made so another concern is the quality.

Any advice on which set would be the best and also whether it's even worth is from the quality standpoint. They look good in the photos but I know all too well looks can be deceiving.

My $.02 worth...

Mitre box and saw are necessary, X-acto's works fine.

Hobby knives and assorted blades: I find I use the Number 11 blade (the one that looks like an elongated triangle) for almost everything. You can also get a set of three hobby knives and blades at Harbor Freight Tools for about $5 on sale. Quality might be questionable, but it's tough to break a knife that has has no moving parts. I've also had good luck with the "snap-blade" knives that you can get from Home Depot/Lowes for about $4.

A balsa stripper is used to cut strips of balsa from long sheets. If you're going to be planking parts of the fuselage/wings/whatever, it's needed. I also use it to cut 1/4" to 1/2" wide strips of 1/4 inch balsa for stringers/longerons/etc. from 3" wide stock to save $$$. I use a Master Airscrew Balsa Stripper; but if your kit doesn't require a stripper, hold off buying until you need one.

I've got a "full size" block plane and a razor plan that occasionally get used. For the most part, to sand and shape I use a Dremel Rotary Tool, a disk sander, and 15" sanding block's made from 1x4 lumber with 80, 150, and 220 glued to the surface.

As for all the other stuff, I bought minature needle nose, side cutters, etc., but find that I mostly end up using my "full size" tools for cutting wire, driving screws, etc. My bottom line, especially if you're building reasonably sized kits (meaning 30" or larger) would be to stay away from the "hobby sized tools" and use good quality full sized stuff.

Here's a balsa stripper:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXAA63&P=7
I also make home made ones from scrap wood for ripping wing sheeting that's too wide for the stripper.

I finally got smart and quit buying tools in any kind of set, siimply because I wind up using one tool of the set and the rest gather dust. Get a #1 and #2 XActo handle and order blades in bulk from Balsa USA or Lone Star. Vastly cheaper. Our Ace Hardware has single edge razor blades for ~$8/100 and I go through a couple boxes a year. All of my sanding blocks are home made from blocks of wood, bits of 1/4" plywood, or bits of melamine shelf stock. Really wish a had a digicam to show some of the simple effective tools you can make from scraps. The Master Airscrew stripper and razor plane are amazingly good tools for pretty cheap, too. The aluminum stock bin at a hardware store will give all kinds of neat ideas, too. A sheet of heavy glass is wonderful to have. You can build directly on a large piece, cut Monokote decorations on it, mix epoxy on it, etc. One of the cutting mats from the craft store is the ticket for cutting balsa parts with XActo blades.

One thing I did sink some money into is a set of Perma Grit tools from Micro-Mark (they were on sale, tho). Terrific tools.
http://www.permagrit.com/system/index.html

A bunch of these Hayes clamps is a great thing, too.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXK855&P=7

Like most builders, I could go on for days about tools....Anyway, you're really better off buying/making the exact tool you need vs buying a bag of things you may never use.

So either way we agree that the mitre box is necessary. well now here's the thing....I'd prefer to get a metal mitre box and I know that X-acto makes one but I think they're somewhere around $6....plus add another few bucks for the saw, the blades, etc. and I might be getting close to $20 anyways.

If you can pick up a bunch of extra knives/blades/etc, and you get the metal mitre box you need, then e-bay is probably OK (I've had good luck with the stuff I bought there). When I've compared prices, it's mostly against LHS/Shopko etc. I bought the X-acto metal one and a blade, think it came to around $15.00. If you're really going to do "square" corners, the other thing I'd get would be a couple of those "end clamps" that hold parts at 90 degree angles. $2 at Harbor Freight when they're on sale.

I have a couple of miter boxes (BTW, Zona makes a better saw than XActo, overall), but only use them once in a while. Heres a handy little gadget that I use a lot. It's a little spendy, but I think I've gotten my money's worth for building stick models:

http://www.fourmost.com/mitersan.htm

kdheath...showoff!

Wow, what can I say but DITTO! Fourmost tools are a bit more pricey that mystery brand chinese/Great Planes junk but they are very well made and will last a lifetime. After you die your bloodsucking scavaging relatives can keep using them.

I have the mitre-chopper. It has built several oldtimer fuesalages. The mitre sander looks dreamy too.

This said, I know the guy who makes them, Ralph Cooney, he comes down to fly Freeflight with us. Yes, he's a gentleman and scholar but the truth is in spite of this, they are very good units.

Do it now - Steve B.

Bloodsucking relatives is why I'd prefer to get the Chinese stuff. heh heh heh If only they would fall apart on my deathbed and not while I still need them.

Now that's a tool I may have to add to the 'ol workshop. This entire discussion about mitreboxes for cutting balsa kind of goes out the window if you're not careful with whatever saw you use. If you end up with rough edges on the mitred cut, then sanding them smooth almost always destroys the accuracy. But with that Mitre Sander you could easily end up with smooth, accurate angles, and not just 22.5/45 degree options. Thanks for the info.

Another interesting point that I always ponder: after all the work we put in on a kit, how square and true is it after rebuilding from the first crash?

I can't imagine having a crash, but in that unlikely event, I am sure the rebuild would be perfectly true... oops, I missed April 1st. Nevermind

jess

I guess the subject is pretty much covered, but I'll throw in my 2 bits. I've got lots of tools; scroll saw, disc sander, planes, knives etc. The most important tools are #11 blade X-Acto, Olaf break off knives, hand drill, drill press, razor saw with aluminum mitre box, covering iron and sandpaper.

