What kind of paint sticks?

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
I have been to Ace and Lowes and both of them have bowed paint sticks, I can find any flat paint sticks anywhere. Can anyone tell me where to order or find paint sticks for scratch building? Thanks...
See picture, bowed badly...

IMG_2176.JPG
 

fixnfly

New member
In home depot there is a craft woods section. They have poplar and oak varieties of that size of wood and I believe they are kiln dried so they don't have as much warping. Other sections of the lumber stores have wood lath stock that is also that size. I think the lath is usually ceder. Craft stores also usually have a bass wood sections that have craft grade ply and sometimes balsa. You also have a couple of nice hobby stores up in Seattle there that carry a good selection of woods for scratch building.
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
Thanks, I have spent too much time looking so far. I saw some balsa wood that is the right size at Tower Hobbies in the Seattle area, but wasn't sure if it was strong enough?
 

SP0NZ

FT CAD Gremlin
Staff member
Admin
Moderator
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Pro Tip: I use wooden yard sticks that you can buy from most DIY/home improvment/hardware stores and even Walmart. They cost about a dollar IIRC. One really handy feature with them is you don't even have to measure and mark a cut...they come pre-marked for you. ;) They are almost exactly the same width and thickness as the paint sticks that come in the FT SBKs.
 

fixnfly

New member
Thanks, I have spent too much time looking so far. I saw some balsa wood that is the right size at Tower Hobbies in the Seattle area, but wasn't sure if it was strong enough?

What are you trying to build? Take a look in the balsa builder section, or search for balsa aircraft. Every type of wood works for a particular use.
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
Scratch building another storch fuse. The speed build Storch only has a few crashes left in it...loL. I like the yardstick solution!
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
Found some at McLondens hardware! Didn't try HD. Also bought a yardstick for .99cents. Should have enough material now for a few planes...Come on Lowes and Ace don't you know we use paint sticks to build stuff?
 

fixnfly

New member
Scratch building another storch fuse. The speed build Storch only has a few crashes left in it...loL. I like the yardstick solution!

If you want to stick with all wood, I would use a combination of lite ply bulkheads and balsa sheeting with a few bass wood square stock stringers on the corners for impact strength. Even if you want to build the fuselage like a tank, there will still be places where balsa is the best material.

For that aircraft though I would just recommend building a new fuselage from the plans and reinforcing the parts that broke the most with some wood ranging from skewers to 3/16" square bass wood stock at the largest. You only need to reinforce it with wood in the areas that broke or crushed the most during crashes. A little strength goes a long way, while a lot of strength just adds weight and can actually cause the impact of crashes to increase more then the strength. Another way to increase the strength in some areas is to add Styrofoam or EPP gussets and embed very small fiberglass or carbon strips for strength. Very small fiberglass and carbon strips actually add more strength then wood because they will bend with the foam rather then break during a crash.