Craig Thomas Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Anyone know where I can get cardboard tubing from for the servo wires in the wings. I'm thinking of going for a servo in each wing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 You make your own tubing! Peter described the method in one of his articles. Basiclly you use paper and roll it up smaller than the holes and let it unroll to fit the hole. then a few spots of glue. Simple and it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 You don't. The quick and easy way is this. Take some normal A$ writing paper and cut a stril wide enough to go into the holes about 1 1/2" time. Wrap this round a dowle or pencil, slide it up the holes, release it and then glue it where it tuches the wing ribs, quick and easy. Sorry kc. I just went from the email to this . Oh well, written it now By the way, this idea was passed on to me by someone but can't remember who now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 Actually I had forgotten the important part of the trick, as Peter said it's rolling it around a dowel or pencil that makes it work. The other important thing is to do it before joining the wings, otherwise there is probably no way to get it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levanter Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 For those of us in Europe the balsa and ply is sold in metric sizes. Here are the equivalents I use: 1/32" = 0.8mm (Plywood) I can buy 0.8 mm ply but I would also be happy to 1mm. If weight was critical one can always cut some lightening holes. 1/16" = 1.6mm (Balsa) You could use 1.5mm but it is very flimsy and quite difficult to work. I always use 2mm where 1/16" is specified. It just gives a better sanding margin and just that little bit easier to work. By the time everything is nice and smooth you are probably back to 1/16" anyway. 3/32" = 2.38mm (Balsa) This is very close to 2.5mm so no real problem here. 1/8" = 3.175mm (Ply or Balsa) If the shape is simple and not much finishing required I will use 3mm. If there is a lot of shaping to do I might use 4mm on the basis that it is easier to take more off than put it back on. 1/4" = 6.35mm (Ply or Balsa) The nearest equivalent is of course 6mm but don't forget that if you are mixing things up, a 6mm spar will be sloppy in a 1/4" slot. As the sizes go up the differences become less important. To make thicker pieces, two thinner sections can be used and they don't have to be equal so there are many variations. The sections can also be glued together with the grain (balsa) at right angles or 45 degrees which makes a very strong yet light homemade ply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff S Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 Levanter3: I just wish we would drag ourselves into the 20th century, never mind the 21st, and scrap Imperial units altogether. I always work in mm anyway instead of all those peculiar fractions my Dad used to use. It wouldn't be so bad if they used decimal inches. I'm 76 in a couple of weeks btw so it's not as though I just left school I have both 3mm and 1/8" balsa sheet in stock because I've bought up stock recently from people giving up building. That gets confusing. Just a point - dowel is often metric these days so make sure the hole in F2 (if you're cutting your own) is the same as your dowel. If you have the CNC cut F2 make sure your dowel is the same as the hole. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetenor Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Re balsa strippers .As supplied most of them have a No 11 fine point blade. Looks nice but is rather too flexible to keep an accurate cut . Especially in thicker or harder wood. Put in one of the convex curved blades which has more meat closer to the tip .Better yet use one of the chisel shaped blades some of which have an angle edge. These are stiffer and keep the cut straight and not wander into the grain. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetenor Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Joining sheet wood on wings .Surely it is better to have the joint on a flat or less curved area. There is less likeliehood of the joint springing or showing an edge this way. Go on ask me how I hnow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 On Balsa strippers, Stripping 1/16" sheet for capstrips. The wood tends to rise up the blade, especially if using a Master aorscrew type. Just slade a small scrap of 3/16" balsa up the blade and it will hold the sheet down. The only sheet joint on the wings is the centre section to leading edge sheet. and that is roughly at the highest point. Not a lot you can do about that. I use map pins because they are short and the head can go right down to the wood and hld it in place firmly. Only snag is that some map pin heads come off and leave the pin just sticking out of the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Posted by kc on 27/11/2015 19:18:09: After a quick look at the plan this evening I have drawn up my estimate of the main materials needed. Obviously this is unproven and just an estimate. You should check for yourself before placing an order for balsa! Balsa all 36 inch long 1/16 by 3 1 sheet webbing. 1/16 by 4 5 sheets wing sheeting + fus underside 3/32 by 4 3 sheets fus sides & turtle deck 3/32 by 3 3 sheets wing ribs 1/8 by 4 2 sheets formers, fus under & Leading edge 1/4 by 4 2 sheets fin tailplane rudder & aileron spar 1/2 by 4 half sheet (18 inch) cowl 1/4 sq hard 6 strips main spar & aileron spar 3/8 by 1/8 2 strips Trailing edge stock 1/2 triangular 1 strip Ply and spruce. 1/8 sq spruce 6 pcs 36 inch 1/32 birch ply 18 inch by 12 1/8 birch ply 8 inch by 10 inch 1/4 birch piece 3.5 by 4.5 inch 1/8 Liteply piece 9 inch by 12 inch 1/4 dia dowel piece 1.5 inch Edited By kc on 27/11/2015 19:48:14 kc, thanks for doing the counting for us lazy guys! However, I am missing the grade (soft, medium, hard) for the balsa. Or have I missed something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 Well I just stated the main use of each size so each builder can decide for himself! I don't think the grade is specified on the plan or article except for the 3/8 by 1/8 Trailing edge stock which should be hard. . Usually Peter says " rock hard " for wing spars so I mentioned hard for the 1/4 sq. Personally I might use spruce for spars if my stock is not really hard enough. I would say medium for most other parts except tailplane & fin etc where I would want lightweight stuff but firm.. And the 1/2 for cowl could be soft to carve easily. The wing sheeting and turtle deck needs balsa that curves easily. ( or else it will need wetting on one side and holding to shape whilst it dries ) Perhaps Peter will give some more guidance on what to order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 As KC says. Medium for most of it, soft for the tail and cowl, easily bent stuff for the turtle deck but not too soft of you get the starved horse look and it can crush as you pick it up. Spars are ALWAYS rock hard They have to survive the greatest loads. As mentioned elsewhere 24.8G measured!!! Although unlikely with Ballerina...Oh, I don't know put a bigber engine in it and who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 I made a little spreadsheet that may help sort a mixed stack of balsa sheet into hard/med/soft. I found it usefull sorting through my stuff and relabeling it. You can find it on http://www.modellflynytt.no/attachment.php?attachmentid=84024&d=1450279319 Save this to a file and open it in Excel. Edited By Lucas Hofman on 16/12/2015 15:30:09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I will try to build so light (especially at the back end) that a 3542 motor will do. In that respect I wonder if the 1/8sq spruce could be replaced with hard balsa. Peter, what do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Yes, you can use very hard balsa. There is a slight risk of the old "starved horse" if it isn't hard enough. I mainly used spruce for that reason and also extra strength for handling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolstonFlyer Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Thanks for the materials list kc, my box of wood arrived from SLEC today Edited By WolstonFlyer on 18/12/2015 15:17:57 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marsh Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 I've got all my wood, now. so with all the bits already cut, can start next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolstonFlyer Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 Probably far too late for anybody, but anyway, as I just discovered you need 7 x 1/8 sq spruce 36 inch and not the 6 pieces mentioned in the first post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted April 30, 2016 Author Share Posted April 30, 2016 You do seem to be right - 7 lengths of 36inch to produce the 13 bits 18 inch long. Sorry if I mislead you - but I did say check for yourself. Nobody else noticed! If you are short of 1 length I suggest making one of the middle pieces from hard balsa. i made half from hard balsa on my model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolstonFlyer Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 It's OK kc. I was short of a length so used 11 and spaced them out a bit more, I am sure it will be ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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