TIPS & TRICKS

Model Airplane News, Jul 2004 by Messing, Tom, Suberk, Levent, DeCap, Charles, Bubello, Robert

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FAR REACHING

Sometimes you need to drill a hole in a place that your drill bit can't quite reach. A way to extend the bit's length is to use a fiberglass arrow shaft as an extension. A couple of drops of thin CA will securely hold the drill bit in the shaft. You could also use brass tubes of various diameters to accommodate bits of different sizes. just be sure to plug the open end of the tube with a dowel so you don't crush the tube when it's chucked in the drill.

Tom Messing, Buffalo, NY

HELPING BAND

Trying to hold a soldering iron and solder and also keep two pieces of electrical or music wire steady while soldering them together can be quite a balancing act. A simple "third-hand" jig can be made from two blocks of wood and some clothespins. Cut off the fronts of the clothespins to shorten them, and file grooves in them for various sizes of wire. Then epoxy the clothespins to the blocks of wood.

Levent Suberk, Bursa, Turkey

RECYCLED WRENCH

On lots of park flyers, a small nut is used to secure the prop to the prop shaft. It's a good system, but finding a metric wrench small enough to fit the prop nut can be a challenge. The next time you break one of those orange props, don't throw it in the trash bin because you can make a wrench out of it that fits the prop nut perfectly. File or sand down the broken section of the prop all the way to the hub, and your prop wrench will be ready to use.

CharLes DeCap, East Moline, IL

FIRMING UP

A mini sander is a great tool for smoothing out the rough spots on your latest project. It's small enough to get into tight spots yet large enough to sand larger areas. To make the sarider more versatile, cut a piece of 3/2 2-inch-thick hard balsa or plywood that is the same width as the sander, and slide it between the sandpaper and the rubber pad. This will give you a sanding block that has a hard surface on one side and a soft surface on the other.

Robert Bubello, Meriden, CT