The Starlet Home builder's Tools and Stuff

By David W.S. King

Ask five builders what tools they think you should get for your project and if they don't give you at
least ten answers then your not talking to the right bunch. The thing is most of the time what they will
tell you to get for tools will probably be right for someone. However not everyone builds fine furniture
as a hobby or puts a roof on the neighbors house on a Saturday because they have nothing better to do.
So we need to look at our skill's, our budget, and ambitions, basically this is going to follow the process
you took to choose your home built. You need to look at the part your building and then work out the
various ways to build it. If you think this looks a little long it might be. Just remember that I've done
the research for you and am trying to make sure you get the whole picture so you can make informed
choices. I've also done the ...grimace "Oh sure I don't mind if you borrow that... can I get you to sign
this receipt, and I need fingerprints and a blood sample........"
The Starlet can be built with a sheet of sandpaper, a hacksaw and a bottle of glue. If you go and try
build it this way let me know and I'll be out of town when you come to visit. The Starlet can be built
this way but would you really want to? It will take you longer to build and you won't wind up with a
better airframe than someone who cheats and uses the odd power tools.
Tools generally fall into several categories. Tools that you can buy, beg, borrow, or steal (if you get
caught don't blame me ). When your making up your tool list you need to consider all avenues to get
the use of tools. I purchased my airframe wood and graded it according to spec. The wood came rough
cut from the kiln in full size 2"x10" in 12 foot lengths. I sorted and graded the wood then cut it down to
rough dimension then finish planed it to final. I had looked at buying a thickness planer and a table
saw. I also own a 1928 Olympic Star sailboat which is all wood and was thinking I would reuse the
tools on a restoration. However the cost of the planner was over $500 and a table saw was easily $800.
What I wound up doing after looking for used equipment, was to buy a cheapy jobber table saw $150
and take the rough cut wood to a local cabinet maker for final planing. I spent a couple of hours setting
up the table saw so it cut straight and making guides and have had great results. I think my total planing
cost paid out was around $28.
On metal parts I have some sheet metal tools and a gas welder but not much else. I purchased a variable
speed 16" band saw on the cheap $135 (what else ;-]) and purchased some large tooth blades for cutting
the metal. It's worked great on both aluminum and 4130. The only problem I've had is when I just got it
setup and my dad decided it would work pretty good to cut up a side of beef. I'm not sure how beef fat
affect glue joints but I really didn't want to find out. And since I wasn't going to get any steaks out of
this deal, I accidentally lost the safety key and it wouldn't work.
As far as heavy machine work such as the gear legs, I left that to a machine shop. I looked at cutting
and finishing it the legs but wasn't satisfied with any test parts. I've heard of people getting good results
at home so you have to decide which way to go. If your unsure I'd spend some money.
I won't mention people who tried to borrow brand new finish saw's to cut old wood (with nails and
concrete) but you should get the idea by now. It's ok for you to beg borrow or steal tools but NEVER
let anyone touch yours ;-] Cheap or second hand tools will perform quite well with a bit of a tune up on
them. You might get an electric drill that needs a new cord for $5 at a garage sale, or a saw that simply
needs sharpening. Once they get tuned/fixed they work just as well as that shiny new $150 drill. Do a
bit of research before you put your money down new or used and you'll never regret it. Just remember
the money you save now pays for gas for flying and those $100 hamburgers on Sunday mornings.
As I mentioned there are several places to get information about tools. One is of course other builders
of the design. Usually they will find shortcuts that save time and money. Sometimes they find a few
that take longer and cost more too, so take all advice with a grain of salt. Other sources might be
builders of similar aircraft construction, for example the KR series of aircraft is a glued up wood truss
airframe that has some similarities to a Starlet. You might find some information from the many on line
mail lists or web pages. I'd also check with your local EAA or equivalent chapter to see who has built
wood aircraft. If you look around your local airport you might find lots of wood airframes i.e.
