3D 20cc Giles 202 Profile

[BalsaDust]

Dude! You can really make hay!
What type of blade do you use on your CNC scroll saw? And how are you getting those nice perfect circles for the wing tube without tearing the balsa?

Actually I'm not using the blade I prefer on my saw. I think its like a 18 TPI somewhere in there. It does great cutting with the grain but cutting against the grain you have to go extremely slow to keep it from tearing out. As for the holes on my CAD file I put crosshairs in the center of each hole. i just mark the center and drill them out. The smaller ones are done with the proper sized forestner bit out of my Skill brand set and the main tube I have a special forestner bit that was ordered and is just a hair smaller than the outer diameter of my wing tube socket. Next I just lay all the ribs that have the wing tube going into them on top of each other and tape them together with the holes aligned. Then I have a sanding drum I put in my drill press and I use it to slowly sneak up on the final size. The trick is to do them all at once though. That way if you wonder to one side a bit you do it on all of them and the wing tube still lines up perfectly.

Tomorrow will see sticks getting glued together. Was going to cut all the 1/2" fuse pieces this morning but was out of 1/2" balsa. No worries though I just glued two pieces of 1/4" together.

 

[Snoopy1]

Looking good enjoying the information and thread.

 

[Alky6]

Actually I'm not using the blade I prefer on my saw. I think its like a 18 TPI somewhere in there. It does great cutting with the grain but cutting against the grain you have to go extremely slow to keep it from tearing out. As for the holes on my CAD file I put crosshairs in the center of each hole. i just mark the center and drill them out. The smaller ones are done with the proper sized forestner bit out of my Skill brand set and the main tube I have a special forestner bit that was ordered and is just a hair smaller than the outer diameter of my wing tube socket. Next I just lay all the ribs that have the wing tube going into them on top of each other and tape them together with the holes aligned. Then I have a sanding drum I put in my drill press and I use it to slowly sneak up on the final size. The trick is to do them all at once though. That way if you wonder to one side a bit you do it on all of them and the wing tube still lines up perfectly.

Tomorrow will see sticks getting glued together. Was going to cut all the 1/2" fuse pieces this morning but was out of 1/2" balsa. No worries though I just glued two pieces of 1/4" together.

What is the ideal blade (that you prefer)?

 

[BalsaDust]

This is the pack I normally buy when I go to lowes. I like the thinest of them which it's specs are saying is a 28 TPI. Currently I'm using the middle ones which are listed as 12 TPI. Basically though the thin ones have a really good cut but you can't use a lot of pressure or they will break as well as if you have the tension to tight they will break early.

 

[Alky6]

This is the pack I normally buy when I go to lowes. I like the thinest of them which it's specs are saying is a 28 TPI. Currently I'm using the middle ones which are listed as 12 TPI. Basically though the thin ones have a really good cut but you can't use a lot of pressure or they will break as well as if you have the tension to tight they will break early.

Was there supposed to a be a pic attached? Regardless, very much appreciate the info!

 

[BalsaDust]

https://m.lowes.com/pd/Skil-5-in-Pl...3Gz88mkGfhRvsDTR2tL3ojsLmwOTlpzhoCfFwQAvD_BwE



Was supposed to be a link. Sorry bud.

 

[BalsaDust]

Motor mount pieces cut and glued up. Figured this was the first piece I needed for the fuse so I should do it first before cutting any other pieces. Decided to use epoxy over wood glue and I wish I hadn't. So much more of a pain to work with and a good quality wood glue in my opinion is plenty strong in a plane this size. On another note just one thing to remember 1/8" ply isn't exactly 1/8" thick. Before gluing all this up I glued a piece of 1/16" balsa to the 1/4" balsa core. Once it was dry I had to sand just a bit of it off so that the layup would be 1/2" to match the rest of the fuse.

 

[BalsaDust]

Short kit is complete.

@Alky6 this is the difference in those two blades as I picked up some more of the good ones today. Both are cut across the grain. The left is the lesser tooth count blade and me moving slow making the cuts. The right is the better blade and I moved pretty quick cutting it.

Stab being sheeted on one side once cured I will trim it and sheet the other side as well

Stab and elevator

 

[FlyawayClyde]

Fast work.....

 

[BalsaDust]

Yeah slabs build quick.