Title: Various Tools
Here are some of the various tools I have used so far. Many are just homemade or items that have been repurposed into a different use than they were intended for. I have been surprised (pleased) with the ability to get things done without a huge investment in specialty tools. I did purchase a quality aviation flaring tool for the fuel lines, that a past Velocity builder was selling but the majority of tools I have been able to use so far are ones I had lying around the house. Things like a hack saw handle I have had for 25 years with some quality hack saw blades has seen a lot of use so far in trimming cured fiberglass cloth. A dull 3/8" bit run through some scrap flooring and wood set to 2" deep made routing out the inboard tips a 20 minute process. A J hook battery holder from a 65 Mustang I had laying around made the perfect size channel for the rudder tubes in just a few minutes (the manual called for using a soldering iron to melt the foam but I didn't have the right size tip and I id not want to smell the melted foam). A few dozen dollar store clamps have been very handy. A half dozen wood yard sticks from Lowe's wrapped in duct tape were clamped to the trailing edge of the wings during curing and helped make super straight smooth edges. The most expensive tool I have is the metered epoxy pump. It came with the project I bought. Unfortunately the previous owner never cleaned out all the resin or hardener. The resin seemed fine, but I drained it out and the hardener only has about a two year shelf life and it had been sitting for 20+ years. The pump piston was completed frozen and no amount of work was going to fix it. Fortunately the company that makes it is still in business and still makes that pump, so an email and a $100 got the new piston unit and some new o-rings and it works like a champ now! I have a couple of t-squares that I use depending on the task. I have 3 levels that I am using: a single bubble 12", a three bubble 24", and a four bubble 48". I put them all on a flat surface and found them to be close enough level with the naked eye that I am OK with it. Per Danny Maher in one of the old construction videos, I marked each with a TOP and forward end. That way I will use them in the same orientation every time. As he put its it "they maybe a little off, but at least it will be consistent through out the build".


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