I better not throw any weird "Easter eggs" in there as I was thinking of doing...!
Willy Nillies J3 Cub Balsa Build Along
- Thread starter Joker 53150
- Start date
I better not throw any weird "Easter eggs" in there as I was thinking of doing...!
chris398mx
Master member
wow, looks like the selection at the LHS!Last update of the night (probably). The webbing is cut from 1/16" with vertical grain as instructed, all glued in place and ready for covering. I'm super tempted to keep going on the covering, but gotta pack for some time on the road for work this week.
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@Willy Nillies, here's why I didn't want you to send the MIA sheet, I try to keep a good selection for building. It's nothing compared to stock for a commercial operation, but lets me keep busy! Sheet in various sizes, dowels, sticks, tapered pieces, ply, etc. I'm getting a little low on a few sheet sizes, but have no big construction plans on the horizon. For now. The storage racks were made from DFTB, possibly the last time I built anything with it.
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When you don’t have a LHS that carries supplies for builders you gotta stock up when you can! My local Menards carries a decent selection of sheet stock, so I normally cut my own sticks.
chris398mx
Master member
I never thought to look at Menards or other box store. I am surprised to hear they carry balsa, I will have to see if mine does as well.
I've got two near me. The closer carries bundles of 2 or 3 sheets in about 4 sizes, along with a decent selection of ply. The other Menards carries none, but it's a smaller store. Quality of the sheet I got is very good, it' was a medium weight selection, good enough for general use.
chris398mx
Master member
I built a balsa plane almost 30 years ago and couldn't get the flying part down, so gave up on the hobby till this spring when I bought a simulator and some FT foam planes. I can fly decent now and want to start to get into some balsa planes so I bought a ARF for my .91 saito and and astro hog kit to put together and one of the willy nillies Hummer 250's. If my local Menards has some balsa, what would be the most common sizes I should buy for stock?
1/16" and 1/8" should cover most of the needs. If you've got a "balsa stripper" you can cut your own sticks MUCH more easily than using a ruler, too. Some 1/8" light ply is often good to have. That could cover most of the bases for planes similar in size to the Astro Hog.
chris398mx
Master member
Thanks much!!
After re-reading your question, I assume you should have everything you'd need for balsa sheet with the Astro Hog or the WN kits. Are you planning to build from plans or just want some misc. popular sizes "just in case"?
chris398mx
Master member
yes, just in case and to make stiffeners or braces if needed. Just seams like it would be nice to have a little something laying around.
Got it, then I'll stick with my original answer. You may also want some thinner ply as well, maybe 1/16" or 3/32". Some 3/32" balsa isn't bad to have either. One or two pieces of each is fairly inexpensive and can get you out of a jam like I just had with my Willy Nillies J3 Cub build. One sheet of 1/16" was MIA, but the pieces cut from that sheet were all pretty easy to just make my own from stock sheet. Basically, you never know what you'll need till you need it.
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chris398mx
Master member
Got it. thanksGot it, then I'll stick with my original answer. You may also want some thinner ply as well, maybe 1/16" or 3/32". Some 3/32" balsa isn't bad to have either. One or two pieces of each is fairly inexpensive and can get you out of a jam like I just had with my Willy Nellies J3 Cub build. One sheet of 1/16" was MIA, but the pieces cut from that sheet were all pretty easy to just make my own from stock sheet. Basically, you never know what you'll need till you need it.
Part 7 is done, covering about half of the fuselage. I should have pushed through and finished at least the first layer, but called it a day early. Hopefully tomorrow I finish the blue for the fuselage, and can then move on to the accent.
For those wondering how much covering is needed, the Willy Nillies website says to order one color pack for the wing and one for the fuselage. From what I see, that's a good estimate and should give some extra material to fix any errors. Since I need to do almost the entire fuselage in blue I ordered two packs of blue and two of white. The covering is much cheaper than having to order more because I messed something up.
For those wondering how much covering is needed, the Willy Nillies website says to order one color pack for the wing and one for the fuselage. From what I see, that's a good estimate and should give some extra material to fix any errors. Since I need to do almost the entire fuselage in blue I ordered two packs of blue and two of white. The covering is much cheaper than having to order more because I messed something up.
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Willy Nillies
Elite member
Very Nice! Hazel will be happy!
I'm gonna have to try covering with my trim iron..... hadn't thought about that, just always grab a regular size covering iron.
Sincerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com
I'm gonna have to try covering with my trim iron..... hadn't thought about that, just always grab a regular size covering iron.
Sincerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com
For a fuselage this size I think it's easier, although the drag of the sock on my regular iron does help pull the covering when I'm doing the edges and I'll switch to that for the wing. Probably. I also noticed the trim iron doesn't give me enough of a heat-patch to really shrink the covering as well as a big iron or the heat gun, which is why I broke out the gun at the very end. A couple little wrinkles (my fault) were stubborn, but the gun took care of 'em!
Hmm, that looks tricky but I’ll give it my best shot! I still need to order the kit though!Part 6 is done, covering about half of the fuselage. I should have pushed through and finished at least the first layer, but called it a day early. Hopefully tomorrow I finish the blue for the fuselage, and can then move on to the accent.
For those wondering how much covering is needed, the Willy Nillies website says to order one color pack for the wing and one for the fuselage. From what I see, that's a good estimate and should give some extra material to fix any errors. Since I need to do almost the entire fuselage in blue I ordered two packs of blue and two of white. The covering is much cheaper than having to order more because I messed something up.
BATTLEAXE
Legendary member
You are gonna give balsa a try?! That's awesome man
Oh yeah man! I think it'll be my Christmas present. You are getting one of the kits too, right? Have you decided which one yet? I'm going with the cub since I'm a big fan of the Piper Cub style.
BATTLEAXE
Legendary member
I was looking at a site @SquirrelTail linked me to and i saw a Telemaster that i liked. 250US bones though...🙄
Ouch - that's a chunk!
