Cheap tools

[Big Steve]

Just scored myself a brand new dritz scissors set. I was at Hancock Fabrics in Twin Falls. I was looking for some cheap nylon to use as peel ply. Did not have anything I liked. As I was walking out I looked over at the scissor rack on the bottom it had a box with the Dritz electric scissors the price tag said $30.00 I jumped on it I have been trying to buy these scissors on ebay for over a month never below $50.00 Any way that might be a place to try. The box I bought was the last one they had. I did get my 50" bid from Thayercraft Industries. It does not have any selvage to cut off. Paid $6.00 a yard and it was 50' wide cost 27.00 to ship it to Idaho from Florida. I am now working on finding a cheap Fein tool have one I am watching now. STeve

[Jon Matcho]

I was looking for some cheap nylon to use as peel ply. Did not have anything I liked.

I just ran out of my cheap-fabric-store nylon and went over to the stuff I ordered from Wicks. I'll never look for fabric store Nylon again. The Wicks stuff is thin, but strong, while the fabric store stuff was thick and required a little extra epoxy to use it. The thin stuff is sooo much easier to use. I never found that great of a deal on it anyway.

 

As I was walking out I looked over at the scissor rack on the bottom it had a box with the Dritz electric scissors the price tag said $30.00 I jumped on it

Now that's a deal. Wow! The Consew is $95 at Wicks.

 

I did get my 50" bid from Thayercraft Industries. It does not have any selvage to cut off.

That's a big roll of BID. My peel ply role is 50" and that's hard enough to use with the little space I have.

 

I am now working on finding a cheap Fein tool have one I am watching now.

Now you did it... let the cat out of the bag. More bidders coming online now...

 

Good luck!

[Nathan Gifford]

...working on finding a cheap Fein tool have one I am watching now...

Fein has started selling the tools via TV now. Some of the deals they have are pretty darn good.

[Big Steve]

What shows do they advertise for? I have not seen anything on them here in Idaho. Of course I do not watch a lot of tv either. STeve

[Jon Matcho]

Amazon has the MultiMaster 'start' version (single speed -- which is what I have) for $199. Add a 3 1/8" segmented HSS blade and you'll be set.

[bhassel]

It's $169 at Coastal Tools where I bought mine.

 

Coastal Tools

 

Bob

[Big Steve]

I just scored a non variable speed fein on ebay. I will probably get it in a week or so. What kind of blades do I need? I hope I like this tool I could have bought a lot of fiberglass for what I paid for it. STeve:rolleyes:

[Jon Matcho]

What kind of blades do I need?

Get a HSS (High Speed Steel) blade or two (different radiuses, and half-moon type -- or break-off a piece of one of the others). The stock steel blade works just fine too, but can bend. The other types of blades are not necessary, or at most, maybe nice to have.

 

I hope I like this tool I could have bought a lot of fiberglass for what I paid for it.

You just bought yourself happiness and joy, not to mention saved TIME. Let your parts cure 24 hours, then use the tool to clean up. Say goodbye to "chewing gum knife trim"!

 

Practice on junk pieces first. Saw lightly, making a small "starter trench", and then keep the blade moving. Try not to keep in one place too long or use too much force as it can burn the epoxy and melt the foam from its friction.

[Big Steve]

Jon:

 

I will let you know how it works when I get it. STeve

[macleodm3]

I bought a pack of three HSS blades at Harbor Freight for $9.99. They are the only blades I have for my ebay Fein, and they work excellent. They are a little small, but they cut excellent. The arbor fits my Fein (with the round mount, not the new star mount), but they might work on newer Feins too. Here is the link http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=42805

[Remi Khu]

Please keep us posted on the long term effectiveness of those HF blades. I strongly suggest wearing proper eye protection when using your Fein, especially with cutting a hefty piece like the gear strut legs or tabs.

[macleodm3]

Please keep us posted on the long term effectiveness of those HF blades.

So far I have used one blade to trim the front and back of the seatback bulkhead and to cut F22 and F28 out of foam. I have not had to spin the blade to a new cutting area yet, although this is relatively a small amount of cutting.

 

I strongly suggest wearing proper eye protection when using your Fein, especially with cutting a hefty piece like the gear strut legs or tabs.

