before the advent of the slotting tool, hwe were slots made in the wood. i plan on slotting some yardsticks or balsa there abouts.

Slotting yard sticks? Good luck and have allot of fun doing that chor . But as for balsa you get a blade that looks like a V fork that would go into the end of an exacto knife and use that for pin hinges or you can use an exacto blade to cut them for easy hinges . You can purchase a cheap no not a churp churp like a bird lol cheap center marker so you will be able to get the center of the wood to make the cuts. I still would say to atleast pin all of the outer hinges.

Way back in the 90's, when RC was barbaric, we had to use an XActo knife. Then at the dawn of enlightenment, the god's granted us the "V" shaped hinging tool.

We are truly blessed to have been granted the privelege of the electric hinge slotting tool. (I don't own one though. )
Dennis-

Dennis, I know what you should be asking for this Christmas!

Carl Goldberg models used to come wioth a center marker. Since then you have been able to buy them. Great little tools.

GP came out with one recently, that is a little over engineered in my opinion, but does the job.

If you have a steady hand, you can make pretty good oens with just an X-Acto knife. Just takes time!

Then someone thought of teh idea of mounting an X'Acto blade on a riser / a small block, to be at the right hieght, and then either puch teh surface, or push the blade & riser into the wood.. Works well, and is repeatable..

Then was the 'V' tool tht we're all talking about. came with a fancy 'cenetering' jig. Nice touch. Push teh 'V' into the wood, and it came with a 'gouger' to remove material. Still have mine... Still use it too!

Then, recently, someone developed the 'powered hinge slotter'. My buddy bought one. He loves it. I... well.. I prefer teh 'V' tool. I find teh thing jumps around too much, is loud, and is really just a gimmick. But for hard woods, it is a nice thing to have..

dr_wogz, i think your "e" and your "h" keys are swapped on your keyboard.

I know, I know, I know, it's these darn fingers I was born with. ABle to build great things, but are dyslexic when it comes to typing!!

What I really need is a beginner keyboard, one from Fisher Price, where the keys aren't soo small and packed together!!

I slot all my control surfaces with a dremmel tool witha thin cut off wheel. Will cut a yardstick easily. The slot is wider than needed but it works fine.