Tools

Now that I have been building a while, I feel better about making a somewhat informed comment on the issue of tools. These are in addition to your standard hand tools, drills etc.

• Epoxy pump……in a word, GET ONE. The time and convenience factor is well worth it. I suppose there are some self proclaimed "purist  that would never consider anything but a scale to weigh everything. I cannot imagine doing so. In that vain, it would partially explain why some take 9 years to build their plane.
• GOOD, quality sandpaper.  I have really been impressed with the "Norton 3X" available at Home Depot.  It claims to last three times as long and not to clog.  I am amazed that is does NOT seem to clog and last a good long time.  Even though I am a BIG fan of Harbour Freight, this is not where I would get sandpaper.  The good stuff makes a world of difference.
• Shop Vac: This must be my most used tool. You always seem to be using it to vacuum up dust from sanding and cutting.
• Dremel …oh, sorry, I mean a rotary tool. This is great for sanding down fine contours and for cutting into fiberglass. There is a cutting tool that is carbon or diamond (not the brittle cutters used for cutting metal etc.) that is great for cutting smaller areas of glass. I gotta remember it is GLASS I am cutting and not cloth or plastic. It helps explain why certain cutting tools become dull very quickly.
• Rotor-Zip: The drill type cutting tool is ok. What I like is the grinding options. The sanding tool blazes through glass and helps form a shape very quickly and accurately. This is great to remove excess from lay-ups. I have had a problem with the Rotor-Zips durability. I have gone through two. I don’t think they like all the sanding dust. I blow them out with compressed air, but the electrical system seems to be wanting. Also, I had one grinding adapter fail, in very moderate use. Still a very useful tool. I finally got a new air compressor and hopefully its grinders will do much of the same thing.
• Tool box: This may not be an actual tool, but I was surprised how much a good rolling tool chest helped my building process. I always wanted one, but was always bothered by the price. Well, Sears had a good sale on a three tiered Craftsman unit and I finally gave in. It really has helped being able to go to the appropriate drawer and find the correct tool….I even tend to make the effort to put them back in the right place.
• Electric Screwdriver: I really like the Black and Decker that has a changeable angle. This may seem like a pure frivolous item, but it is great for relief of the tedium of screwing and unscrewing while getting things to fit correctly (great for around the house too…as is most of these tools. I tend to get a lot of "honeydos  as well as airplane building).
• TV/TIVO/VCR: I like to have background noise….it helps me focus (I am a product of open concept school….I think this is a byproduct.) Also, I can review builders tapes in between watching Discovery Wings and TechTV.
• Broadband Access: I have a old 350 mgz personal confuser in my hanger (garage). It is great for quick reference to other builders sites.
• "Pizza cutter  rotary razor cutter: This tool is soooooo much better than cutting glass with shears or scissors. It does not tend to pull or snag and makes very precise cuts very easily. This is the same tool you can get at any fabric shop. Velocity recommends using an unpainted hollow wood door on saw horses for working on and I have found this to be great to cut glass on. The door is easy to move around which is helpful when building in a two car garage.
• Suspended roll-up extension cord: This is very convenient as it provides plugs just where I need them.
• Fans: Ok, I am in Houston so this is actually a necessary item, actually items. We have several. I even bought a portable A/C a while back.  I have put a duct on the front to vent the cool air into the planes interior while working inside. The A/C has limited ability in the large hot hangar.
• Sharpie pens: I suggest having several around the shop in different places. They have light ones now for marking on darker surfaces. Always good to have around or in a pocket.
• Nicopress:  Used to crimp the "sleeves" onto the control cables.  The sleeves hold the cables into a loop so a bolt can be put through them for the cable connections to the rudder controls.  This is NOT an everyday tool.  I hear you can get them at some sailing stores as they are used in sailing.  But, they can cost a couple of hundred dollars.  I got mine off eBay for $35.00.
• Power Sanding Tools.  This may be sacrilege for some in the composite world who may consider themselves "purist" by hand sanding everything, but I have found careful use of power sanding tools to give a big time savings.  Tools like a inline air sander and an orbital sander.  Yeah, be careful not to be too aggressive, but the folks at the Velocity factory tell me they use them routinely.  IMHO, start with the power sander, than finish up by hand.  So far is seems to be working well for me.