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minimum required tools


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I am a tool junkie, I am adicted to them, so I needed no extra tools to build.

 

The point is, very little is required.

 

A jig/saber saw

dremel

reversable drill motor

quarter sheet sander

level

hammer/screw drivers/torque wrench/files

6' aluminum ruler

tape measure

square's (speed and carpenters)

rotary fabric cutter

scissors

razor knife

hack saw blade

small hand saw(dove tail)

Sanding blocks

 

I think this about does it, anything this combo couldn't make in the plane?

 

Mike

maker wood dust and shavings - foam and fiberglass dust and one day a cozy will pop out, enjoying the build

 

i can be reached at

 

http://www.canardcommunity.com/

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  • 3 weeks later...

some one mentioned a swiss army knife and brush, well i use my pocket knife quite a bit, but never a brush, althou we did use a half of a mans comb in laying out the spars, i forgot that in my minimum tool listing, did i forget anything else?

maker wood dust and shavings - foam and fiberglass dust and one day a cozy will pop out, enjoying the build

 

i can be reached at

 

http://www.canardcommunity.com/

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Here's my 2 c on you're list:

 

>dremel

I went through THREE dremels during my project. When the third one died I spotted a Black & Decker clone that claimed more power and was half the price. $25. I bought it and I like it. The dremel can rev real fast, unless you ask it to do some work like cutting three ply of BID, then it slows down and the motor overheats. The B&D definately has more power, and it fits all the dremel accesssories. I beleive the fien tool is pretty good, but the B&D works for me.

Buy the little course sanding drums and big cutting wheels in bulk. You'll need a lot of them.

 

>reversable drill motor

Both cordless and corded. A right angle / flexible abitity comes in handy here and there. There are times when a small cordless drill would save time.

 

>level

The smart level is VERY nice and worth the cost. For installing the spar, borrow or buy a laser level.

 

>tape measure

You need one that has 1/10 divisions.

 

>rotary fabric cutter

I never used one. Scissors worked for me.

 

>scissors

A few pairs of cheap ones. The expensive sheers died in the first month.

 

>razor knife

And the razor blades recommended in the plans

 

>hack saw blade

Many

 

>Sanding blocks

I used belt sander belts wrapped around a piece of plywood cut just the right length so they were a tight fit. This was probably my most used tool.

 

Additional items I used:

Belt sander

conventional paint sprayer

plumb bob

epoxy pump (very handy)

voltage regulator for hot wire

grinder

holder for aviation drill bits (so you can find the right size quickly)

automotive hand sanding tool (2 ft * 2 in)

rolls of stick on sanding paper 180 and 320 grit

hair drier (four)

heat gun (as used for shrink wrapping)

torx 15 driver (and DO get the torx screws from microfastners.com instead of the plans phillips for anything that uses nutplates - rudders, aileron hinges, cover plates etc. etc.)

An organizer box for all the nuts, bolts etc.

Lots of mixing sticks, 8 ox mixing pots and 1 inch epoxy brushes

Some 2 inch brushes

a plastic bottle with lid to hold MEK and keep you're epoxy brushes in

A hot box for the epoxy and pump (make)

The bench, per plans with a shelf underneath

A rack to hold the fiberglass rolls

A fiberglass cutting board / area

I can be reached on the "other" forum http://canardaviationforum.dmt.net

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MEK is nasty stuff, very low flash point, we hide brushes in trash so dave will not clean.

 

We have expensive cleaner ($16 quart) we use for scissors/squeeges, i'll look up name (avial?), expensive but have not much used, and not harmful like MEK.

 

I used scissors until we tried rotory cutter, saves many hours, especially when doing sheer web and landing gear pieces.

 

Like cutting a pizza, fast

 

Mike

maker wood dust and shavings - foam and fiberglass dust and one day a cozy will pop out, enjoying the build

 

i can be reached at

 

http://www.canardcommunity.com/

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I've used MEK for 4 years without any problems. I dump the used brushs in a plastic bottle with a lid and an inch of MEK at the bottom. Next time I need a brush I remove one, wipe it off on the side of the bench, let it dry for a minute and its good as new.

A quick wipe with MEK on a paper towel removes old micro and flox so you can reuse the mixing cups and sticks.

 

A medium size bandsaw comes in handy from time to time.

I can be reached on the "other" forum http://canardaviationforum.dmt.net

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Well, my large band saw, daves medium bandsay, my large disk/beltsander and our small belt/disk sander and our

drill press's

router's

laminate trimmer

close quarter drill

unisaw

jointer

thickness planer

oscilating spindle sander

small med and large nailers

shaper

welders

air compressors

hmmmmmmm not wood work lathe not used on plane

router table

chop saw

skill saw

need i go on, I am a tool junkie

 

have all been used, but we could have got along fine without them!

 

Mike

maker wood dust and shavings - foam and fiberglass dust and one day a cozy will pop out, enjoying the build

 

i can be reached at

 

http://www.canardcommunity.com/

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John,

<... went through THREE dremels during my project ...>

How did your dremels fail? Mine have a single point of failure between the motor and the chuck that I've learned to fix quick and easy and cheeeeep with neoprene tubing. I've never had one burn up and actually *fail*. Just eat the flex connector.

