Some supply guidance on starting into balsa plane(s)

[Rich B]

I will be attempting my first balsa plane in the near future. I have only flown and repaired foam planes so this is all new to me. What items should an individual get to build, repair, and upkeep a balsa plane?

Heat gun
Sealing Iron
CA = thin, medium, and thick?
Epoxy = 10, 30 minute?
Thread locker = blue type
Hobby knife = lots of blades
Rubbing Alcohol
A cleaner to keep your plane looking new?
Speed square?
Throw meter?
Watt/power meter?
Adhesive tapes?

This is all I can think of at the moment. I know this is not much of a list; please edit this list as you see fit. Plus I do not know all the correct terminology.

If I missed a sticky on this I apologize. If one does not exist and staff feels that creating one to assist newcomers like myself would be beneficial please do so.

I know that I will have more questions to ask as I go along here, so please bare with me.

Thanks,
Rich B

 

[njswede]

Looking around in my man cave...

A good soldering iron (Weller if you can afford it. I have the Radio Shack digital soldering station and it's great as long as you immediately replace the junk tip it comes with)
Rosin core solder. You want a low temp solder when you solder deans plugs etc.
A multimeter
Needle nose pliers
Wire cutter
A GOOD set of precision screwdrivers
A rotary tool (I have the $39 cheapest Dremel money can buy and it's GREAT!)
A set of carving and cut-off attachments for the rotary tool
A good drill with quality bits down to 1/32"

 

[gyro]

Maybe add:

some fine, very fine, and super fine grade sandpaper. Helps keep covering looking smooth on repairs.

For the epoxy, 30 is good, gives you time to clean up the mess before it sets
Don't forget the medicine cups for measuring and Popsicle sticks for mixing

For CA, thin and thick usually work well for me. Maybe some accelerator and some eyedroppers for precise application.

A good watt meter is a must when trying different props and batteries. Many of our site sponsors offer nice ones.

 

[njswede]

Yes, you definitely want popsicle sticks! Michael's sells them in 1000 packs. Great for repairing when the inevitable happens.

 

[Enterprise]

Since I am in building mode at the moment here are some of the tools I used a lot today and yesterday.

Hot Knife for removing covering. Get them cheap at the female hobby stores. They are soldering irons with a exacto blade. Got this tip from one of the AJ videos.

Vice grips. You need these to hold lock nuts. Get them at harbor freight for the small kind.

A set of "Japanese" screw drivers. They have less angled tips so you don't constantly strip screws. I got my set from Central Hobbies.

A good set of hex head drivers. I have a set that were meant for RC cars. Heli tools are the same. Lots of metric cap screws in these builds.

Improvised plumb bob. A driver bit and some string.

Magnet pickup tool, for when you loose that screw in fuse or on the floor.

Good Velcro. I personally like 3M dual lock for a lot of stuff. They now sell it as All Weather fastener under the Scotch brand at Walmart.

Zip ties. Get the variety pack at harbor freight if you want to color code stuff.

If you want to keep your wheel pants in one piece on grass get fiberglass cloth and resin from the LHS.

Metric drill bits. Everything on these planes is metric these days. Either that or the numbered kind from again harbor freight.

 

[ghoffman]

Felt tip paint sticks, they look like a Sharpie but are paint. I use them to stripe screw or nuts to make it obvious if it rotates. Make the stripes all vertical, and you can immediately see if they moved.

 

[Rich B]

Wow this is great. I appreciate all the information, thank you.

 

[3Daddict]

All you really need is a micro fiber cloth to clean it with. Eagle 1 wax as you dry. That will take care of cleaning. then you want a good covering iron, and a hobby grade heat gun to take out wrinkles if you want to. I just leave them alone most of the time. Other than that it is just the same stuff you use on foam planes. And a bottle of thin CA.

 

[AtomicFlyer]

I will be attempting my first balsa plane in the near future. I have only flown and repaired foam planes so this is all new to me. What items should an individual get to build, repair, and upkeep a balsa plane? ...

Thanks,
Rich B

Rich,
It's just a personal preference, but I like to use wood glue (like Titebond) for balsa airframe repairs.

It's probably heavier than CA, certainly takes longer to cure, and you have to tape the joint or clamp it. But it sands pretty easy, doesn't stick to my fingers, and the fumes don't irritate my eyes. When I need an instant bond or have to wick glue into an already glued joint I use CA.

Marc

 

[Rich B]

Duly noted and thank you. I really appreciate everyone chiming in to assist me.