OK, I moved up to WA state last year. I was hoping to have my garage cleaned out during the winter so I could start building a few kits I bought. Well, that hasn't happened like I would like.

I have built one kit before, a few years back. That was a Shrike .15 that I built on the living room coffee table. Yes the wife wasn't happy but we were stationed in Japan and room was really tight.

Anyway, I was thinking of putting some 1/2 ply on a card table to build a plane. I'm thinking of starting with a Sig SE. I had the ARF version when I was in Japan and lost it in a dead stick after in CA.

Do you think the card table ply wood combo will be strong enough to support a build? Or is there a better alternative that I can find/build that I can move around? I know the wife won't mind it in the dining room but not as a permanent fixture.

Thanks for any tips and/or info.

S25,
1/2 ply on a card table may have a tendency to sag in the middle. You would have to give it a try. If it sags, you will not be able to build a straight airplane on it. Probably depends upon how rigid the top of the card table happens to be.

I used to use a hollow core door for a building surface. They are light and rigid and inexpensive. You have to check them out and find the truest, that is to say flattest, one you are able to find. Any lack of flatness in the surface will be built into the wings... and everything else, but it will show up most in the wings. Take a straight, straightedge (they are not all straight) or perhaps a long, aluminum level (they are pretty straight) to the building supply store to help you find a nice true door.

Good luck with your build, it will be fun.

The main thing is to just make sure the surface is nice and flat. Other than that, it really doesn't matter what it is. I'd also throw some ceiling tiles or drywall on top of it since they will take pins better.

I actually built a few planes in an apartment using a building board on our glass dining table. I cleaned everything up and threw it on top of the entertainment center each night. I had to make sure I kept the glue scraped off the table though. Great Planes makes some good boards: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXPF36&P=0

As for the Somethin Extra, it is a great kit. It builds easy and flys nice.

Salt


Lowes/H depot have plastic saw horses, faily cheap. That and some
thick ply wood , blue foam board ( 4x8 sheet) . Then you'll need good
lighting also.


Bob

Semper Fi

I have a couple of straight metal edges to check the trueness of the wood. I looked at the GP build board, it's 3/4 inch in thickness instead of th 1/2 I was thinking. Never thought of trying to use a door, or part of one. I heard of doors being used before.

I just did some measurements and the fuse is about 48 inches long so the card table may not be long enough unless I get something to overhang. Lighting won't be an issue, plenty of light already.

Guess I'm off to homedepot to price some things. Didn't think of blue foam for the pins. I don't remember what I used in Japan to pin but I know I did. I may have just used some plywood then also. The table was plenty large enough for the kit I built.

Thanks guys.

Semper Fi

My youngest son just graduate Marine basic last Jan... poor kid, tried to get him to join the Navy and lead the good life. LOL j/k

Salty,
The large GP Balsa building board would work nice on a card table and stows well behind the couch.
Stay away from foam as it really is not stable enough holding pins (in my opinion) for a really good build. and a SIG SE fits well on the large GP Building Board. I am building a SE now and it has all been done on the GP large balsa building board. I use a cutting board to make my cut on (small piece of hard pine) and the balsa board cover in plastic to do all of the assembly. Plywood is awfully hard to get the pins into and I have tried the route before myself, another alternative to the balsa building board are 2'X4' acoustic celling tiles made from the same material as Homosote or Homeosote itself on a solid flat surface such as a hollow core door. I have yet to see plywood with out warps or twist with the exception of multi core furniture/cabinet grade plywood (cost upwards of $100 a sheet), and it still has some issues with twist and warping.

Good luck and have some fun with your building!

Regards
Paul

Just got back from Homedepot, they don't have any blue foam here.

I saw some 3/4 laminate particle board and some other hardwood, not sure what it's called. I looked at the plywood and it all looked warped in some way.

$30 for the GP board plus shipping; there has to be something else I can pick up locally to build on. If the GP board is only pine I should be able to get a large 48X24 piece from a lumber yard to work.

