Stole this one from Franny B. When cutting slots for stringers use a Dremel. Stack a few cutoff wheels so they are the correct thickness and it's a perfect notching machine.

Make a few rectangular "washers" from 2" epp or other foam, that will firmly slip over your wings and stay in place. I cut a wing shaped hole with a breadknife

Make them at least 2" larger than the wing, for say a 8" chord make them at least 12" x 5"

When you need to work on your wings to cover, paint, sand, hinge,fit servos, pushrods etc etc, the "washers" will keep your wings clear of the bench and damage. You can stand them upright or lay flat as you choose

I've got 2 sets different sizes and that covers all my planes from 1m wingspan to 3.7m

I've also got a few "washers" with round holes for holding the front of a fuselage, and a slot to hold the rear

Put a couple of 4" long strips of 2" tape, slightly overlapped, on your bench to make a mixing surface for small quantities of epoxy etc. I use a semi sharpened (chisel point) disposable wooden chopstick to mix and apply.

When finished, peel up tape and dispose, then a couple of cuts with a stanley knife will give you a fresh mixing end for your chopstick.

You can make small brushes by cutting a pinch of bristles (maybe 1/8" dia) from a large paintbrush then tape them to the end of a wooden chopstick with a couple of wraps of masking tape.

Theyre great for small fiberglassing, painting jobs etc etc and you'll get hundreds from a 4" paintbrish.

They only take about 30 seconds to make, then undo the tape and bin it when you're finished.

Its great if you can get a dust/ fume extractor for your workbench. I used a 6" inline fan that was designed to remove steam form a bathroom. Fortunately I have an old house, so it was no problem to cut a hole in the floor for the outlet.

Alot of what we do is dusty, smelly, and or has toxic fumes. Weather its sanding balsa, soldering, dremmeling, gooping, painting, using CA or a dozen other things, the extractor gets rid of it all.

6" would be the minimum to use and my latest one is an 8" inline variable speed fan. Much better. I wouldn't be without one now.

Originally Posted by the wiz

just out of curiosity. this question is open to 1 and all. "What's the best single building tip you ever got"?

Always stick to good hardware, clevisis, collars, nylon locking nuts ect..ect.. spend the extra dollar! It's worth every penny. Make your own control rods using wooden dowels with 2/56 or 4/40 ends, saves you money and, prevents flexing.

Originally Posted by eliworm

A balsa stripper.

one stripper only... naw get two strippers ..

A couple of tips...

Bamboo skewers look just like carbon fiber rods if you color them with a sharpie.

Buy carbon fiber tow by the roll off of eBay. It is much cheaper than at the hobby shop. $80 shipped for 8000 feet compared to $6 for 12 feet at my LHS.

When putting a new glue stick in your glue gun start by putting a dab of hot glue on the end of the new stick so that it sticks to the old one and doesn't fall out.

Originally Posted by Aber

When putting a new glue stick in your glue gun start by putting a dab of hot glue on the end of the new stick so that it sticks to the old one and doesn't fall out.

Thanks! I'll remember that one!!!!

glue a strip of fine sandpaper to one side of your steel straightedge and it wont slip around when you are cutting.

make cowlings, wheel pants, wing fairings. fuselages...basically any part you can make a plug for. Make plugs out of wood, sculpey, plaster or use existing parts and duplicate them. There is mucho info availabile..some of it right here on RCgroups. It is fun, once you learn how. Al

For the longest time I have been trying to get information on a French Airplane, namely a Morane-Saulnier 230 and my knowledge of the language is
zero I was not geting anywhere. Then i got the address of the French Air and Space Museum in Paris, great well maybee not ,everything the send me is in French naturley. Now the god news go to the Google translating Service.
Works as slick as can be copy what the send you in french paste it in to Google ans there you go. By the way the also due other languages.

Hans Bruhn

Originally Posted by the wiz

just out of curiosity. this question is open to 1 and all. "What's the best single building tip you ever got"?

best tip I ever got was when I was 10 years old and should be passed along to all who begin in our hobby.

Take your time and no matter how it turns out you have done the best you can.

A clear desk protector from Staples or other office supply store makes great template material for small foam profile plane parts. Endless airframes!

An extra large safety pin is a great starting point to build a sprung, steerable tailwheel (on planes smaller than say 48" w/s.) I built one using a 2 1/4" pin, clipped off the point and other end, opened to appropriate 45deg angle, sheathed the upper part in shrink tube, bent backward into rudder, bracketed a plastic pen refill piece with two servo horns- one long glued to the bottom of the fuse (profile), one short glued into the fin. Appropriate bends at the other end, with a Hobbycity 26mmX10mm fatty tailwheel and a bit of wire insulation dabbed w/ epoxy. Smooth landings and it cost me $.20!

Maukabud.. a pix of your wheel arrangement would help immensely. thanks Rich

magnet building board