ORIGINAL: gnirwin
I have built several arfs but only 4 kits, and the bigeest problem I have is with the hinges. What are the easiest hinges to apply (so far I have only used the SIG easy hinges) and are the hinge cutting machines I see at the hobby shop any good. I just finished a Sig 4 Star and I am not happy with the hinges. They don't seem to be in the middle of the wing, tail & aeleron edges. Does this affect the flight characteristics or does it not really matter? I am only off center a small amount but it becomes noticeable when you look down the wing.
I like using CA hinges. BEFORE rounding any of the edges the hinges will go into, I draw a centerline on the surface and using a #11 blade, cut my hinge slots. After that I drill a small hole in the center of the slot to allow proper wicking of the CA. THEN I round/bevel the surfaces.
As far as the GP Slot Machine goes, if you are going to be cutting slots in basswood or hardwood, fine, go with the machine. If you are cutting the slots in balsa (most hinges), forget it. It takes practice to be able to get the slots right. You will mess up a lot of hinge locations before you get it right. I find a #11 blade (or the DuBro slot tool) is a lot quicker and easier.
Unless you are doing precision flying, the little bit you are off on hinge location will not effect the flying.
As with anything else, people have preferences for hinge points, DuBro/Klett nylon hinges and CA hinges. I find the hinge points excellent for scale models where you want to conceal the hinge and the DuBro/Klett hinges (with pinning) excellent for high speed, high performance planes. For normal sport flying CA hinges are fine.