Hey guys,
I am just starting a new kit and i am curious as to how you all cut the sticks of balsa to build the stabilizer. Even a sharp exacto knife seems to crush it a little more than i would like.....Any info is appreciated.

One of the best investments you can make is a good razor saw. Do not get Xacto, they are very poor. I find Zona saws to be the better ones. Get the one with 52 teeth per inch but the coarser one also works well. If you can get two of them, one with about a half inch depth of cut and one with about 1 inch depth of cut for those occasional times you need the deep cut. There are also some very expensive Japaneze razor saws that are very very good if you can afford them.

Another method that works relatively well for angled cuts is a wall paper knife.

It's got a handle large enough to get a decent hold of. It has a regular single edge razor blade mounted in the handle that lets you lay the blade the full length of the cut and make a straight vertical cut. And, the blades are cheap to replace. They are really great for stick cutting.

I think a combination package with handle and blades at the local hardware store is about equal to the cost of an Exacto, or similar type of knife.

Model rail road ( Atlas Super Saw) They even cut some metals Tyey have fine teeth and make a smooth cut that can be CAed.

The way I do it is with a ChopperII. You can find it at www.micromark.com. It uses a single edged razor blade. It make a nice straight cut. It also comes with two angled pieces to do the standard 45, 60, 30 degree cuts.

Dru.

Me too. It's a great tool. I modified mine slightly to get a deeper cut, and I also use the Tru-Sander by the same mfg. to get really perfect fitting joints.

Phil

I agree with Rodney. I would not build without a razor saw. Actually, mine is an Xacto, and it seems to do the job fine, but maybe I'm not tuned in to the fine points of razor saw quality.

My razor saw (and I think most) have the teeth oriented so it cuts on the pull stroke. That makes it very easy to make very accurate cuts. On the push, you can line up the blade very accurately and the teeth dig in just enough to make a path for the pull where the real cutting is done.

You can still get the cut the ends of the stick crooked with a Zona saw. Phil mentioned the Northwest Shortlines sanding tool. I have one from Fourmost Products called the Miter Sander #154 that is similar. Just cut the sticks a fraction over long and sand to fit. Takes a couple of minutes per joint, but the gain is strength and appearance are worth a little work. If I mess one up, I just use the stick in the next shorter space.

I'll add my support for the razor saw. When I was just building the Gillows/Sterlings et al kits, I could get away with just the Exacto but with the larger stuff, no way. At least in the framing stage, I think I use the razor saw more then the Exacto. In the covering stage, I go through the #11s by the handful it seems

I use a miter box with a razor cutter on it never crushes even super soft balsa.

Don't think anyone mentioned a miter for your razor saw. A nice aluminum one is the ticket. Then make sure you have a saw with a deep enough blade for it. Won't help much for odd angles though but for straight cuts it works great.

I came into this forum to ask just this question, or one pretty close. I use a Zona saw all the time but getting the perfect angle and holding the saw perfectly square makes for imperfect cuts. I was looking of something to true up my cuts. The link to Micromark and the mention of the Tru-sander was exactly what I was after. I thought about making a copy of it but ordering it was so much easier.
Thanks,,,Matt

In case you can't makeperfect joints and still really want a super strong joint--and many kits simply have butt joints -(super design guys ---)
try this.
rub the end of the stick in baking soda (not baking powder)
push the joint tight and drip on some thin ZAP.
OR assemble with dabs of thick CA then lightly dust each joint with baking soda -to fill any void.ZAP the joint.