Building from scratch

[Phil 9]

RCM&E Have some great free plans. I have never built a flying model before but I do have some experiance in other types of modeling.

it would be usefull if the plans came with a shopping list of materials needed.

Do bought plans come with such info or will i need to work it out for myself?

[Former Member]

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[Phil 9]

its ok i bought cheep arf kits off ebay they would have not been good flyers in an experts hands. but i did learn from them. I have an easy star ready to go and i know that it will be a good flyer.

as for building i dont have a good model shop local so most materials i need to order online. thats why it would be very usefull to have a list of what i need in advance so i can order in one go saving postal costs and avoiding long waits for an essential missing part. and being a novice it will be hard to estimate what i need. ie the tricksof the trade such as your example that you only learn through experiance.

But i guess the easy answer i was looking for does not exist uless i but a traditional build kit. but i did want to do the work myself

[Allan Jordan]

Hi Phil, As Phil Wood has said, you will have to work out the material requirements for yourself. If you take your time over it you soon discover that it really isn't all that difficult ! Building from scratch is the most rewarding way of involvment with model aircraft but you will have to set yourself up with some equiptment. May I suggest the following.

1. A decent size building board.

2. A SLEC balsa stripping tool

3. A balsa plane.

4. A couple of Swan Morton scalpel blade holders & some blades

When we come to the question of suppliers it is really a matter of your location ( you haven't told us in your profile )

Welcome to the " balsa bashers "

REMEMBER if you have a problem with building there will always be someone on this forum to help you..

Regards Allan J

[Allan Jordan]

 Sorry about the address on my posting, can't think what happened..

   /forum/smilies/confused_smiley.gif[/img][email protected]][email protected]

 Got it right this time..

[Tim Mackey]

well no you didnt actually. please read this.

[Phil 9]

Thanks for the tips. But i do have a question I hope i dont sound to stupid but.....

I can see cutting Balsa in straight cuts is a fairly simple process. and shaping roundes edges is just a question of sanding it down to the correct shape. but what is the best way of cutting out curved shapes in balsa sheet such as for ribs. Is it just a simple but long process of cutting out the shapes roughly with a knife and the sanding it down. or is there a way of Precisely cutting out the shapes without the need for too much sanding. ie with a fret saw or power fret saw. i have found cutting out the shapes accurately with just a knife difficult.

[Phil 9]

oh i live in Lisburn Northern Ireland. I like the look of the vee 2 free plan innovembers RCM&E. but i thought i could modify the plan to make the tail a conventional one with rudder and elevator. Maybe a bit ambitious for a first build?

[Simon Chaddock]

Hi Phil

Building aeroplanes from scratch in balsa (or anything else) is like most skills one of practise and experience. No matter how skilled a model maker you might be, my advice is not to be too ambitious for your first build - keep it simple. A good kit should give you reasonable building instructions as well.

Yes, cutting out wing ribs is laborious, particularly if they are all of different sizes i.e the wing is tapered from root to tip. The plan should show the shape of all the ribs and what you need to do is transfer those shapes accurately on to the balsa sheet and then cut them out with a sharp craft knife. The more accurate you can cut, the less sanding is required. If the ribs are all the same you can produce a "master" rib & then cut round that.

This is a plastic master I made last week for a simple wing that needs 24 ribs all the same.

My Fokker Triplane (little picture top right) need over 50 but they were all the same

I hope this helps a bit.

[Phil 9]

All the info i can get helps at this stage. The plan im looking at has 8 identical ribs plus 4 specials. but even the specials are cut to the same shape just from thicker balsa for extra strengh. so i guess its not that complicated as far as flying models go. With the help i have picked up from here im encuraged to give it a go. but know doubt i will be back asking for more help. i will post some progess pics on here as i go. the one part of the build still worring me is the covering but im far from that stage yet.

Thanks Guys

[Former Member]

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[Ernie]

Hi Phil, If all the ribs are the same profile, then the sandwich method is dead easy...You can also use it for a tapered wing.

