I am getting my first kit. But what are the basic knowledge and tools that I need for starting a kit.

I have been building ARF, but no experience with kit. Please share your knowledge:

- what tools are needed ?
- how to cut balsa cleanly ?
- how not to damage the balsa ?
- how to cut holes to lighten the weight without sacrificing too much on strength ?
- how to align the ribs ?
- how to build a jig or fixture to align the ribs ?
- what homebuild or DIY tools are needed for kit ?
- do I need to invest on a flat table ?

I am going to start with something ? Please help.

If you can get the Higley's book "Getting Airborne: Volume II" it will be a great help. It is availabe from US suppliers. You must have a flat surface for accurate building. You do not need a jig to build most wings. Cutting is done with a modeling knife with no.11 blades, industrial razor blades and razor saw with miter box. Forget about putting holes in anything- that is not the way to end up with a light model.

What kit are you getting? As some kits are good for first timers, and soem or specifically for the seasoned builder.

basic tools:
-flat building surface, and one that yiou can stick pins into. There are many posts on this...
-'T' pins. Although not an abolute necessity, they do make teh building process easier, and hold things tight.
-Wax paper, put down on top of the plans, so the plane dosen't stick to them!
-Ruler / stright edge. somthing to measure with, and something to guide cuts, to ensure they are straight.
-Kid's geometry set, for the triangles, to help align the ribs (vertically)
-An X-Acto Knife, with spare blade; the #11 seem to be teh most popular
-various glues (CA, Epoxy, etc..)
-Basic tools; screw drivers, wrenches, and teh liek to install screws, nuts, etc..
-sand paper and sanding blocks. Various grits: 80, 100, 150, maybe 200, 400 for final sandings
-Pencil . Pen (felt tip, fine piuint, to mark balsa as required..)
-soem clamps (dollar store stuff, just to clamp various peicves together as teh glue dries.
-A razor saw is nice, but not required

most of all, time!

Read teh instructions when you get the kit.
Read teh instructions again, and look at the plans.
read teh instructions yet again, with the plans, and now start to identify the wood parts. Don't pop teh parts out of the die-cut sheets, but identify them, and study teh plan, so you understand how it all goes together.. Well, you'll want to pop one or two out, to see how then fit, get an idea of how big the plane will be, etc..
make notes.
start the model, and make sure you test fit all teh pieces before glueing. In fact, it is usually a good idea to test fit pieces, about three or five step ahead of where you are, jsut so you have a good idea of what's comming up.

have fun, take your time! Understand what you are doing!

we actually have a much broader list on our site..

Very good advice so far!

As far as skills go, reading, and being able to follow instructions are about all that is required with many kits. However, more advanced planes require more advanced building skills, so a lot will depend on what type of plane you want to build.

So... What have you got in mind?

As stated, follow the directions and be patient. You don't need jigs if you build over the plans. The good kits are very easy and you should be able to build them just fine. Don't worry about cutting holes in it to lighten it up. If they wanted holes in it, the MFG would put them there. Follow the directions and you will be fine. Great planes, Goldberg and sig make great kits with good plans if you start with one of those.

Good luck. Have fun

I have the GP Extra 300 kit in mind. I've heard alot of good things about this kit, and have collected information on the building process. It seems to be a reliable kit to start with no unpleasant suprises. I am trying to start slow and progress slowly to gain confidence, starting with the proper use of tools and equipments in order not to damage anything in the kit.

I know the ARF experience is really minimal compared with kit. I want to put myself to the real test of kit building, before graduating to scratch building. I have seen a guy picking up raw balsa wood from the hobby shop with a big plan rolled up. I wish one day, I could be taking a plan to a hobby shop, unrolling it and so forth.

I have been doing search, but I haven't been successful so far in getting advice on getting the fundamentals of kit building. Hope to hear some great advice.

How do I position the balsa in the grain direction that will maximise the strength ? This may seem to be question for scratch building but I ask as I want to know if the woods are cut in the wrong grain direction and I could do something about it.

Building a kit sounds to me like fine carpentry work dealing with delicate balsa wood. I would guess that the saw to cut the balsa has to be suited for cutting up balsa, and the drill to make a hole on a balsa must have the correct drill speed and bit to ensure a nice edge of the hole.

And what about some shape that are rounded like a square with rounded corners ? Do I need to buy a special cutter for that purpose and how thick can I go ?

Hope that I don't pick up a lemon, with broken balsa or missing parts in the kit. It would really slow down my building a lot more as I have to find ways to make new parts by getting some balsa.

Thanks for all the wonderful advice, and I hope to hear more tips on getting started with kit building especially the GP Extra 300....