Cavaliers, Jodel's, MiniMax's, Osprey's etc. Between the EAA and local builders you should get lots of
help unless you try and borrow tools.... The next step is to ask a few professionals as to what they
would recommend. You can ask your local airframe mechanic but its unlikely he's touched wood
airframes since leaving school. I would go to a local cabinet maker or something similar and ask. I'd be
cautious about telling him about your airplane until he's comfortable with the idea. If he is then I'd buy
him a cup of coffee and only then drag out some blueprints and see what he thinks. The fellow who did
the thickness planing for me got very interested in the Starlet and both he and his son have helped out
answering how to questions since. I've had people tell me they didn't want anything to do with an
airplane because they didn't want to get sued. That's the reason I caution you about your approach. I've
tried explaining how they were mistaken, but found it wasn't worth the effort as they were so concerned
about this, they wouldn't be swayed by any discussion. If you run into this then gracefully withdraw
and talk to someone else. If worse comes to worse and you can't find anyone I'd buy all of Tony
Bingillis's books and get the EAA book on wood aircraft. All of those are worth every penny and more.
Well I've pattered on about finding information, and not letting anyone borrow tools. So now its time to
list some. What you will find is there are three big class's of tools you will use. The first is tools that
you simply cannot do with out. These are the tools you will use all the time and need to have at hand.
The second are tools that you will need to use a few times or have access to. The third generally falls in
the "if I ever win the lotto..." category. Basically what happens is you have to spend money or time on
the project. You can cut the wood with a hacksaw but a bandsaw will make short work of it. One cost
$5 and the other $150. One will take many hours to cut the parts and the other a few minutes. This is
really the difficult part of project tools, balancing the actual needs verses the desires. My basic rule of
thumb for this decision goes like this: If I start out by saying "I need this tool so I can build this part
and that one...." I'd say I have a genuine need for it. If I hear myself saying "if I had this I could use it
for this and that" then I really don't need it now. If I hear myself asking" and how much for that extra
part that makes espresso?" I should go and work on my lotto numbers some more.
Category 1 Tools These are generally small inexpensive hand tools (which is good). And includes
things such as hammers, clamps, pencils, razor knives, rulers. It will include some consumable's such
as sandpaper's, and hacksaw blades.
Tabletop Power Tools
These are basically small inexpensive tools. They are mainly table top tools or jobbers tools.
For example my table saw is a jobber's saw. All of these tools can be carried by one person and
are easily stored. They do lack some of the features of the full size equipment but they are quite
capable of doing the job and will save you quite a bit of money. They also will run on any
household outlet so no special wiring is required. The biggest difference you will find is the
table or work areas are smaller and you can find them available in a cast top or a sheet metal
top. Stay away from the sheet tops. They can flex around and ruin accuracy and you can't clamp
things down with out extra care. Full size will have a steel top but these small ones normally
have a cast aluminum top. This is fine for us as we aren't going to be doing the workload
expected of a bigger machine.
BANDSAW
Bandsaws come in a few shapes and sizes. Basically in two styles, 2 or 3 wheel. The small table
tops are generally 3 wheel with the odd 2 wheel out there. You probably have seen both types
and wondered about the difference. The three wheel is made to give a deeper throat so you can
cut wider parts. A two wheel would require large wheels to separate the up and down blades. #
wheels are smaller and lighter. I've heard people say the two wheel is better but that generally
seems to be a commercial application. I think the two important things to look for in a band saw
are the guide setup and it having a variable speed setup. The guides will make the difference
between making good accurate cuts and having a blade wonder during the cutting process (not a
good thing). The two styles of guides are either steel rubbing blocks ( or guides) and roller
bearings. There is now question that the bearing setup is far better even if its a bad one. A
rubbing block setup will work but when it goes off there isn't much warning and your cut (and
part) could be ruined. The variable speed lets you cut different materials and get the best cut.
For example cutting Plexiglas will not use the same blade or speed and cutting aluminum.
BELT SANDER
Belt sander come in two styles, handheld and bench models. I have a handheld but not a bench.