Can you tell I like tools?

A miter box would just slow me down. All you have to do is lay the stick to be cut over the intersecting piece and score with a knife where the cut is to be made. You have to line your eyes up over the work. Then it is a simple matter to free hand cut on the scored line with the razor saw. The miter box is the slow boat to CHINA. The MASTER AIRSCREW block plane is a must have, but the stripper is mainly only useful for ripping cap strips. I think it is a little too wimpy to rip stringers out of hard balsa.The XACTO gouge set with the sanding block and other stuff is OK if you plan on becoming a sculptor, all you really need are #11 blades. A table top scroll saw and a set of numbered drills are other items that I would not be without.




Removed strikethrough on text-bcm

I use the mitre box all the time. It is especially handy when needing to make several sticks of the same length. I just clamp a stop block on the mitre box, slide the balsa in, cut, slide, cut, slide...

I have that stripper!
Very nice tool
and takes exacto knife blade big plus for me
RobinB!!!!![8D][sm=thumbup.gif]

My own 2cents. MOst of the blades in those kits are a waste of time. The basic #11 blade and handle is what you want. The Xacto wood plane is a useless toy that is frustrating to set up and inconsistent in use.

Get a pair or three handles and a bulk box of 100 #11 from a mail order hobby shop or a local graphic arts supply store. Buy the Master Airscrew stripper or make your own. Buy a pair of nice Zona saws (about 1000% better than the current Xacto saws. Xacto used to have nice saw blades but the stuff they sell now will barely cut warm butter). I never had a miter box and don't really miss it. I just use a small machinist's square to mark the wood and cut it using a bench hook. A bench hook is very handy for many trim jobs. Drawing below....

For carving blocks or larger sheet projects a Frost swedish pattern carving knife is a wonderful tool but it must be kept razor sharp. Sharpening stones in medium and fine grit are needed. I suggest Japanese water stones due to the easy cleanup and rapid cutting action. But the knife and stones is not cheap. You'll spend a good $40 to $50 dollars just buying the knife and stones. For the time being a larger snapoff knife will do.

A razor plane for shaving wood down is a great tool. But it's hard to find a good one these days. The Master Airscrew one is sort of decent as long as you don't squeeze the sides and distort the plastic. But the blades for it are hard to get and even harder to try to sharpen thanks to the narrow width. In the end I made my own block plane that uses single edged razor blades. It's a semi hard woodworking project but will reward you with years of useful service.

And here's a few more cents. First, visit Caffeenman's site:
http://airfieldmodels.com/index.htm . In particular, look at this page: http://airfieldmodels.com/informatio...ools/index.htm
He's got a great list of what you need.

I've been disappointed with cheap tools, especially things like planes, sanders, power tools, etc. I have a miter box, somewhere. Can't remember the last time I used it. When I want to cut something square, I just use a square and a knife. The same goes for things like planes, I don't use them much, but I know others do.

From memory, here's the things I frequently use.
Several xacto handles with #11 blades, boxes of 100.
Single edge razor blades, boxes of 100.
Large xacto handle with razor saw and gouges. I use the gouge blades for cutting out the channel for aileron control rods. I use the razor saw for cutting off things that are already attached.
Dremel tool. After years of using a noisy, fixed speed dremel, I just bought a variable speed XPR 400. What a difference, this thing is great! I bought a flex shaft, but haven't used it yet. OTOH, the right angle attachment is on it about 30% of the time.
Sanding bars with a variety of grits. I have several of each length so I can keep different grits ready to use.
File and rasps. I have a bunch as part of my woodworking stuff.
Squares. Again, I have a variety. It seems I can't keep these off my bench, no sooner do I put the square away than it's out again for something.
Metal straight edges. I keep 12" and 24" ones on the bench, and I've got a 3' one for occasional use.
Hand drill.
Drill press.
Band saw.
That's the stuff I can think of right now, I'm sure there's more.

Thanks guys, you've been of great help. [8D]

A word of caution about rulers and yardsticks. I bought a couple of three foot aluminum yardsticks from a lumber yard once, and found that neither one is really straight. This is another case where cheaper costs you. The next time I put together a new building table, I'm gonna have one of these to check it for flat:

http://www.gladstonetools.com/straightedges.html

I'll have one of those too. But only if I win the lottery.[] Being on a shoestring budget and with a watchful eye of the significant other over my shoulder it's hard to get airborne. I am an expert on the aerodynamics of flying rolling pins however.

The flight profile is directly related to the strength of the arm behind the throw....That's why inexpensive home-brew tools are good-they leave more money to sent to Riley Wooten for balsa.

The flight profile is directly related to the strength of the arm behind the throw....That's why inexpensive home-brew tools are good-they leave more money to sent to Riley Wooten for balsa.

The flight profile is directly related to the strength of the arm behind the throw....That's why inexpensive home-brew tools are good-they leave more money to sent to Riley Wooten for balsa.
[/quote]


Perhaps you should get the significant other interested in Hand Launched Glider. (Check Little Red Riding Hood [Lee Campbell- a great guy] on eBay for kits). Ill bet a trophy from the Nats would really spark her interest!

jess

IMHO the best blades are the #11 scalpels. the tip has a better shape that doesn't break so easily plus they're sharper and longer lasting than the real x-acto blades....no comparison at all with the cheap, no-name bulk blades. for me they're also a lot cheaper than the x-actos.

in the pic the blade on top is the x-acto. the scalpel blade fits the same handle.



dave