Foam wing cutting info from Bob Furr will have you flying soon!
Foam wings are common in Radio Control (R/C), Control Line (C/L) and Free Flight (FF) model airplanes because they're lightweight, easy to make, and durable. But when modelers first decide to start cutting foam wings, choosing their foam wing cutting tools can be confusing, with many expensive options to choose from.
Foam wing cutting tools are often prohibitively expensive for those that just want to fly model airplanes as a hobby. Pro model foam wing cutting bows easily run $150 or more. Foam cutting stations used for all-purpose foam cutting can be in excess of $1,000. And CNC foam cutting machines to do computer-controlled foam wing cutting often sell for $10,000 or more.
Fortunately there's a better method for the average modeler. It's a simple to make home-made foam cutting bow that creates results that rival the other manual cutting methods. The bow is lightweight, can be used by one person to cut foam wings, and can be made for less than $20 using parts readily available at your local hobby store.
The basic construction requires a dowel rod, a piece of steel wire, and tubing for crimping the ends of the steel wire. The bow is constructed like a basic archery bow by notching each end of the dowel rod, and creating loops in the steel wire which is then stretched over the ends of the dowel rod.
Omaha, Nebraska modeler Bob Furr has been using this style of home-made bow for years, with great results. "Ever since I discovered this easy to make, easy to use bow, it's made cutting foam wings simple. I've even quit using the expensive foam cutting bow I spent a lot of money on."
Bob Furr created a video to show other modelers how to make a foam wing cutting bow, how to cut templates for cutting foam wings, and how to cut foam wings. The foam wing cutting video is available at http://www.FoamWingCutting.com.
Also, Bob has written a short lesson on how to make your own foam wing cutting bow, including all the details you need to get started. That lesson is available for free, by registration at http://www.FoamWingCutting.com.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
