RE: Tools for kit building
 

Bob, a building board was listed in post 9. It was the last item mentioned so you may have missed it

RE: Tools for kit building
 

Everybody builds differently, and there are moree complex builds than others. If the OP is new building, there are some things he will not need for some time:-)

I have no idea how I survived so many years w/o having a sanding bar. I do not recall how much I paid, but sanding a leading edge of a wing now is easy:-)

a) Xacto No. 11 blades and holders. I have 4 because I misplace them all the time.
b) Sanding bar
c) Building table or building surface or board of some nature. I use a hollow door. But there are many choices
d) Paper tape (Painters type) to keep things from moving
e) You need pins
d) 3 kinds of glue: Epoxi 30 minutes and thin and medium CA. Others will use up to 6 different types. Not necessary for most projects
e) Hobby miter box and corresponding saw
f) Plastic or wax paper to cover the blueprints when you work on them

I would suggest not to buy things you do not need. You will know what you need reading the manual of the kit you will build. They tell you the tools needed. Not the same to build a Gentle Lady than to build a 1/4 or 1/3 scale Balsa Usa model...

You will find out quick enough that builders are very opinionated and passionate about how "they" build, and what they use. Take it with a grain of salt, and find your own way:-)

Good luck, and remember, if you are not having fun, you are doing something wrong!

Gerry

RE: Tools for kit building
 

If you want to see an amazing site for stuff go to "McMaster Carr"

RE: Tools for kit building
 

1. Your hands
2. Your mind
3. exacto knife and a modeling saw
4. your eyes, pencil and some graph paper.
5. good cieling tile on a table for the pins.
6. 36" straight edge is handy and a square, one of those with the bubble level in it.
7. Radio to listen to some tunes while you are building

There is nothing like a feeling of knowing you built it. When people ask "where did you get that?" Saying in reply "I built it" I hope you can grasp that joy that so many of us have.

This hobby is really cool.

Peace,
J

RE: Tools for kit building
 

+1 on McMaster-Carr - particularly bits for a Dremel. Skip the high speed steel stuff and go straight to carbide. From that source they're inexpensive and very good. A lot of stuff from MicroMark is "hard to find" but not. But prices at MicroMark have gotten insane. Pretty much anything you find there that's actually useful you can find at McMaster or one of the woodworker suppliers for less (Rocker, Lee Valley, etc.).

RE: Tools for kit building
 

I have been buying two of these to build on and they work great for T pins. http://www3.menards.com/main/home-de...612-c-7158.htm Clamps and pins ,glue tips and anything else you need can be found here. http://www.hobbylinc.com/clamps_tweezers If you think you want to build for a long time like i do you can spend some big bucks on these sanders . I bought a set of different ones 12 years ago and they work as good now as the day i bought them. I bought mostly the sanding bars and some ones for inside curves but i also bought a set of the spar slot sanders and i cant live without all of them. http://www.averytools.com/products.asp?dept=20 BTW i own many power tools but i realy dont use them on my builds , dremel tool is one i own but rarely use along with a belt sander and others. I use my scroll saw the most and a table top drill press once in a while. What iam trying to say is buy your small hand tools first and worry about the bigger power tools when and if you start scratch building. good luck and happy building. OH ! these guys talking about ca glue,I use only tightbond 2 wood glue because it sands easy , and is very strong with out getting brittle like ca. I use epoxy on landing gear and motor fire walls along with any wing hold down parts .

RE: Tools for kit building
 

I started kit building over 35 years ago.my first kit was debolt champ and I built over the plans andmy wife still laughes as I built 2 left wings.

Get both kinds of ca.thin snd gap filling.get yourself a number of clamps.go to harbor freight or ace.get dap filler to fill little nicks dents etc.ger a dremel tool and sears scroll saw. Make sure your buiding board is level! I usually get a piece of homosote from a local lumber yard.it makes using T pins easier.one tip I learned was to take the clear covering on monokote or ultracote and save it to use to cover the plans.
And get a zona saw and make a little miter box.

Also 1/4 and smaller drill bits .I bought a few that are very long to get at firewalls and help make contro rod holes inthe fuse.

I have been building all my life.gradually add all the things mentioned on the posts.and most importantly get organized so you can find these things when you need them.and have fun

RE: Tools for kit building
 

Your right, thanks, my bad.

Bob

RE: Tools for kit building
 

I have the mini beltsander from them I couldn't have gotten this far without it.