I've found I can duplicate what the bench top does using the handheld or my table saw (with a
sanding disk). I think the handheld gives you a lot more versatility as you can work or rework
parts on the plane or else where. Then only advantage to a benchtop model I know of is that it is
better of sanding long curves like a rib. The table and position let you make long smooth
movements. The sanding disk on the table saw duplicates this pretty well.
BENCH GRINDER
I'm not sure this is an essential tool on a wood airplane. Other than perhaps grinding the tubes
for the motor mount I can't see anything it will do that can't be done on something else. If the
Starlet was a tube and fabric machine this would change. For shaping parts like the hinges this
will come in handy but its not the only way to do those.
DRILL PRESS
A drill press is one of those things you don't appreciate until you have one. An import press will
run around $100 but will pay for itself many times over in higher quality of parts and versatility.
A table top press and most low end floor models use a small 1/2-3/4hp motor and belt drives.
They will have an adjustable table that will probable move up and down to accommodate large
parts, and it might also tilt. It should have an adjustable depth stop as well. The problem with
small drill press's will be the power, the size of the table, and the size of the chuck. Again this is
something you don't have to buy expensive brand names if you check things out. I use mine for
drilling and sanding things. You can get a drum sanding kit. This looks like a baby food jar on
the end of a drill. A tube of sandpaper slides around the drum and you then can sand parts. You
can also put mill bits in a drill press and do light machine work. A word of caution that this can
wear the bearings out but it does work as long as you don't push it. Just as a cautionary note,
you will need an electric hand drill, but try to sty away from those drill press fixtures. These
convert a hand drill to sort of a drill press. They work ok on small and light parts that require
small holes. But if you try and drill something heavy or hard or both you are asking for trouble.
They are not strong or stable enough to handle big stuff. If this is all you have or will have it
can be made to work but expect it to flex or wobble and mess up the odd hole.
TABLE SAW
I've only found a couple things to comment on about table saws. Other then the cast top
mentioned before you should check the power of the motor and the measurement setup. If its
used you should also check the bearing on the blade and the fittings and adjustments. Now to
explain all this. These small table saws use a 3/4-1/5hp motor to belt drive a 8-10" blade. The
size of the motor will determine the rate you can feed the word or metal into the blade without
 bogging it down or burning. I was lucky on the one I purchased it had a 2.5hp motor. The larger
the blade the more stable it is. 10" seems to be the average size for these machines. Being belt
driven you can replace the motor with a larger one if needed. The biggest difference I found
from machine to machine was the way the measurement system worked. Offhand I'd say these
are fine if you want to cut some studs for a wall but when it comes to cutting accurate parts for
your plane I'd use a ruler and measure from the blade itself. If you setup the blade so it runs nice
and true, and measure accurately with a good steel rule from the blade even a used cheap table
saw will cut very accurately. There are lots of jigs and add-ons for these saws. Two things you
might use are a sanding disk and a taper jig. The sanding disk is pretty much a disk of metal
with sandpaper stuck to the side. You can buy these for about $20 or build one for less than
that. (get a 10" dia chunk of steel or alum and drill a 5/'8's hole in the middle and glue
sandpaper to it). The sanding disk lets you sand things with a smooth long radius. The nose ribs
in the wing are a breeze to make with this setup. A taper jig is another $20 add-on and let you
make cuts at an angle. The on I purchased works on my band saw and table saw. I used this to
cut out the leading edge spar on my tail.
COMPRESSOR AND AIR TOOLS
I happen to have picked up a small jobber compressor a few years ago. This is one of those
machines that once you have its hard to work without. Other than applying coatings you won't
really use it much on a Starlet for any big jobs but it can make life easier on lots of small ones.
For example instead of brushing on a coating over the wood frame, you can get a cheapy pot
type spray gun and spray on your sealant. There are a wide variety of air tools you can buy to
use but most just duplicate your other power tools and won't work as well with the small
compressors most have at home. I've got more tools than this but the ones I would reccomend
are a small 1L pot type paint gun. A assortment of blow guns to clean things off and cheat a
little on cleaning the shop. I would try to invest in a small sandblasting setup. These are
available for under $40 and you will be able to clean off any metal parts to prep for paint etc.
