The 'What did you do in your workshop tonight?' thread

[Snoopy1]

Well got a start on the engine box. Some of the side plates in and the motor bulkhead in. Trying to build everything in to a wing is not straightforward. Have to get everything to fit between two ribs.

 

[Alky6]

I ordered once from National Balsa and never again. Very poor wood throughout the order. I miss Lonestar and order from Balsa USA now. I still sarcastically use balsa blocks from National as doorstops.
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Ah crap. I hope that won’t be the case with my order!

 

[dhal22]

Ah crap. I hope that won’t be the case with my order!

Sheets were split, warped and different colors. 2 x 4 x 24" blocks were too heavy to use. When I actually needed the wood and noticed the issues it was too late to exchange according to them. Bye bye.

 

[dhal22]

Have to agree with you just looked up the price of o a sheet of balsa 3/32 -3-36 it was $1.72 right now that same sheet cost me $4.11 so yes there is big price difference.

$4.11 Canadien? Plus more expensive there in general?

 

[stangflyer]

Balsa is very expensive. Built a ViperST awhile back and by buying it in pieces the cost more than 2 times the cost of an ARF. Scratch build is very expensive. Kits a lot better but not great cost wise. The cheapest is an ARF but do not get to build it all you end up doing assembling a number of parts and a week later you are done. The problem is that I love building and designing planes So we just have to pay.

There is a lot to be said for scratch building. If done correctly and with a little forethought in mind, quality strong and light Italian balsa can be had at an affordable price. It is always more expensive to scratch build. It is a never ending task from start to finish...I need this.... Oh, I need that....I better get some of these and I really should get some of those. Before you know it, you have a box full...(and I do mean a box "FULL") of partially cut, unused, un-needed at the time chunks of balsa, stripes of light ply and a variety of a combination of so many different types of wood, it is not funny. (Ask me how I know this) I have such a box that I actually broke down and downsized. And it is still a "VERY" large box full of wood. LOL. And yes, scratch building can be an expensive and long drawn out build. Kits are good. As long as the wood supplied is of quality nature. But again, you end up needing more wood for what ever reason and before you know it, you have a thousand dollar kit that started out at $169.99. (Ask me-or anyone that has not been happy with the design or wood of a supposedly quality kit) LOL.... I'd be willing to bet you have done the same thing too huh? LOL. Yes, ARF's are the way to go if you want a quality and inexpensive (and quick) built plane. They are great in their place. But if you want something really unique and really "YOUR" own, it's going to be a built from sticks plane.

 

[stangflyer]

View attachment 107276 Well got a start on the engine box. Some of the side plates in and the motor bulkhead in. Trying to build everything in to a wing is not straightforward. Have to get everything to fit between two ribs.

I just did a size comparison of your nose gear block. Wow, this is actually going to be a fairly decent sized flying wing isn't it Snoops? Very cool.

Sheets were split, warped and different colors. 2 x 4 x 24" blocks were too heavy to use. When I actually needed the wood and noticed the issues it was too late to exchange according to them. Bye bye.

DON'T LIKE BUTTON X49 times. Grrrr...that would piss me off.

 

[BalsaDust]

I have ordered from National before and most was decent some was crap and yes they are pricey. Switched to ordering from tower hobbies for a while as it was dirt cheap and was getting really good quality but the last two times I ordered it seemed more like oak that arrived. Switched up to SIG which is kind of middle of the road for price between tower hobbies and national but the quality is excellent and I can order it through my local hobby shop and support him. He gets it to me for the same price they sell it for online.

 

[Snoopy1]

I just did a size comparison of your nose gear block. Wow, this is actually going to be a fairly decent sized flying wing isn't it Snoops? Very cool.


DON'T LIKE BUTTON X49 times. Grrrr...that would piss me off.

It is not a smal Plane the wing area is 1475 square inches.

 

[stangflyer]

Niiiice.... so what's that in wing span inches? Hee hee.

 

[Snoopy1]

At last got the engine mounted to the plane. Now I can see all the difficulties I have put myself into by moving the motor backwards to help with the balance. Now I have to figure out how to in close the engine and make it look decent.