This is what I do..

Get a Black N Decker Work Mate

next go the Habitat to Humanity Re-Store, Find one near you.. Seattle store might be the best bet.
http://www.habitat.org/cd/env/restor....aspx?place=72

Look around there for a kitchen island counter top.. I got a 5'x3' for $15
If you cant find that get a flat solid core door.
Screw a 2x4 to the bottom and clamp it in the workmate..

Easy cheep and portable.

if you don,t have a decent work bench you should go out and buy an old solid door [ flat ] and 3 saw horses [ cheapies ] to lay the door on. plus a stool cut to working size to suit your seating height.

I was looking at a counter top last night as I was walking around Homedepot, saw a 5X3 section for $45. I think it would be cheaper to buy that then drive the 100 miles to Seattle. Plus I already have a workmate in the garage. I actually used that to build ARFs on before I got my workbench, which is now covered in boxes.

But I figure to use the countertop I would need to find some blue foam. The countertop is pretty hard to be pushing T pins into.

Get a 2x4 foot ceiling tile like you see in office buildings. The back side is fairly smooth. I think they cost less than $5 at Home Depot or Lowes. They are flexible enough to conform to the surface, so the tile will be as flat as the counter top. They hold pins fairly well.

S25,

Lots of good suggestions here. I have always found that any material into which it is easy to push pins is too soft to hold them well. Just my personal experience. I use a very light tack hammer (found the one I use now at Harbor Freight) with a light touch to drive T-pins into the board. A balsa building board may be the exception...never used one! It will be real hard to find a wide, pine, plank that does not come pre-warpped. Good luck with your search.

Hope thing go well for your son. I am sure you are very proud of him, and should be. Semper Fi and Semper P.!

After many years I finally broke down and bought a balsa building board it was worth it as far as I am concerned.
Over the years I have tried many different materials to build models on and this is the best I have used thus far. I have tried pine and fir, cut and glued in butcher block fashion Homeasote and ceiling tiles and this works the best thus far. Pine board are never flat that I have seen it is the nature of the material to warp and bow, although I have seen some old growth pine that was amazing but you can not find that around much except in very old homes and antique colonial furniture.
Some guys swear by sheetrock but I would imagine that it has a finite lifespan, but it is cheap.


But the best system I have seen thus far is the magnetic building clamp systems such as described on http://www.airfieldmodels.com.

I have been using a magnetic board over a GP wood board that also lays over a 1" thick surface counter top board. Can't be flater that than.

I got the counter top board as the top of those cheap cabinets that HD sales. The cabinets are a plus for having a very flat building surface

These sound like good suggestions. I did a search and saw a balsa board, never heard of one before.

I would like to get the magnetic setup but will wait until I am able to use the building table I purchased in the garage. The local HS said they don't carry the GP board, seems nobody buys them around here. He said most around here use the door and a piece of ceiling tile if they don't have a table to build on.

I'll probably get the countertop and the ceiling tile to use. Have to wait for my off days now to find some.

Thanks.

i build on corkboard, you can get square foot sections at walmart and join them, the cork is very flat, surprisingly firm and it hols t-pins like a dream.

Hey Salty, for a simple build table I went to the local metal supply company and got two pieces of 1" steel sq tube 1/8" thick four feet long. Went to Home Depot and purchased a 2 ft x 8ft long wide piece of white malamine and had them cut it down to 6 ft long. Home Depot also has 4 x 8 sheets of sound proofing that's 1/2" thick cuts easy with utility knife. I took some push pins with me to test between the ceiling tiles and the sound prof board and IMHO the pins stick way better in the sound board.

Place the 2 pieces of steel tube on under the malamine, then cut the sound proofing board to fit on top of the malamine. The sound proof board is great for building on and an added benefit is with the malamine you have a smooth surface to copy or trace plans

Bryan