Depending on the size of the compressor some tools will or won't work. Mine is on the small
size so some of the air tools such as drills don't work as well. A random orbital disk sander can
be used for finish work as well as construction. You can sand the wood to a perfect fit or finish.
It will also help for building your cowlings etc. A few ice ages ago I worked out at the airport to
pay for university and common practice was to use 400grit on one of these to sand between the
coats on fabric (as well as regulaur prep work on metal etc). One thing I would like to try is a
air staple gun. These work just like the paper stapler in the office but these staples are over an
inch long. I think if you set up the pressure so it didn't clamp too tight this might be a way to
assemblre parts such as frames. If you glue then staple instead of clamp youcan pull the staples
out after and it would be faster than the clamps. Let's see a $80 staple gun vrs 40+ clamps..
Air tools work but for a Starlet but they might be overkill and money best spent elsewhere. If
you have it then you will use it, but if you don't it won't stop you from building.
Hand Power Tools
POWER DRILL
Power drills come in two types ones with cords and rechargeable. If you have a good battery
and don't work longer than the battery last's the rechargeable offer a lot of flexibility. The power
seems to be close on the ones I have so they are both quite capable. One needs to be recharged
and the other I trip over the cord or worse
SABRE SAW (JIGSAW)
A jig saw will let you cut out some intricate parts in metal or wood. The problem I've always
found is the cut is generally rather rough. I only use mine to cut out parts where I can't get into
with a band saw.
 Specialty Tools
METAL BENDING BRAKE
I purchased a 18" bench top bending brake was obtained from Aircraft Tool and Supply (ATS)
for about $40 a few years back. It works quite well on small thin sheet. You won't be able to
bend much over 050 aluminum without a lot of work. For small brackets and fittings under this
it can make nice parts.
POP RIVETER
How do I love theee let me count the ways. Even on a non metal airframe you will use one of
these more than you think. I've used mine to hold together things while they setup or to help
assemble them. An example is the exhaust system. The sections were popped together during
fitting and assembly them taken to a shop and welded. They come in three flavors and prices.
The low end has a fixed head and has a couple of chuck sizes included. The mid range $45 or so
is a bit beefier and comes with a swivel head fitting. This lets you pull the rivets from almost
any angle, even in very tight spots. This is very handy. The high end is $90 and up and is the air
driven pullers. Unless you have problems with your hands or someone gives you one even the
cheapy does the same job. This really is good for a metal design where you might have to pop a
few hundred rivets to seal a wing before the glue dries etc. I have one of the low and mid range
ones. The real cheap ones might wear out the teeth in the head after a while but another $9 and
you off and running again.
HAND NIBBLER
This "nibbles" through sheet metal and wood, quietly and very neatly. You use this for cutting
slots and holes etc. in various skins and tin. I've used this for a lot of electrical installs. I've also
cut out instrument panel holes when I no longer could remove it from the plane. "Airspeed? No
it belongs right there, in the middle where all that nice metal is..." With a bit of care it will
produce holes that require a single pass with a file. This is the same type of as the pop riveter in
how useful and widespread its use is.
CLECOS and CLECO pliers
Used to temporarily hold things together, you just can't build a metal airplane without em. Even
on a Starlet they work great for holding some of the parts together. Think of this as a temporary
reusable pop rivet. The wrench looks like a set of slip pliers with a horseshoe the size of a
quarter where the jaw should be. The cleco itself looks like the eraser end of a mechanical
pencil. It sort of works the same way ie the plunger gets pushed by the wrench and the jaws
extend and get narrower. When they retract again they get thich and pull on the sheet. They can
be used over and over again. They are best for assembly work on sheet metal but you can use
them for other things. If you don't want to buy them you can simply use soft pop rivets and drill
them back out when done.
Hand Tools
FILES
Hand files come in different shapes and sizes. There are files made for metal and wood. The material is
the same but the teeth are cut differently so what works on one may not be suitable for use on the other.