1 Cut 2 ribs from ply around 3mm thick, or even better plastic, or alloy..2 Cut all your ribs oversize...3 Make a sandwich, held in place with 2 nuts and bolts, with the ply ribs on the outside, and the balsa ones in the middle...4 Sand the whole caboodle to shape...5 Finally, cut any slots etc..Bingo, all perfectly the same...This is especially usefull for large numbers, or tapered wings

ernie

[Phil 9]

Anybody know a good online shop for building materials (balsa obechi strip ect)

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Allan Jordan]

Hi Timbo, Thanks for your comment on my "dodgy " posting, I couldn't open the link though. Could you send me a PM with the info. please as I would like to get it right next time. Allan J

2

[Phil 9]

Well i managed to order the materials and tools need just waiting on the post man.

I was planning on using wood glue and epoxy (for areas needeing strenght) does this sound right?

[Matt]

Hi Phil

Glues is a really personal thing...I use all sorts of different glues for diferent areas...I would save the epoxy for major load areas such as wing joins if I were you. I use a lot of cyno and a really thin alphatic for most of my building tho.

I agree that it would be most helpfull if you were given a shopping list for  timber with a plan, I think the recent Huracane plan had a list on it. Maybe RCM&E could put a list on here for each months plan?

 

[Richard Duvall]

Phil,

The Balsa Cabin specialise balsa and other wood. I haven't ordered on-line from them as they are in a driveable distance for me.

Richard

[Phil 9]

Cheers Richard.

Balsa Cabin seem to have the best selection online. However thier web site is not great and to order from them you need to send them a list by email then Phone them to pay. But having said that i have ordered most of the materials i need from them. And I would recomend them to anybody. Richard you are lucky being near them.

[Phil 9]

Well my first shipment of balsa arrived and I went to work cutting out the ribs.

I dont have easy access to a photo copier but i could print out copies on my ink jet printer. The ink does not transfer easy to the wood as you can do with a photo copy. So i made many copies and glues the paper pattern to the balsa and cut around that. Using a sharp craft knife I cut the pattern out.

I did not alow any extra for sanding off. As a result the ribs are not all a perfect match but are not far off. Will this result in a bad wing and should I scrap these ribs and try again or although not perfect wil they work ok. ( I am not trying to build a show winner just something that will fly).

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[hotspur]

Hi Phil

 Ribs from plans

There's got to be some method for those of us without access to non inkjet prints. (Print shop ?)

Same for producing the other half of  the wing ( one half only) common on plans. (eg Werewulf)

Same for cutting out fus sides etc.

What is it then ? Without wrecking the plan.

David

[Phil 9]

Hi David

I just came up with this solution by just utilizing what tools I had available ie I have an ink jet printer at home. From other threads I have seen most people use photo copies. For ribs the photo copy image can be transferred directly onto the wood using a hot iron or chemical solution.

But to build from a half plan or making fus sides (and you dont want to cut up your plan) you will need to reproduce it somehow. A photo copy service should be available in your local area.

I dont have all the tools i would like for this build. I cut my ribs by hand and as i said before that are not perfect. a band saw and power sander would have produced a neater result. Or using the sandwich method suggested (but you learn from experience).

I found the links below very useful

http://www.rc-airplane-advisor.com/balsa-wood-building-sequence.html

http://www.rc-airplane-advisor.com/airplane-plans-lacquer-thinner.html

[Phil 9]

Well I have started my first build and so far built the wings. I am pretty pleased with the results so far although not perfect. I made a few errors on the way but managed to over come them. The photos of the example model of the free RCM&E plan show it to be very well made. the wings are cover with a translucent material so you can see the fine wood work. Mine is not so neat and i am tempted to cover it in an opaque material. But i have found a good sanding can correct a few small erorrs.

[Phil 9]

I have another question for the experts.

The plan im working off is a V tail. I want to modify it slightly so the tail is a conventional one. (I believe you need a computerised Tx to mix the elevator and rudder on the V tail which I dont have).

I am wondering how much the rudder gets used because it would be simple for me to add a solid stabilizer without rudder control. Would this be a mistake and would my model be far superior with a rudder control.