REFLECTOR: Recommended Tools for Building a Composite Aircraft

[Steve Goldman]

Andy Millin wrote:

> The digital level is nice, but your kit was not manufactured to those
> tolerances.  As you build, you will level the fuselage several times.  To do
> so, you will have to decide where you will take the measurement and measure
> from that spot every time.  If you just put the level somewhere in the same
> vicinity, you'll get a new reading.  I can only recommend consistency and a
> strong desire on your part to be precise.  Don't be perfect, you want to
> finish this thing.  :)

I've got a digital level and it only reads to .1 of a degree which 
seems pretty precise but you can probably read a bubble pretty close 
to that kind of tolerance. I never would have realized that until I 
got the digital level. The nice thing about the level is that it also 
has sound so you can level something without looking. Also it is way 
nicer than those angle finders when you doing things like the winglet 
rake. You don't need one certainly but I rarely met a tool I didn't like.
...
> A big cloth cutting table is nice, if you have the room for it.  I too
> bought the pizza cutter for the cloth.  It cut the cloth nicely.   It also
> had a tendency to cut into the table.  Over time the cloth started snagging
> on the table.  I went back to scissors.  Your mileage will vary.

They sell this stuff at fabric stores that is a self healing cutting 
mat for use with the pizza cutters. Not cheap, an 18x24 piece is like 
$20, so you wouldn't want to cover a whole table. I cut it into strips 
and put it on the back of a few straight edges (a 4' and a 2'). You 
can slide it under the cloth easily without disturbing the cloth and 
make perfect cuts and never damage the table. I rarely use scissors.

-- 
Steve Goldman
'77 Tiger N28531
Velocity XL5-RG (T-2810 hrs) N758SG (reserved)
Pittsboro, NC (9NC8)
http://fatcatair.com