I have gotten in quite a habit over the last 10 yrs. of wearing safety glasses for most any project (its required for anything at work except office work). I agree, what good is an airplane if you can't see clearly? We should all have safety glasses on.

 

One nice thing about the Fein may make bad habits with other tools... when you bump into the blade, it doesn't cut you!

[Big Steve]

I recieved my Ebay Fein tool today. A quick out to the shop to try it out. It only came with one blade a saw type thin blade. I just layed up the instrument reinforcements last night so I had a lot to trim. It does pretty good much better than trying to hack it out with a box knive. I think it would do even better if I get one of those smoothe carbid or high speed steel blades. I will now be looking for some of those. After it is all done I think I would have done better to buy the whole kit from the hardware store I save 40 bucks but have to buy that much in blades. The machine is in good shape though. I think I am going to be very happy with this purchase. STeve

[Remi Khu]

Sorry for the quick thread hijack...

 

Steve, nice web page. Just a note, your spam check may be malfunctioning. It did not allow my Guest book entry despite my 3 attempts at correctly spelling the spam check 'pass' word. Oh well...

[Big Steve]

Here is a cheap tool update. I think I would have been better off to just buy a brand new fein tool with the accessory kit. I just ordered cutting blades and a sanding tool for my new fein. They cost as much as the tool. I gotta figure out a way to make my own blades they are way to exspensive. I do know that this set up trims like a demon. I used the old saw blade that came with the saw and it trimmed so nicely that I know a brand new blade is going to do even better. STeve

[Delta Mike]

Hey Big Steve,

 

For what it's worth, thanks for starting the post. There has been good info in this string pointing to good deals on tools at Coastal and Harbor Frieght.

[argoldman]

Here is a cheap tool update. I think I would have been better off to just buy a brand new fein tool with the accessory kit. I just ordered cutting blades and a sanding tool for my new fein. They cost as much as the tool. I gotta figure out a way to make my own blades they are way to exspensive. I do know that this set up trims like a demon. I used the old saw blade that came with the saw and it trimmed so nicely that I know a brand new blade is going to do even better. STeve

Greetings Big,

 

If you have the saw that came with your unit and have ordered other blades, your blad stock will probably outlast the project. The plain steel ones seem to last forever themselves.

 

The little triangular sanding pads are a different story. They are plastic velcro type material.

 

One of the advantages of the unit is that it is a powerful sander, which you will see, however along with that comes creation of heat which, in the corners, if used heavily, melts the plastic and you then get less adhesion of the sandpaper and have to replace the pads ( I think I get 2 for about $13)

 

If they have a metal pad with adhesive paper, that might be a better deal.

 

Even though the cost is greater than I would like, The tool is so great that I am willing to put up with it.

[Big Steve]

Hey Big Steve,

 

For what it's worth, thanks for starting the post. There has been good info in this string pointing to good deals on tools at Coastal and Harbor Frieght.

Delta Mike:

 

Your welcome.

Unlike some of the builders on this forum I really cannot afford to own or build an airplane. Unfortunatly for my wife it is my main passion (dont take that wrong) I am doing this because it got me out of a funk I had been in since I sold may last project. Now I cant wait to get up and go work on or study about my cozy project. I do all kinds of welding, mechanical, machine shop jobs that is how I pay for my Habit. I could not afford the first aiplane I built but it flew great. Paid for my machine shop when I sold it. That is why I am always looking for a less exspensive way to do things. By the way Thayercraft ind. http://www.thayercraft.com/Style%207725.htm now has uni fiberglass at a killer price I will try some as soon as I run out of the acs uni I bought with my last order. I also figured out that if you by eze poxy from wicks in the 5 gal drums not counting freight and hazard fee it is by far the cheapest epoxy around. I also think eze poxy makes the best fuel tanks by far. Enclosed is a picture of my nose retract mech. I am working on. Think cheap STeve

[Big Steve]

I scored another cheap tool deal. Costco has this tool that looks just like a dremel it comes with a host of cutting, grinding and sanding bits. It cost a grand total of 19.99 I should have bought 2 but I think there are enough tools with this one to build a whole plane. I have used it to sand some corners on my bulkheads works pretty good. It does not drill very good though it has to much run out. This could be a bad drill bit though. I have enclosed a picture of the set. STeve