RE: Tools for kit building
 

Sears is a good place to get small tools,

RE: Tools for kit building
 

Sears is a good place to get many of your large tools as well. Most of my large tools are from Sears with the exceptions being my Rigid horizontal belt sander shown previously, Ryobi 16" scroll saw(both from Home Depot), Jet 22-44 horizontal drum sander and 1100CFM dust collector(both from Rockler Woodworking Supply and not normal equipment for most home shops) and my Chicago Electric benchtop drill press(Harbor Freight, last tool I'll ever buy from there). As you can probably tell, I have a well equipped garage. Now I just need to get the time to use it all and finish several projects on the "honey do" list as well as getting the R/Cs up and running[X(]

RE: Tools for kit building
 

Harbor freight has the coolest tabletop drum sander; this guy could almost double as a band saw, it can take off so much material. He runs around 110$, less on sale.

RE: Tools for kit building
 

Windgap, you most likely will not any type of power saw for building kits. For cutting your own kits they would speed up the work.

A rotary tool such as Dremel is nice to have.

Power sanders speed up some parts of building. They also make it very easy to remove too much material.

RE: Tools for kit building
 

I didn't read thru all of the tool suggestions, so if this has been mentioned, sorry. I think a pair of safety glasses is mandatory; I use them when using power tools, just habit. You never know when that splinter or burr is going to fly past your face or worse.

RE: Tools for kit building
 

Allright ! just how many big power tools do ya think he will use building a all ready cut kit. lmao I used my hand balsa saw and sanders plus my razor knife and i did holow out the solid built up nose with my dremel tool for a half hour or so but i did not need any of the big tools you guys are sending him out to buy. Just because he wants to flip the bill for some tools you guys will have him buying a lazer cutter next. lmao

RE: Tools for kit building
 

Here is a link to something I use constantly now that I have a bunch. It seems I can never have enough of these! http://www.harborfreight.com/6-piece...set-69375.html

RE: Tools for kit building
 

I would say the # 1 tool to have is a nice flat table. It must be stable and most important, comfortable to sit at. I use a laminated maple top (Like a big butcher block) and a metal frame. The top is from Woodcraft and the frame is from Global Industrial.

Next to that I would say a nice belt / disc sander as the one shown by Zor. I have the same model but have since upgraded to a 12" disc sander. Over the course of years I have added to my tool collection. Building just allows me to use my tools!

SunDevilPilot

RE: Tools for kit building
 

You are right on the mark with a rolling table to finaly set up the wings and struts on ,the building bench is tough to do it on. I found a industrial rubbermade cart for resturants for a tool cart also so i can roll all my hand tools around my shop. joe

RE: Tools for kit building
 

A few tools that I use among the one's listed, a smaller cordless drill, I have a 18v dewalt, but that is too big for some of the small drilling that I do, so I just picked up a nice $55 drill from Home Depot that is smaller and has variable speed. I also bought a small knife sharpener for my xacto blades.

Jon

RE: Tools for kit building
 

Harbor Freight has a screwdriver kit that I paid $5 for that work great for this hobby. 6 drivers, 3 each philips and standard. I found a few other items for building for really great prices.

RE: Tools for kit building
 

Here are a couple of links for ads on this website I found this morning for small hand tools that look to be very useful but won't break the bank.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/item.cfm?itemId=908178

http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/item.cfm?itemId=907640

RE: Tools for kit building
 

That first link, for sure, cannot drill holes in foam http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...sn/biggrin.gif

Zor

RE: Tools for kit building
 

If you need that tool for drilling into foam there is little hope of you building a plane. LMAO Squares and levels pus a incidence meter is a must for scratch building. I had 5 degrees pos on my wing and -1 for the motors and my elev was 0 , I would have been running strings and levels all over the place to figure it out without my incidence meter. :D You first have to have a level workbench or you will be off to a bad start from the begining. :D joe

RE: Tools for kit building
 

If you look at his video it works quite well on balsa and that is what I would use it on. I'm also thinking with the brass liners and the right bit it could be used on AC ply or lite-ply. The angle gauge would allow you to drill at weird angles and make some darn nice pushrod exits. Try using your imagination a little, you'll see what I'm thinking. Every good builder has an over developed imagination. ;)

RE: Tools for kit building
 

Readers,

Please excuse my stupidity ___I do not know what the "it" in blue above is referring to.

I have no idea where to find the video referred to above.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks from Zor