I think they actually had an over the counter product called "Liquid Bandaid".......super glue. ;)

I figured it was, but some folks just love to watch the steam coming off a fresh cut when you squirt a little CA o it! :eek:

You must use APC props. Those things slice and dice! I've always used wooden Zingers so the prop would break if I nosed it over or stuck a hand in. :cool: A little performance is lost, but the chance of breaking the plane and the skin are lowered a little...and I don't have to waste any CA. :p

Still do. We have some in the medicine cabinet.

Since this is a sticky I think I'm going to ask Eagle3 to pull this OT stuff out of this post and put it into FreeForAll as its own thread. Buzz, caould you do that for me when you have time?

I have ALWAYS used APC props on all my R/C planes; pattern, pylon, and sport as I'm never willing to give up ANY performance. They are MUCH stronger than wood as well....a minor touch to our grass field with an APC equals a grass/dirt mark on the prop, with a zinger it is a busted prop.

I DESPISE wood props for that reason.

I would also add some aluminum angles of various sizes (for drawing fin and launch lug lines). For micromaxx-sized projects, I use small brass angles.

Mark K.

It would also be a good idea to have a #2 Xacto knife (like the #1, but bigger and with a thicker handle) and a pack of #24 blades (identical to the #11 blades, but larger and stronger). I use mine all the time to cut balsa or basswood that is too thick for a #11 blade, but too thin for a razor saw. I also use it to cut thin (up to 1/16") aircraft plywood.

Also, a self-healing cutting mat, and a clear plastic mat. The latter is helpful to protect your work surfaces when you are gluing. (Especially for your self-healing cutting mat - you really, really do not want to get glue on that. Repeatedly replacing cutting mats gets pretty expensive.)

In addition:

- a box of craft sticks, a box of round toothpicks, and at least one dowel of every diameter that you can find. The craft sticks and toothpicks are indispensible for applying glue. The dowels have a gazillion uses, as you will find out.

- a box of nitrile gloves (usually colored blue or purple). These are much better than latex for protecting your hands from harsh chemicals and epoxy glue. And a pack of cheap white cotton gloves, for keeping fingerprints off of your newly painted models - after the paint has fully cured, of course! You can get both types of gloves at an auto parts store.

- a quart of acetone, and a bottle or three of isopropyl alcohol. The acetone is for cleaning up CA, and the alcohol dissolves and helps clean up uncured epoxy glue. It is helpful to have bulk quantities of both on hand, as you will eventually find out. (In addition to the commonly-found 71% isopropyl alcohol, Wal-Mart also sells 91% isopropyl, for the same price. Look for the bottles with the red label.)

- finally, a pack of dust masks, at least one pair of eye guards, and a good quality respirator. You will want to live long enough to become a BAR, and we want you to, as well.

Mark K.

One more thing I forgot - save your spent black powder engine casings - at least a half dozen of each diameter and of each length of the 24mm Estes engines. They have almost as many uses as the dowels. ;)

Mark K.

My wife brought me home a bag of wooden cuticle sticks used for doing nails. She bought them at a Sally Beauty Supply store. Always on the lookout for rocketry things (isn't she great?), she thought I could use them. They are about 1/8" in diameter with the ends flattened into spades. They are great for mixing epoxy and spreading glue. I've also used them for scraping paint to fix an edge where paint seeped under masking tape.

-- Roger

Cool tool
 

One of the things I use a lot is an Xacto mitre box. It can used for it's intended purpose but also for marking tubes for fin and launch lug lines. You can even use it to align the fin when attaching it as well,sometimes I don't even bother drawing the line. Of course,there's only room to do two fins that way. It comes in handy as a weight to hold things down and as a square or straight edge since it's machined out of aluminium. It's awesome for cutting balsa because you can really get a grip on it. The bottom has grooves that are perfect for holding dowels or launch lugs, and I imagine most people already have one.

Warning!
 

Ok,don't slice your finger off with this one,but I needed a very thin,sharp blade so I broke a disposable razor apart and took out a blade,it's so thin it will get between the cut lines of a fin sheet and flexible enough so it will conform to a body tube and slice a fin or lug off flush like it wasn't even there,should it be broken or crooked. Of course,it's also razor sharp!