As far a grain layout and stuff, don't worry about it. The kit will tell you all of that. Build a few kits and you will learn more. Build a couple gliders too and you will see different techniques. The more you build the better you will get. Then start scratch. Usually the plans will lay out grain directions for you. As you get more experience, you will know what mods to make to lighten or strengthen things. It just takes time. If you have some one close, have them check it out every once in a while and give advice. Visit as many friends shops and look closely at what they build and ask questions. Look at kits at the field and get ideas of things there. You can learn a lot from looking at others work. Sometimes what to do, sometimes what not to do. Find out what works and what doesn't. No substitute for experience.

The Gp extra 300 is an excellent build. Good parts and extremely well engineered. When you get the kit, read, the instructions before you do anything else. Read them again and check out the parts if you need to in order to understand what the instructions mean.

What's really more important than reading the instructions is UNDERSTANDING the instruction.

Follow that rule and you won't have any problems.

Another good habit to get into now is this: Open the box. and lay the top of the box next to the bottom. Any time you remove a piece from the bottom box, set it in the top (And vice versa), That will keep pieces from "Walking away"

Also, keep a few ziplock bags handy. Any time you open a plastic bag of parts, empty the bag into the ziplock (Small parts walk away even faster than big parts!)

PS, it's a great flier too!

I haven't build a kit yet....(also thinking about a GP Extra 300) but have found that if you are trying to bend balsa, like to sheet something, then get some ammonia or glass cleaner and spray it to get it a little damp, not wet, but damp.....

Correct me anyone if I am wrong but that is what I have heard from everybody about bending thing [or thick] balsa for sheeting or somthing....

BTW, I hope that you have fun on w/e kit you get......From looking around on RCU, might I suggest the 4*40 or 60....that is if you don't have this plane already........!!!!

HAVE FUN and be SAFE....(those blades HURT!!)

Generally, you don't bend thick balsa. Sometimes thick balsa is used, but it goes on straight, then is sanded to shape.

You will also find that in most cases, water alone is sufficient to bend balsa without the ammonia.

I'm not much of a flyer(yet) but I'm building my third kit so..

Tools you will want:

-Single edge blades, at least 20
-Exacto w\#11 blades
-Razor saw with aluminum miter
-Craftsman plastic clamps(or other like brand)(Rubber bands are useful as clamps)
-Various sanding blocks and sandpaper(You won't regret having a wide selection)
-Plastic or metal triangles in different sizes
-Nice straight edge(aluminum is good)
-Ruler for measuring
-Brad point drill bits if you can find them(I couldn't, settled for bullet point)
-Pin vise(hand drill) Get this if you are doing Robart hinges(recommended)
-Robart hinge tool if you are doing Robart hinges
-Pins, avoid T-pins, get some model pins from Hobby Lobby or other source

Things I want:
-Miter sander
-Razor plane

Nice tools to have:
-Dremel
-Drill(for some kits it's a neccesity)

Glues:
-2-4oz thin CA
-2-4oz med CA
-Tightbond II wood glue
-30 minute epoxy 4oz or so
-Possibly Gorrilla glue

You'll need to build or buy a table also. There are a ton of posts on that so just search one up.

I'm similar to your situation, built a few ARFs and building my first kit right now. I have and use everything spokman listed there! great list, cept I am using T pins and push pins *must be a new guy mistake eh? that's what the instructions say to use*. One thing I'll add, is a drywall square, I'm building a 1/4 scale and I've needed it a few times. On clamps, you can't have too many or too great a selection, no way! Sanding bars, I got a 12" jobber, thought that would be it..... not, got me a 3 1/2 footer too! and get different grits of sandpaper to go with them! Now I'm no master by any means, but I haven't been able to cross cut a piece of balsa yet with an exacto blade without crushing it, get the saw! works great for everything, even ply. Get twice as much CA and epoxy as the instructions suggest. and the one thing you saw several times.... READ READ READ... and the understanding part is the key to your success. I have read a sentance, read it again and still get more out of it. These things are written for people who understand what the author is saying. DON'T throw anything away

I'll explain my table, I got the ideas from looking it up on RCU a long time ago. Bought me a cafeteria table from Office Max, got a big door from Home Depot, and drilled/screwed extruded aluminum to that lengthwise and cross ways then layed a sheet of 5/8 drywall on top of that *trim off the tapered edges first*~ it works. Lots of good ideas out there to choose from.

So far, what is here is very good advice. Also DO NOT RUSH Anything. I have been known to read the same instruction over and over to make absolutely sure that I understand what is being indicated. If you rush anything, or set a goal of getting it done in a certain amount of time you put yourself up to a goal that might not be realistic. Work at your comforable speed. Also, check off each step that you are asked to do. You never know when a 1 or 2 week break might happen and sometimes it takes some time to figure out where you left off. OH....and one final thing....If you haven't purchased any CA Debonder, do not start using CA without any. And make sure it is in arms length at all times. Nothing worse that going to your LHS for debonder with a fuse or wing stuck to you. (No I haven't done this yet, but have glued myself to my work several times.) LOL