A wood file will only irritate metal parts and not really file it that well, but a metal file can be used on
wood with good results. Of course you need to make sure it isn;t dripping in oil first but for a quick use
they work well. I found a 6 pack of files for under $10.
These had wood handles and came in various shapes in a plastic pouch.
SAWS
All hand saws woork the same but the teeth on the blades and the handles make a big difference in
what and how you cut things.
Most people think of the carpenters utility saw when you mention hand saws but unless your planning
on hewing out your wood stock from a log then you probably won't need this one. There are smaller
versions of this saw that will cut and leave a finer edge.
These are what you want as the cut surface will be glue ready with little or minimal work. If you are
looking for these in a store you should ask for "Finish" saws. The other type of saw you will need is a
hacksaw or tube saw. This is handy for cutting metal and wood. With care it can cut quite accurately. If
you have a few extra dollars floating around you might want to invest in a cut off saw. (thats not the
proper name but it escapes me right now). this saw comes in a couple of forms but basically the saw is
guided at an angle into the wood or metal. You can buy a guide block that has fixed slots but then your
cuts are limted to only those angles. The setup I have is adjustable over a 180° arc. It cuts metal or
wood simply by changing the blade. It looks like a oversized hacksaw blade on top of a small table.
The common uses are in home construction for cutting moldings.
HAMMER
Its a big lump with a handle you wack things with. You can actually use a couple of these and you will
be suprised how much less work it can be if you use the right one. The lumpy ends are either steel,
plastic or rubber. The steel hammer heads are meant to drive nails, thats the simple part. Then you have
to look at the size of the material you are working with and the nails or fasteners. If you deciede to use
those little aircraft nails to put together your ribs you need a small hammer with a light head. Too much
of a hammer will bend the nail or break the part. It gives you more power but less control. Plastic and
rubber hammers (also refered to as mallets) have numerous uses but generally you'll use these to hit
something and not mar the surface. For example if you are building a bulkhead frame you might need
to tap a part into place. A metal face will dent the wood, but a rubber mallet works great. Plastic
hammers are sort of a cross between a rubber and metal head. They are harder than the rubber ones but
softer than the metal. You can also dent wood with these but they work on metal without a problem.
One other kind of hammer that can come in handy is a deadblow hammer. If you plan on forming metal
parts such as fairing this is what you use. they have a plastic head but have a mass inside that when you
contact something the hammer doesn't bounce.
RULER
You might be wondeing why I'm about to drone on about rulers. Well there is a big difference between
that chunk of wood with marks on it and a steel rule. A good steel rule will make the differnce in how
well your Starlet fits together. Here's a little test for you to do ( I'd really take the time and try this it
will open your eyes). Go get your tape measure, a yard/meter stick and a ruler
and a pencil. Take a peice of paper and make a mark 6nches or 15cm with each. along the edge.
Measure from the same corner
and try to get the mark exactly 6".Ignore the other marks when you do this and just concentrate on the
markings what your measuring with. After you've made all theree marks look at the edge. Is there just
one single mark or three? If there's more than one mark which one is right? Well the simple answer is
probably none of them but not to worry. What I would do is first take that tape measure and put it away
until you build a house. I'd take the wood ruler and give it back to the kids. If the steel rule is well
marked then I'd use it. Tape measures don't have any excuse to be used around an airplane structures.
