Thanks, radioflier! I use a few different established rib cutting methods depending on the airfoil, number of ribs, type of spars and taper, etc. For the main wing I used a kind of combination. Instead of making two plywood templates and sandwiching blanks between them, I just made one pattern and drew sheets of "printwood" that I cut out one by one. Then I put them all on the spars and sanded them uniform as in the picture above.

When I'm cutting out parts I always load up a brand new #11 blade and get a fresh new razor blade. I cut with the grain using the X-acto and cut cross-grain by pressing the razor blade straight down. I always seem to tear out the wood when I try to pull a blade across the grain, so I work with the two differnt blades. The X-acto is nice because I can swivel the knife when cutting curves. As soon as they start to feel dull, I get a new blade.

For the stab ribs I just printed out two sets of patterns on printer paper and adhered them to balsa sheets using 3M Super 77. I then cut them out the same way. Brush on a bit of thinner and the paper pulls right off.

When I cut the spar slots I used a straightedge since the grain will sometimes pull the blade off track. The key is to make several medium pressure cuts instead of trying to cut all the way through in one pass.

I guess I'm kind of neurotic in that I actually enjoy cutting out parts and sanding them smooth. At any rate, it takes patience and can be time consuming. But, it's therapeutic, too. Sort of like getting off in a quite place by yourself and reading a book.