John Sohm

My Feedback: (9)

The way I see it, if you're going to cut your own parts for kits and you want them to be as accurate as is possible with the skills you possess, then there are 4 tools that you're going to want to invest in:

1) A good quality scroll saw is probably the first one to invest in. It works well as one prior gentlemen stated on thinner stock. Being able to cut the center out of bulkheads without sawing thru the bulkhead is a prime advantage of the scroll saw.

2) A decent belt/disc sander for getting those edges spot on. Along with that I'd also add a set of drum sanders for sanding those inside areas of the bulkheads. At the minimum a 3" belt / 6" disc sander, better to have a slightly bigger one but these are minimum ideas for cost.

3) A 9" or better yet, a 12" bench style drill press and some form of vise for holding the pieces securely. That way you can make accurate drillings and also attach those drum sanders and use the drill as a sander too.

4) Last but by no means least, (in fact some would argue that this should be #1 instead of the scroll saw) a bandsaw. This is the one item where you want to get the biggest one you think you can afford because you are going to find it extremely useful for cutting not only wood, but with the proper blade assortment, plastics, metals and even some composites, can be cut with this tool. You're not going to use this to cut one or two ribs (but you could) but where this is going to be most usefull is cutting the thick balsa blocks or even foam to an accurate outline. That is the one drawback to the scroll saw, cutting thick parts is next to impossible to cut without the blade drifting.

So, if you don't really want to invest in these tools, I'd suggest that you have someone cut the kit for you or find a fellow modeler who has these tools and have him help you. By the time you buy the wood, it's not that much more to have a kit cutter do it. However, the tools you buy you have to look at as an investment.

I hope this makes sense, it's the argument I used on my wife and I have all the tools mentioned above. Granted some are entry level items but as you go along, you start accumulating all kinds of stuff. And I didn't even mention a dremel hand tool because that's like a given...you have to have one of those or you're working WAY too hard.

Catalinaflyer

Just make sure that you get one that uses standard length blades. I have one of the 9" Craftsman models that someone mentioned earlier and it uses a non-standard blade length. Not the end of the world but there is an Ace hardware store 150' from the back of my house and the nearest Sears is 27 miles away. Blades never break when you leaving to go to town, they break right at the beginning of a long evening of building, to late to make it to Sears and the Ace store carries every imaginable blade for a band saw except the ones that fit mine.

I also have the Craftsman variable speed scroll saw that I would not trade for anything. It uses pin or pinless blades and just the other day I came across a sanding blade that attaches in place of the regular blade, best invention since radio control. Last but not least is my Craftsman 4" band/disc sander that is also indispensable in building.

dhal22

dang, i would like to find a sanding blade for my scroll saw. that sounds like a great idea.

david

JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

Both Flying Dutchman and Olson make sanding blades for your scroll saw. There are many offered on EBay. Just search for "Scroll Saw Blades" and you will find them.