These DIY techniques use ordinary house/shop gear to make useful tools for building and assembling RC aircraft. They’re cheap and easy, just the way we like!
EASY THIRD HAND
You can make a very useful third hand by just soldering together a wire coat hanger and an alligator clip. Try making two holders bent at a 45-degree angle, maybe some with the jaws filed off and balsa or foam pads glued to them. They can be custom made for any need and useful for soldering small pieces of wire, setting up assemblies and holding tricky glue jobs.
GET THE EDGE
Have you ever tried to separate the backing off some covering film and found it almost impossible to find an edge? Here’s a way to separate difficult covering film from the backing sheet. Attach a strip of masking tape to each side and create a handle on which to pull. You’ll find that sheet is much easier to peel apart now. If they don’t, just re-stick the tape down with extra pressure, and try again.
SURFACE HEIGHT GAUGE
This surface height gauge is perfect for checking your model’s alignment especially when comparing the wing and stabilizer alignment to each other. Use a brass tube and a sharp wire in a flip-up bottle cap. You can leave the cap on the bottle to use on larger models, just fill it with sand for stability. This setup is more convenient to use if the wire is bent as shown. Solder on an alligator clip to make a “helping hand” if needed.
MAKING THE RIGHT CONNECTION
Who doesn’t have a plane with loads of wires running all over? Need a simple and easy way to put some identification on those plugs? Here is a simple way to do it! First, print some letters on self-adhesive labels. Next, punch them out with any type of office punch and stick it onto the plug. Be sure to stick the same letter onto the matching plug that it needs to go into. Try using color labels, so you can add color-coding to the mix.
I like the label idea, I use the DYMO LetraTag LT-100H with different color tapes.