Tips from a newbie Readi board builder.

[model14]

I am on my 4th plane build using Readi board and Flite Test plans. I thought it would be helpful to other new builders to post some tips and tricks I've learned in the process over the past several months.

1. All Readi board is not the same in thickness. Watch out for this especially if your building wing halves that you're going to butt and glue together. I bought a case of 20 from Dollar Tree and the variation in thickness is significant.

2. Go over all exposed outside foam edges with Elmer's white glue using a small brush. This adds greatly to abuse defense.

3. Don't use a "mini" glue gun even for small joints. The glue doesn't get hot enough and dries too fast. I would use a minimum 100 watt gun and the 1/2" sticks. With practice you can learn to distribute small amounts of glue from the bigger gun.

4. Buy a 100 cheap Exacto blades and change then frequently. In building an FT mini. I probably go through 10 blades, or so.

5. For cutting out pieces from the plans I have tried most all methods. I have been most successful laying the cutout part plan on the board, pinning it down with push pins, and cutting through the plan. Use Scotch tape where necessary to keep the part plan in place until through cutting. Yes, you destroy the plan, but you can just print another one out at hardly any cost. Be careful to keep the knife blade vertical when cutting.

6. To cut non-straight lines, curves, etc., make your cutout piece from a small board piece so you can rotate it to give you a more comfortable cutting position.

7. I found that for some Readi board (not from the case I bought) the paper doesn't come off easily, or not at all. If you part requires removing paper, test your board first.

8. Vinyl adhesive-back 12" x 12" sheets are great for colored designs. They are cheap and very light.

9. No matter how hard you try, no two cutouts of the same piece are identical. Plan ahead knowing that. A classic case is fuselage sides. When you do your fold of two fuselage sides and the bottom piece, make sure you lay a straight edge across the top of the two fuselage pieces and check squareness. Make corrections before gluing.

Hope this helps someone. Here is a pic of latest build (Simple Scout):

 

[tomlogan1]

I am on my 4th plane build using Readi board and Flite Test plans. I thought it would be helpful to other new builders to post some tips and tricks I've learned in the process over the past several months.

1. All Readi board is not the same in thickness. Watch out for this especially if your building wing halves that you're going to butt and glue together. I bought a case of 20 from Dollar Tree and the variation in thickness is significant.

2. Go over all exposed outside foam edges with Elmer's white glue using a small brush. This adds greatly to abuse defense.

3. Don't use a "mini" glue gun even for small joints. The glue doesn't get hot enough and dries too fast. I would use a minimum 100 watt gun and the 1/2" sticks. With practice you can learn to distribute small amounts of glue from the bigger gun.

4. Buy a 100 cheap Exacto blades and change then frequently. In building an FT mini. I probably go through 10 blades, or so.

5. For cutting out pieces from the plans I have tried most all methods. I have been most successful laying the cutout part plan on the board, pinning it down with push pins, and cutting through the plan. Use Scotch tape where necessary to keep the part plan in place until through cutting. Yes, you destroy the plan, but you can just print another one out at hardly any cost. Be careful to keep the knife blade vertical when cutting.

6. To cut non-straight lines, curves, etc., make your cutout piece from a small board piece so you can rotate it to give you a more comfortable cutting position.

7. I found that for some Readi board (not from the case I bought) the paper doesn't come off easily, or not at all. If you part requires removing paper, test your board first.

8. Vinyl adhesive-back 12" x 12" sheets are great for colored designs. They are cheap and very light.

9. No matter how hard you try, no two cutouts of the same piece are identical. Plan ahead knowing that. A classic case is fuselage sides. When you do your fold of two fuselage sides and the bottom piece, make sure you lay a straight edge across the top of the two fuselage pieces and check squareness. Make corrections before gluing.

Hope this helps someone. Here is a pic of latest build (Simple Scout):

Take a small cloth, pour some denatured alcohol and rub lightly on the paper. It will come right off with none remaining.

 

[model14]

Great tip, I'll try that.

 

[model14]

I have trouble cutting hinge line bevels without breaking through the paper at the hinge line. My problem is a shaky hand and not seeing the line clearly enough to avoid cutting through. I fixed that problem by drawing a black pen line along the hinge line and a line 3/16" from the paper edge (assuming you want a 45 deg bevel).

. Using the two black lines as a guide, I can now cut my beveled hinges like Bix.

 

[dap35]

I have trouble cutting hinge line bevels without breaking through the paper at the hinge line. My problem is a shaky hand and not seeing the line clearly enough to avoid cutting through. I fixed that problem by drawing a black pen line along the hinge line and a line 3/16" from the paper edge (assuming you want a 45 deg bevel). View attachment 231439 . Using the two black lines as a guide, I can now cut my beveled hinges like Bix.

I go one step further and just cut through the paper on that back line. That helps guide the blade as I make the cut.

 

[model14]

I have trouble cutting out multiple identical parts (especially fuselage sides) for a good match. I came up with a trick to help me out.
For making a pair of matching parts, cut a score line on the opposite side of the board which matches a straight edge on the master part, then fold it over and cutout out the second part. This works great for fuselage sides as shown in the photos. Use sandpaper on the paired parts to cut a perfect match. For fuselage sides just glue the score cut back together. Hope this helps someone. If you are sketching out a new design not from plans (as in the pictures), this works great.

 

[model14]

 

[model14]

 

[model14]

 

[Foamforce]

For cutting bevels, place the piece along the edge of a table. Hold the knife, blade up, between your thumb and index finger. Then hold your middle knuckle right under the edge of the table, pushing slightly upward, and let it ride along the table. That keeps keeps your hand in the exact position for the entire cut, like using a fence on a table saw. I get near perfect bevels this way.

 

[model14]

I have found that the green, 1" thick craft foam (24"x24"), sold at Lowes is an excellent adjunct to building with foam board. It is super light, sands and cuts well, and is not not messy like Styrofoam. Give it a coat of water based paint and then you can use enamels on top. I use it to make canopies, turtle backs, wing tips, cowlings, etc. One minor caution. It will melt if the glue gun tip touches it, or you put on too heavy a glue bead.

 

[XSrcing]

I have found that the green, 1" thick craft foam (24"x24"), sold at Lowes is an excellent adjunct to building with foam board. It is super light, sands and cuts well, and is not not messy like Styrofoam. Give it a coat of water based paint and then you can use enamels on top. I use it to make canopies, turtle backs, wing tips, cowlings, etc. One minor caution. It will melt if the glue gun tip touches it, or you put on too heavy a glue bead.

Is that XPS like the pink Foamular sold at HD?

 

[model14]

Actually the green Lowes board is Kingspan not Dow...Dow is blue. Pink is Owens Corning Foamular. Both are extruded polystyrene... and essentially the same for our purposes.