SCAT Electronic News 13 Sept 1999
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- Category: Archive 1999
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SCAT Electronic News 13 Sept 1999
Table of Contents
=================
Saws - Jahnke
BOM ? when it is FOM - Wood
Van Nest Studies in comparative religon
Cutting carbon - Hinson
Cutting carbon - Ackery
Cutting carbon fibre composite with a Dremel - Fantham
F1D Team selection - Robbins
Saws
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Roger,
It was mentioned that a tile cutting saw might be good for cutting carbon
fiber. As a teen I worked in a lapidary shop cutting agates and opals and
other stones. Stone was cut into slabs and then cut to rough shape with a
diamond blade cooled in an oil or water bath. These saws range in size from
48" blades oil cooled to 3" or 4" blades water cooled. The small saws are
like a small table saw with the motor mounted externally and the base of the
saw used as a reservoir for water. Blades are diamond edged and range in
thickness, but can be as low as a few thousandths of an inch. I have never
used one to cut carbon, but such a saw would be much more precise than a
tile cutter and the water bath would eliminate dust. These saws do not use
a fence so one would have to be constructed in order to rip cut. Blades
lasted a very long time in the lapidary cutting rock, so I imagine they
would last a lifetime cutting carbon.
The place I used to work is The Gem Shop and I know they sell saws. I went
on the web using lapidary as a key word and found lots of sites. One
wholesaler had a 4" water cooled saw with 1/15 hp motor and 4" x .007 blade
for $180.
The Gem Shop
W65 N725 Washington Ave.
Cedarburg, WI 53012
414 377-4666
Ross Jahnke
BOM ? when it is FOM
====================
Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Roger
This BOM thing is quite interesting to me. It seems that we are
concerning ourselves with how the technology advantage of the
PROFESIONAL builders will take over and crush the non porfesional
builders. The theory being that flying a five minute plus capable model
will eliminate the challange or skill required to fly the planes. The
problem is that it doesn't seem to work out that way. First the
purchaser of said equipment has to understand what has to be done to
make the model fly. It the model is delivered flyable it quickly gets
to a point where it requires some adjustment therefore mandating the
operator make some adjustments which he will need to understand fully.
Second the operator needs to be able to choose the air to fly in. This
always proves to be a challange. I never end to be impressed with how
fast one of these high tech super machines can come down in bad air.
It's absolutly amzing. Even more interesting is how easy it is suppose
to be to max out with one, but yet this is quite illusive to all but the
best of flyers. Take this weekends Hoosier Cup for example, so far only
one person has maxed out in all of the events, Chuck Marcos. With
several folks flying store bought airplanes and all kinds of way cool
technology in other planes. So tell me, what's up with that?
MArk
Van Nest Studies in comparative religon
=======================================
Following up on the lesson in Kosher Cuisine. The Van Nest's stayed at
nice hotel [that happened to be a French Convent!]. This was next door
to a very attractive Mosque. Our students found it interesting when just
after they arrived the faithful were called to evening prayer. Their reaction
was a little different when they found they prayed 5 times a day, starting
at 4 am. I guess it said something for the serenity of the French Nuns.
Cutting Carbon
==============
Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Roger,
Here's how I cut carbon spars for what it's worth.
I taper a piece of two inch wide balsa, the length of a spar, from root
thickness to dihederal brake thikness. I then laminate carbon on both
sides, the full two inch width. I use a plywood blade in my radial arm
saw to slice off spars. I use a taper jig that I made from a piece of
plywood with two wood screws in the edge set at different lengths to
determine spar width taper. When cutting, stock should be held down with
two sided tape so that the sliced off piece stays in place while
cutting. I usually get 6 spars out of a two inch piece, as you have to
true up the edge to parallel after each spar cut. WEAR A MASK WHEN
CUTTING!!!
The same idea can probably be used to just slice carbon.
Rex Hinson
Cutting Carbon,
============
Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This is my method.
