I know, most experienced builders know this - but for the novices:
Most kits come with laser cut fins, it's rare to cut your own. When you do cut your own, plan ahead so your knife won't run off the cut line and into your fin.
In the picture to the right, the root, leading and outside edges have already been cut.
This fin is sitting upside down with the root edge towards the side of the knife. I'll be cutting the trailing edge at the upper left side.
The metal strait edge is set over the flat face of the fin. Over the fin - not outside of the pencil line.This way, if the blade wanders off the pencil line, the knife cuts outside the finished fin surface area. All cuts are made away and outside the finished fin shape.
A moment of forethought and placement of your strait edge could save a fin or two.
TIP: Always use a steel strait edge to cut the straight lines of the fins.
Don't use a aluminum, wooden or plastic ruler. You'll end up cutting into anything softer than the metal knife blade.
YAY! Glad you're back!
ReplyDeleteIt's bad enough that I never thought of putting a metal ruler OVER the fin, worse, I never used a ruler at all. I just traced the fin with a pencil and cut. No wonder my fins look weird.
Another tip. Cutting on the outside sometimes means your straight edge has little support underneath it. Use scrap wood of the same thickness next to the fin edge to give you complete support under the straight edge. You are less likely to have the edge move on you.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeff -
ReplyDeleteGood point, having another piece of scrap wood unerneath the straightedge would help support the metal cutting edge. That's especially true on the last side of the fin to be cut. The fin surface could be small by then.