Howard DGA 3

[Pete1616]

Since my hands aren't suitable for  carving,,I find myself looking at photos of aircraft and wishing that I could carve that one.

This time it's a Howard DGA 3 the initials mean "Damn Good Airplane"

Check it out.....it's a pretty aircraft, plans available on Google!

[Flying T]

I was never good at carving.making my airplanes I start of course by using a fret sawto rough them out,then I made sanding blocks of different shapes. I use them to just sand away based on the templates,comes out great from 1/72-1/32 scale

[Pete1616]

Hi, Larry

Sounds as if you're working harder than I ever did! I took carving lessons, learned to use knives and dremel/foredom grinding tools, only used sandpaper for finishing. I preferred to use "box scale". I bought a proportional scale that allowed me to convert a plan with a 2" long drawing into a plan with an 9" length.. The scale is available from an outfit called blic art I think. I take the original 2" plan to Staples, enlarge according to the percentage the scale indicated, and work from there......most of my collection used this method.
I strongly suggest that, in order to fully enjoy our "hobby" you expand you techniques....files, wood rasps, chisels are other options as well.

[Model Maker]

Hi Larry;

I'm in full agreement with Pete. A small investment in a couple of course files and a flat chisel with good steel to hold an edge may make things less dusty, faster and more enjoyable. I primarily work on models with a fuselage around 12 - 15". The scale (1/32, 1/48 or 1/72) depends on the full size of the plane to achieve this size. Although I use a chisel for some of the material removal, I have gravitated to using files. I recently purchased a kitchen tool called a a micro plane. It's used for zesting, but quickly removes wood as well.

My primary concern when carving is to minimize the sawdust in the air. The chisel, files and micro plane make shavings or large sawdust particles which all fall into my collector (a 5 gallon plastic pail) or drop to the workbench surface. They also leave surfaces which don't require too much sanding. With the files and the micro plane you don't have to worry about the direction of the wood grain and can easily go cross grain when shaping a fuselage or wing just like sandpaper. Whereas chisels can sometimes dig in to the material if you find yourself inadvertently chiseling into the grain.

Just some food for thought - ken

[Flying T]

thanks for the input,guys,i really appreciate it.i recently bought a swivel vice for tabletop work for $5,a nice set of small chisels for $10,a really small set of drills and a dremal type set.what I am trying to do is gain interest in the public at the shaw flea mkt,i have several of my planes there with some old timey solid wood airplane kits using plans from  aeromodelar,air trails.they have been saying I cant do that, I cant do this.im trying out ways to make them a little easier,safer to make,the sizes are in competition with plastics which we know sells for  $10-up,a 14yr old may not have  $25 for a kit,but has $3-5 for one of my kits.i learn a lot from you guys here