I normally buy 0.8mm sheet (.032) and then cut it into strips with a
diamond saw.
I can produce strips about 1.5 - 2 mm wide for the trailing edges of F1B
wings and strips half this width for tailplane trailing edges. (It is quite
pleasing to produce a strip 0.8 mm square).
The diamond saw is about 25mm diameter, and is mounted in a mini drill
(cheap Dremel type tool).
The drill is rubberbanded tightly into a mount that is screwed to a large
work bench.
My 1 m aluminium straight edge is stuck down with doubled sided tape to be
the cutting fence.
The carbon sheet is stuck to a sheet of 12.5mm balsa (double sided tape) to
support it at the right height to enter the blade.
The balsa/carbon is pushed through the saw to make a cut (using the 1m
straight edge as the guide), then the drill/saw is pushed outwards in its
rubber band mount the distance required to make the strip.
Not very flash but it works. Like any machining operation most of the work
is in the setup, and making a few mistakes to get the technique right.
It is possible to do tapered strips for spars by adding a tapered dummy
strip to your balsa sheet (again doublesided tape), make one straight cut,
one diagonal, one straight etc, more work but it can be done.
Cutting does produce a lot of back dust. Most of this will be balsa dust,
but we do not know the health risks (?anyone) so as a precaution I do wear a
dust mask while cutting, and run the vacuum clearer to suck the dust as it
appears.
The diamond saw is the important part. A thin metal disk with diamond
deposited on it around the circumference about 3 mm wide. It lasts for ages,
and does not break or shatter like those brittle cutoff disks.
The one I have was tossed to me at the prize giving dinner at the Antonov
Cup quite a few years ago, so I do not know where to get them from. but I
would like some more, does anyone know a source ?.
David Ackery
New Zealand
Cutting carbon fibre composite with a Dremel
============================================
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Hi Roger,
Thanks to you and all your correspondents for the news of the World Champs
- I was hanging on your every issue - good to get the story so quickly.
The following may be of use to the folks who want to cut carbon fibre
composite with a Dremel tool. We use a diamond dust saw.
I do not get any benefits from any of the sellers mentioned below!
Chris Edge and I did a paper called 'Quicker Composite Structures' for the
British Model Flying Association. It was published in the 1995 Free Flight
Forum report that is still available from Martin Dilly. The report shows
the saw set-up and gives details of all the other composite techniques.
Details of this and all the other Forum Reports since 1985 from the BMFA
web site at http://www.bmfa.org/index.html or from
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Mike Woodhouse also sells a document that is a
condensation of ideas from the Edge/Fantham paper and other sources - he's
at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
I'm sorry but we don't have the diagrams in an electronic form from the
1995 Report.
We make our saw tables from aluminium angle and strip and plastic coated
board - all available from your local DIY store. The board is called
'Contiboard', melamine coated chipboard in the UK. I think our 'chipboard'
is the same as your 'particle board' in the US. Try 'Home Depot' or some
outlet like that.
Credit: I first saw this kind of Dremel/diamond saw set-up in dear Bob &
La Vera Isaacson's garage in February 1993. Oh, the many treasured
memories of those guys.........
Thermals
Mike Fantham
F1A
F1D Team selection
===================
Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Indoor Microfilm team selection contest Akron Ohio, Steve Brown CD.
Labor day 9 rounds two best flight total. probable World Championship
site is Slanic Romania a 215' high subterrainian excavation in a salt
mountain. Akron hangar is 177' high.
best flight 2 flight total
John Kagan 51:11 1:41:02
Larry Coslick 52:04 1:39:13
Jim Richmond 50:12 1:36:04
12 fliers total
Junior team member Nick Leonard jr. 1:16:02 two flight total
we will be looking for support for the junior flier. he is Not a
new recruit flying his dad's models. Nick placed 4th in the
last junior World Champs behind kids flying adult models etc.
Herb Robbins
...................
Roger Morrell