 

I got away from MEK when I found out how nasty it is. Before that I got it all over me. Need to check stuff before I wallow in it :)

 

Got a contract on my TN house !!:) Jim S.

...Destiny's Plaything...

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I forget how they finally died. The variable speed switch was one offender. I fixed each one at least twice before dumping the damned things. To be fair on Dremel, they each did a lot of work, were heavily abused and left out in the Florida humidity. It would have been cheaper to buy a Fein tool up-front ... but then again... I would have abused that too. I tend to be a little hard on my toys and tools.

 

Congrats on the house, Jim.

I can be reached on the "other" forum http://canardaviationforum.dmt.net

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BTW, all those tools I mentioned are available to anyone who wishes to use them,m-f night or sunday unless sunday is plane day, then saturday. For building planes or furniture, I have had people from all over, even had a german kid (ok well to me 23 is a kid) for a year to build a chair and do other things.

Mike

Troy, MI

maker wood dust and shavings - foam and fiberglass dust and one day a cozy will pop out, enjoying the build

 

i can be reached at

 

http://www.canardcommunity.com/

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That is one of those things I don't understand ,is people who want to build an airplane with minimum tools.I have met so many people that have told me they want to start build an airplane but they don't want to spend a lot of money on tools,what!You'll probably spend close to fifty thousand dollars putting together a Cozy,so why not splurge on a few thousand for tools.Take pride in your plane,take pride in your tools.Think about it,we'll all be gone in a hundred years or so and maybe our airplanes will be gone to.But,when your grandchild picks up that wrench in the garage and asked your daughter what is this?bam!the stories start and the legacy begins,get it!

Joe Cygan

Cozy MKIV #1022

Southern California

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Well as a tool junkie, I understand your feelings, but I can understand the problem.

 

The biggest investment you make in building an airplane is time. The sooner you make that investment, the sooner you will have a plane.

 

The monetary cost of an airplane is usually backloaded, engine/instruments at the end, labor hours continious.

 

You can spend 1500(500 for plans and 1000 for materials) and keep yourself busy for quite a few hours.

 

I have been building for 4 1/2 years and enjoy it greatly, family life hasn't suffered and monetary expenses drip out, a great schedule.

 

I can afford to go faster from a monetary standpoint, but not from a time standpoint, nor do I care to. So instead of spending thousands of dollars on tools that don't need to be bought, spend it on plans and supplies and GET BUILDING.

Let the fun begin!

Mike

maker wood dust and shavings - foam and fiberglass dust and one day a cozy will pop out, enjoying the build

 

i can be reached at

 

http://www.canardcommunity.com/

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... I threw out all my father's old rusty, UN-grounded, lead painted tools I inherited from his last relocation. Will my grandchildren want to fix their flying car with anything but the latest plasma powered electron balancer? I like good tools but I don't have any expectations that they will be usefull beyond my lifetime.

This ain't rocket surgery!

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  • 1 month later...

We have two smart levels, a 24" and a 48". The 48" is used the most when you are leveling the fuselage side to side and fore and aft. You need the length to cross over the longerons. You could get by using a staight board and setting the level on top of it. A small one like you are talking about would be handy also.

Dave #656 & #591.

Attatching vertical stabilizers to 4 wings.:)

Dave Clifford

"The Metal Man" Musketeer

Vise grip hands and Micrometer eyes!!

 

Cozy MKIV Plans #656

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For extending the smart level, I purchased an inexpensive four-foot aluminum level at the local hardware store. It is I-beam construction, with a center web wide enough for the smart level to fit between the flanges, and with openings through which the smart level can be attached. On occasion I have removed the smart level and used it by itself when the four-foot level was too big or too clumsy.

Paul Kuntz

Cozy MKIV

England

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Thanks for the info... I had thought about the possibility of using the smart level with the I beam levels I 've already got... Like you have done Paul. I could just use velcro to hold the smart level in place "inside" a standard I beam level. It appears that the smart level is routinely zeroed anyway. Thanks!

Andrew Anunson

I work underground and I play in the sky... no problem

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What's the best place to get a smart level? Home Depot didn't even know what I was talking about. For that matter, the first guy I talked to didn't even know where the levels were; he led me to plumbing before I re-directed him to tools. I felt pretty silly when he pointed them out, right there on the wall in front of me. Duh.

 

One of their tool guys gave me a pretty good pitch on a laser level, and he had me going until I explained exactly what I was building with the toys, er, tools I was asking about. At that point I think he decided I was a nutcase and wasn't going to buy anything, and ignored me from there on out. He was half right. I got frustrated with being ignored and left without buying anything. Too bad, I was about ten seconds from biting on that laser level.

Evan Kisbey

Cozy Mk IV plans # 1114

"There may not be any stupid questions, but I've seen LOTS of curious idiots..."

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I ordered mine from Aircraft Spruce. The one they show in their catalog is exactly what I have, except they used to offer it without the "rail". The Smart Level sensor is contained in the 6-inch long unit. It splits apart, held together by two threaded studs, and can be easily be clamped on a standard aluminum carpenter's level as I described in my earlier post. You don't need to use velcro -- the smart level unit is simply sandwiched over the center web of the aluminum level.

Paul Kuntz

Cozy MKIV

England

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