Lightweight cramps

When modelling cramps have too small a reach and conventional G-cramps are far too heavy for the job, silicone guns can be used as a very effective solution. John Wheater

Bending wire

A scrap merchant or metal workshop will provide off-cuts of round steel tube. Take two pieces at least 2' long to give you sufficient leverage. Bash one side of the tube to make a V; this helps to stop the wire twisting around and makes life easier for the sitter! Mark the required bending point of the wire with a felt pen, insert into the tube, sit on it (or have a helper do that) then use the other tube to apply pressure. Don't try to do the bend in one go - if you overdo things it is difficult to reduce the bend. If you have a hydraulic jack, the handle is nipped at one end and has a rubber grip on the other, as seen in the pictures below, and makes life easier. With planning, even a complex shape can be achieved. Robert Ellis.

Lazy man's servo mount

There's a very strong, rubber-like adhesive called GOOP that I use to mount servos. It saves a lot of time and effort. If necessary, the servo can be pried loose with a bit of effort.

I use the "Household" version. I also use it to glue on canopies. I mark the outline of the canopy on the fuselage and then apply a thin bead on the fuselage and then press the canopy in place. Haven't had a canopy fly off yet! John Hanson.

Curing the droop

Standard wing construction on many models, particularly scale ones, has a 3/32nd rib capping strip running over the spar. When covering with fabric or film, the material tends to droop down, adhering to the spar and causing an unsightly dimple. The Glen Torrance printed WW1 Lozenge fabric recommends beeswax to rub on the spar and prevent this.

Even in this land of milk and honey, beeswax is hard to come by. Much more readily available are those little bits of soap left over in the washbasin. Dampen the soap and rub it on the spar - you can then iron or dope away with out any unwanted adhesion. Mike Hawkins.

Piano wire alternative

If you have a pair of Z benders, or needle nose pliers, ordinary welders copper coated welding rod makes reasonable control rod.
It's only mild steel, so not as strong or springy as piano wire, but easier to bend and solder. Nigel Rollason

Servo extension leads

In the old days I used to put an aileron servo in the center section and use push rods and bell cranks to work the ailerons. Control was often a bit "wooly".With the vast range of servos now available it is better to put a servo out in the wing, connected directly to the control surface. Electrical extension leads are then needed and the commercial ones are ridiculously expensive and almost always the wrong length.

A regular modeller will find it well worth while to invest in plug assembly kits, some heavy duty three way cable and a crimping tool. I got mine from Al's Hobbies, way back. [One source of a crimper, cable and connectors is here.]

The servo plugs into its lead somewhere inside the wing and if it comes unplugged, you have to cut the wing open to fix it. I tried tying them up with string - no good! Then various clamps, but the simplest and most effective fixer is a piece of 1/16th ply, 3/8 th inch x 2 1/2 inch, one notch at each end, with two nylon tie wraps as shown in the photo, right. Dr Mike Hawkins

Checking a tachometer

You have all have an electronic tachometer. Now the chances are, if it is working, it is accurate being electronic but how can you tell if it is accurate? Easy, hold it close to a mains powered light, tungsten or fluorescent or even one of these new fangled things and it should read 3000 rpm. Oh yes, it will pick it up. That's 50 revolutions a second and what does mains alternating current cycle at? 50 cycles. Quod Erat Demonstrandum. John Wheater

Cutting slots in hard wood

A few cut-off discs stacked to the needed thickness and mounted on the appropriate Dremel spindle makes a very effective 'dado' bit for cutting slots in hard basswood or ply formers, etc., to take stringers. If locations are not already indicated, they can be marked out by pinning a length of string from the first former to the last and then moving the string around the circumference of the fuselage for the rest. Franny Brodigan

Home made balsa strippers

John Hanson

Push rod installation

When installing pushrods into the model, use a piece of thin rosin-core solder twisted into a loop. Insert into the exit slot,rotate 90 degrees to allow the rod to be trapped in the loop, then pull through the slot. They may also be inserted by passing a length of suitable thickness undercarriage wire through the slot up to the cabin area, joining to the thread on the rod with a piece of spaghetti tube, or heat shrink tube [shrunk or not shrunk], thus allowing the pushrod to be pulled through the exit slot. Eric Wildermuth

DIY French curves

Thick rosin-cored solder may be drawn through the thumb and forefinger to straighten and harden it. It may then be shaped to the required curvature, in the absence of suitable French curves. Eric Wildermuth

Trial templates

Manilla folders have many uses, e.g., trial templates. If you want a symmetrical shape, then leave it folded, cutting the shape required. On opening out you will have a perfectly symmetrical template. Eric Wildermuth

Wax paper alternative

No picture needed. Save the clear backing from MonoKote. Nothing sticks to it. When wax paper is recommended use the large pieces from the wing covering of your last plane instead. CA melts the wax and sticks to the wax paper. Use the smaller pieces to mix epoxy. I've been doing it for years. Art Rothstein

Sheeting a wing

How do you apply the top sheeting to a wing? Easy. Coat the spars, ribs etc., with carpenter's (yellow) glue. Lay the sheet over the wet glue. This leaves glue on the sheet where you put it on the frame.
Remove the sheet. Add glue where needed. I use a small cheap acid brush to spread the glue. Let dry. Set sheet in place, and apply heat from a very hot iron. Don't ask me why but when cooled the stuff really holds. I use an old MonoKote iron set on high. I have only done this with 1/16" (1.5mm) thick sheet. Art Rothstein

Getting to grips

Here's a tip worth taking; buy yourself a pair (or two or three different sizes) of surgical locking forceps. You will be amazed how many times you use them, for holding plugs and leaving both hands free whilst soldering or retrieving servo wires from way down inside a wing or fuselage. You'll use them over and over for all sorts of things. Cheap too, try eBay, a long pair will only cost you a couple of quid. Uncle Willy's Tip Stall

Cutting thick plastic

The easiest way to cut thick plastic, particularly when it is an odd shape or you can only get to one side of the workpiece, is with a special cutting disc on the Dremel made of nothing more than thin card - the disc in the picture is cut from a Kleenex box. The heat from the spinning disc (set it on high speed) melts the plastic like a LASER. Very accurate and the cut is only as thick as the card you use. Uncle Willy's Tip Stall

Building a complex curved wing

This curved wing was made by firstly making a jig from expanded polystyrene foam; I used three thickesses of 2" foam glued together with PVA. The 'building surface' was then sanded smooth, and a layer of 1/16" sheet balsa glued to it, thus making a smooth(and curved )building board. Some wallpaper lining paper was pinned to that, and the outline drawn on it, and the spar positions and other details decided.

The build was fairly easy - spars were laminated and pinned to the board as were the tips. L.E. and T.E. were steamed. I used closer together ribs on the curves,so the covering wouldn't sag. The boring bit was the L.E. sheeting, which had to be done in small sections as neatly as possibgle. Webbing was used between top and bottom spar (essential), to keep the wing's curve after lifting from the board. All left on the board for a week or three when finished to maintain the curve. Covered in tissue and dope, again, in sections on the top surface; the underneath is easier. Use thinned dope to prevent distortion; return to the jig if necessary. Dave Prothero