Generally they are inaccurate for a couple of reasons one is they are inexpensive and the accuracy they
are capable of is fine for a house. Even a steel tape will stretch just by being pulled on and then there is
tempurature effects. Unless your building your work table keep these in the drawer. Wood rulers can be
affected by wear, poor markings and humidity and tempurature. They are inexpensive
and that does show up when you are tyring to be accurate. Steel rules come in a couple of grades. One
is construction grade
and isn't marked in small increments. I've been using a steel draftsmen rule. This is fairly accurate and
well marked. This is what I would reccomend you purchase. It really is the one place where I'd spend
the money and get the best you can find. It more than pays for itself afterwards (don't let anyone
borrow it....). Steel is stable, isn't affected by tempuratures or humidity so it doesn't change length. The
markings are really an indication of price, constructin grade will have thick easy to see markings and
these can be bigger than your measurement. It's hard to measure to 1/64th of an inch when the mark is
an 1/8th thick. So you go out and buy a good steel rule but the measurements still don't jive on the
paper. There are a couple of things to do. One is to purchase other rules from the same brand. For
example the steel ruler I have is made in 30cm and 1m lengths. I purchased both and the markings
when compared are exactly the same. I know I can use either one and retain accuracy. Any
measurements I make are made with just those two rules. As long I continue to use them or refer to
them I know the parts are measured the same. That really is the key thing to follow throughout your
building. Get a good rules and then use it from start to finish.
SPIRIT AND BUBBLE LEVELS
The two types of levels you will use are a buble level and a spirit level. The bubble levels are the same
ones you see used in carpentry. I don't think there is a need to buy an expensive one, the accuracy
comes from the length not the material. The spirit level is basically a tube filled with water. This gets
used to measure differences in height over long distances such as wing tip to wing tip. These are easy
to make from common materials. Clear hose is all you need. You fill the hose with liquid and compare
levels. Some people put food coloring in the water to make it easier to see, one french design suggests
using red wine. I wonder if red wine has a milspec ?
PENCILS MARKERS
There are several types of markers you want to have handy. The type pf marker you use depends on the
material you are marking. For example a pencil is good for marking on wood parts but is a no-no on
aluminum. A felt pen will work on clean aluminum but will not give sharp marks on wood. Pencils
with soft and semi hard leads, sharp of course. The cheap mechanical pencils work well. Felt pens with
fine tips for marking on metal. These are called "sharpies". I've also used roller ball pens on wood but
I'm not sure they will last too long that way. You really do want to watch what marker you use on what
material as it can cause problems down the road. For example a pencil can make marks on aluminum
but it also contaminates the surface with graphite and can put a scratch line in the surface which could
lead to corrosion or a stress crack down the road. A felt used on wood tends to bleed out and you get a
fuzzy line not the sharp one you need, it also acts as a stain and is hard to hide. When your working on
an airplane don't even think of using a metal scribe, thats for making gutters and furnace duct's not
airplane parts. (scratchs can lead to stress risers and cracking)
Clamps
What else can be said about these other than you can never have enough. That might sound like a bit of
a joke but it's not. If you see someone working on a project and the part seems to consist of more
clamps than wood, I'd ask if they had enough clamps. I'll bet money the builder will say he could use a
couple more. If you know someone who hasn't read the part of this page that warns about not loaning
out tools, go to thier house and borrow all thier clamps. There are a couple of different types of clamps,
each works slightly differently. The ones you will work with might be C-Clamps, strap or ribbon
clamps, pipe clamps, spring clamps. I'm not going to go into how each works here, you will find you
will use them in more ways than the way they work best.
I think there are only a couple of things to watch when using clamps, one is to have something to
protect the part you are working on from damage from the clamp itself. What can happen is that you
clamp a part and the metal part of the clamps will dig into
the wood or aluminum. The way to avoid this is to put a peice of scrap inbetween the clamp and the
part being clamped. This way the scrap takes all the abuse and your part comes out without a mark. The
other thign to watch for is not to overclamp a joint. Some older glues needed to have lots of pressure to
get a proper glue joint, newer ones such as epoxy just need to have the parts more or less in the same
location for a good joint. If you clamp too tight you can squeeze the glue out and get a dry joint. Other
options if you havn't been able to borrow enough clamps are fairly simple. You can use nails, screws,
or homemade clamps made of string and a stick.
If its the right kind of joint even those weights from your unused dumbells will work. Remember the
whole idea of clamps is simply to keep the parts being glued close enough untill the glue dries. After
that the glue does all the work.
