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| Posted: March/20/2006 at 10:23am |
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Which do you prefer when building from plans?
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sevarg
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| Posted: March/20/2006 at 12:01pm |
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It's not really building from plans if you have a kit cutter do all the work for you. Then it's just assembling a "KIT" that you purchased in two parts: Plans and Kit.
IMHO if you say you built it from plans, then it has to include your sweat and blood from cutting the parts and correcting for any errors in the plans as you go.
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Taildrager
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| Posted: March/20/2006 at 12:25pm |
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Merlyn, many of the guys that put together ARF's are saying they built a ARF. Does it really matter that much, I mean come on just enjoy the hobby.
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Ron Berg
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| Posted: March/20/2006 at 1:27pm |
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I prefer having a choice. I like the idea of the precision fit of the parts that can be had with laser cut kits and I prefer to be able to pick my own balsa sheet stock. More often than not you hear complaints from those that buy full kits that some sheet stock is missing-its too hard, warped or whatever.
IMHO-a laser cutter that cuts a short kit per the plans using the designer specified dimensions of sheet stock will always enjoy a popular presence in this hobby.
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T_Burley
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| Posted: March/20/2006 at 2:21pm |
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well, here we go again, another multiple answer poll .
I will only say, I went with the "short" kit from a kit cutter. that is though, if a full kit is not provided by that cutter. but the ones I use, do have "full" kits.
so, to me, there is more than one answer
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monocoupe
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| Posted: March/20/2006 at 3:06pm |
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Hey Richard,
The poll is about "building from plans". I don't believe ARF's are being minimalized here.....they just aren't part of the topic by definition.
Cheers, Nigel
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p51p47
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| Posted: March/22/2006 at 3:13pm |
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Quote: sevarg It's not really building from plans if you have a kit cutter do all the work for you. Then it's just assembling a "KIT" that you purchased in two parts: Plans and Kit.
IMHO if you say you built it from plans, then it has to include your sweat and blood from cutting the parts and correcting for any errors in the plans as you go.
With you all the way on this one.................
Several 'short' or 'full' kits I've seen I haven't been impressed with, either bue to poor quality cutting, or the eventual fit. A laser cutter is only as good as the files it's working from, so if there are errors in the drawings (which the majority of plans do have), there will be errors in the parts. Personally, I prefer working through the parts, correcting things as I go, so for me, the parts must be hand cut..............
Plus it's very 'theraputic' work....................or is that just me
Phil
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Oryx
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| Posted: March/23/2006 at 7:37am |
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This is one of those "personal choice" questions, certainly with no
right or wrong. I have several reasons for cutting my own parts:
1) There is no better way of studying the plans and getting a really
in-depth understanding of what the designer intended than by going
through the parts one by one as you cut them out yourself.
2) I like selecting my own wood, and I sometimes replace materials to
save weight where applicable. You often find that some designs can be
built with balsa replacing lite-ply parts, etc.
3) Although many laser-cut kits are extremely accurate, I have also
heard of mistakes when the plans were scanned in, or problems due to
the way the parts are cut. If I cut it myself, I can only blame myself
for inaccuracies, or the original designer if the plan itself is wrong.
4) Although some designer's plans are very accurate (Brian Taylor comes
to mind), I have built many plans where the ribs or formers will simply
not fit as drawn on the plan. This is in particular a problem with
older hand-drawn plans. It is unfortunately often clear that the
designer drew the plan after the prototype was built and that he never
built a model from his own plans; that is of course, if he actually
build a prototype at all. When I cut my own parts, I usually trace or
copy the part from the plan, cut out a paper template, and then test
the dimensions of the template against the side views and top views to
make sure they will fit before committing to cutting the part. This has
saved me a lot of frustration on many occasions (I remember a model
that my dad abandoned after he cut all his parts and found out
that not a single rib or former would fit correctly). It is amazing how
many parts are not even drawn symmetrically on some lower quality plans.
5) I actually enjoy it - for me it is part of the building process. In
fact, I like building my own designs from my own plans, but that is
another story...
All this said, the time that can be saved by using laser cut parts
makes for a very strong counter-argument. And, if done correctly from
accurately drawn plans, the accuracy comes out better than I can manage
by hand. In the end it all goes back to personal preference, but I
prefer cutting my own.
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