Utility Knifes
You will use a couple of these for cutting and trimming. The extending razor knife is cheap and you
can replace the blades with a new one. These are the knives that the blades slide out and you can break
off the dull end to get a new sharp blade. The handles are plastic and have a lock to stop the blade from
moving. You might want to get a couple of these in different sizes. The small ones won't give a straight
line as easily on large parts, the blade flex's a bit more and the handle doesn't give you enough of a
grip. These knives work very well if you use them as they are intended to.
They are meant to be drawn or pulled at an angle with light to moderate pressue. The blades in these
knives are flexible so if you put too much pressure they flex and your cut can go off the mark. Because
they have score marks on the side of the blade to help snap off the dull bits, pushing too hard can also
result in the blade snapping off.
Disposable Brushes
There are two types of disposable brushes, one is the foam brush and the other is a bristal brush. The
foam brush works well and holds a lot of material. They will work for finish work as well as general
use. A lot of people who finish furniture use these to brush on finish's as they don't leave brush marks.
The downside to these brushes are that the foam will crumble after after a few uses, and you need to
make sure that you check that the foam is compatable with any solvents you use. The other type of
dispoasable brush is a bristal type. The bristal's look like straw and the handle is plain wood. These
brushes are good for fiberglass work, they tend to shed the bristals so I wouldn't use then on any finish
work.
Misc Containers for parts, solvents, glues
These can be anything from old paint buckets to plastic or metal containers. For example I use an old
coffee tin full of solvent to clean brushes. It's a handy size for painting as its easily moved and handled
as you crawl around the airplane. Old margerine containers with lids are great for sorting out nuts and
bolts and other bits.
Unwaxed paper cups or plastic cups
If you are using epoxy glue you want to mix it in unwaxed cup. Generally you won't be mixing more
than an ounce at a time so a cup size or smaller is plenty. The reason you want unwaxed cups or plastic
is that the wax can be scraped off the side of the cup when mixing and get into the epoxy. Ths can
cotaminate the bond or make it fail. Parting compounds used in composites are generally a form of
wax.
Stir sticks or tounge depressor
These are cheap and clean. I use them to mix up the epoxy and then apply it to the joints. You can find
these at any hardware or crafts store.
Sandpaper
There are several types and grades of sandpaper, aluminum oxide paper, garnette oxide paper,silicon
oxide wet and dry and emery cloth. The biggest difference between these types is how the grit is
formed and attached and the backing media.
The paper backed types are for dry use only, if you get these wet the abrasive materil will slide right off
the paper. These are fine for sanding wood metal or plastic prior to finish coats. Don't buy the cheapest
paper you can get as these will tend to leave grit on what you are sanding. There are foam sanding
blocks and steel wools you can use as well. The foam blocks cost more than paper but work quite well.
Steel wool acts like very fine sandpaper.
VICE
This is one object that you will use a lot. You can work without one but it comes in handy. There are a
whole array of different styles and sizes. A good vice will set you back at least $50 at a store (can you
say garage sale boys and girls? I knew that you could) You will want a vice that has at least a
4inch/100mm opening. After you have a big enough vice the most important thing is that its securly
attached to something.
The whole idea of a vice is to hold something in place while you work on things, theres no sense
having one when its attached to a table that moves around when you work.
DISPOSABLE LATEX GLOVES
These are the surgical gloves you see every where. They are cheap and available in various sizes. I
purchased 100 large pairs for $10 from the local plastics supply store. I've seen them in a few colours
so if your into fashion staements in the shop (I don't think there is any difference in material or
intended use btw) you can get white, blue or green.
COTTON GLOVES
A lot of people develop allergies to epoxies from contact, and some develop allergies to the latex
gloves they wore to protect them from the epoxy. My solution is to get a pair of thin cotton gloves and
wear these, then put the latex gloves over those. I found this had a few additional benefits such as I
used fewer latex gloves and I could work longer. My hands didn't sweat so my comfort level was up
and I could wear them longer. Instead of using up two or three pairs of latex gloves I could keep one
pair on for the entire job. Before that I would glue up a few parts and then shuck the gloves off as fast
as I could because they were so uncomfortable. Needless to say more than a few pairs got wasted this
way.