Have you ever started soldering an R/C electrical component and found yourself wishing you had a second set of hands? For me, this happens all of the time. Either the wire is too hot to hold or you can’t seem to hold the component steady. There is a solution and better yet, its a cheap solution! This months tool of the month is the Helping Hands with Magnifier. Grab one of these at Radio Shack for $16.99.

Assistance when you need it.

When your soldering project needs an extra set of hands, RadioShack has the solution. The Helping Hands with Magnifier help you get the job done. The “hands” can hold items as small as jewelry and as large as a circuit board. In addition, it’s equipped with a cleaning sponge and soldering iron holder.

• Steel construction with an iron base & ball and socket armatures; durable and resistant to tipping
• Keeps your iron or similar tool within reach and safely out of the work area
• Can hold objects as small as jewelry or as large as circuit boards

With Electric helicopters becoming more and more popular, soldering irons and soldering stations should be on everyone’s Christmas list this year. Don’t just go out and buy any old soldering iron, you need to take into consideration the correct soldering iron or station for the application.

Most of the wires we are soldering with big electric helicopters are 10 or 12 gauge. The bullet connectors can be as large as 6.5mm. With that in mind, you will need a soldering iron with enough power to heat those thick wires and large connectors.  If you don’t have enough heat you will likely create a weak or “cold” solder joint. This can hurt the performance of your helicopter or potentially cause a failure if the cold solder joint decides to break. Most of the inexpensive irons are rated in watts while the higher end soldering stations are a little more accurate and give not only watts but a temperature range the tip can be operated within.

If you are just a weekend warrior that is just going to solder a few wires here and there and never try any new motor or ESC combos, I would recommend getting an inexpensive Weller 40 watt iron. These are available from pretty much any Lowes, Home Depot, or Ace Hardware for around $20 bucks. Get a few extra tips because you will eventually need them.

Now if you are a little more serious about the hobby and want something that heats up almost instantly, is rated for 80 watts, and reaches temps of around 850 degrees F…… You need a soldering station! Weller also makes an excellent soldering station which is the Weller WD1002. Just like any other high end product, they can be hard to come by in your general hardware store as they probably would not sell many of them. This is more of a specialty item that you would need to purchase online. The Weller WD1002 goes for around $300 bucks.

Which ever way you decide to go, be careful not to burn down your house!

Matt

This month I would like to highlight one of my favorite tools the “Dubro Tru-Spin Balancer”.

What many modelers do not know is that none of your spinning assemblies on an RC Helicopter are balanced! Yes, you can generally get away with not balancing these assemblies but lets be real…. Vibration consumes power! The smoother your machine runs the longer it will last and the better it will perform! I use this tool to balance the following assemblies -

• Auto Hub / Clutch Assembly – 16,000 – 18,000 rpm
• Main Gear / Auto Hub Assembly – 1800 – 2150 rpm
• Complete Tail Rotor Assembly – 9,000 – 10,000 rpm

If you are serious about R/C Helicopters,  take it to the next level of modeling by balancing these assemblies!

The Dubro Tru-Spin can be purchased from just about any hobby shop for around $30.00

This month I am featuring the “Grippy” tool which is being brought to the hobby by a great friend and fellow hobbyist Bobby Watts. I first met Bobby at the Birmingham Fun Fly when he was just entering high school, at that time he was flying a Raptor 90 and doing mild 3D, man how things change! Since then Bobby has graduated from college with his ME Degree and is now designing products for the model helicopter world under company name “Chimp Systems“.

The Grippy is a tool used for removing the second bolt from the head axle after the first has been broken loose. It does this by using a one way clutch which is pressed into knurled handle to grip the shaft as you twist the remaining bolt. This saves you from clamping on to the head axle with a pair of vise grips and potentially damaging the shaft. The Grippy comes in various sizes so you can service just about any size helicopter on the market today. You can get Grippy at www.heliproz.com for 19.99. Check out Bobby’s hilarious Grippy Infomercial on YouTube! –> http://youtu.be/a_hlx5vlFHQ

I’ve been pretty busy with the release of the N5c and the E6 so my priceless tools post is a bit late.

This month the priceless tool is the Digital Caliper. I don’t think there is a day that goes by where I don’t use a set of calipers. This handy measuring device can tell you the outer diameter of a main shaft or a tail shaft, thickness of frames, length of bolts, depth of holes, and many other useful applications within the RC Helicopter hobby. You don’t need to spend a fortune to get the job done unless you are a machinist by trade and need the utmost precision. I use a twenty dollar set of calipers from Harbor Freight which get the job done rather well.  If you want the best of the best,  I would look at a set of Mitutoyo calipers.

Stay tuned for the April tool!

Matt

Ever break the head off a bolt in flight or by over tightening and wonder “How the heck am I going to get the rest of that bolt out of the helicopter?”. The easiest way I have found is to use the Craftsman Drill-Out® Micro Power Extractor (Model 52155).  This little kit works wonders on bolts M3 and larger, I got mine from Sears in the tool section.

Craftsman Drill-Out

Items you will need -

1. Reversible power drill
2. Center punch helps dramatically but not 100% necessary
3. Penetrating Oil helps but not 100% necessary
4. Heat can also help dramatically, I would recommend a small 20-40 watt soldering iron

There is a very detailed “How to” posted here.

READ THE INCLUDED INSTRUCTION MANUAL FIRST!

I’m going to start off the New Year with one of the most valuable tools in my garage…… the Dial Indicator. Dial indicators, also known as dial gauges and probe indicators, are instruments used to accurately measure small linear distances, and are frequently used in industrial and mechanical processes. They are named so because the measurement results are displayed in a magnified way by means of a dial. Dial indicators typically measure ranges from 0.25 mm to 300 mm (0.015 in to 12.0 in), with graduations of 0.001 mm to 0.01 mm (metric) or 0.00005 in to 0.001 in (imperial). You do not need the most expensive dial indicator, Harbor Freight has one that will do the job for $11.99.

Dial Indicator

Applications for R/C Helicopters

• Checking run-out on any spinning shaft within the helicopter.
• Checking run-out on engine crank shaft after a bad crash.
• Checking run-out on fan hub when mounting to engine crank shaft (with todays pinch style hub this is usually not an issue but quality control and tolerances machine shops hold can vary greatly. As a general rule, check everything even if its brand new.

In order to use the dial indicator you will also need a magnetic mount base and a bench vice with a decent platform for the magnetic base to sit. This will allow you to mount your nitro engine in the vice (always clamp on the mount tabs, never squeeze the outside of the case!). Both of these tools are fairly cheap from Harbor Freight as well.

Magnetic Base

Bench Vice

If you would like to check the run-out on say a main shaft or head axle, you will need a set of V-Blocks. V-Blocks will allow you to slowly spin the shaft in a secure v-shape while checking the run-out on a shaft. Never assume any of your shafts are straight after a crash just by using the eyeball method, you will have a much smoother running helicopter if all of your shafts are straight.

V-Blocks

Q: Why do you need these tools?

A: A vibration free helicopter is happy for many reasons. First and foremost, we have more sensors on our helicopters than ever before. With the increasing popularity of flybarless electronics there should also be an increase in awareness of where vibrations are coming from and how to cure them. A multitude of vibrations with sensors attached to the helicopter means the sensors will have troubles responding to change in axis inputs that they are designed to focus on. Imagine trying to perform an everyday task during an earthquake, your capacity for completing this task would decrease dramatically. This is why we see a drift in the tail or even on aileron and elevator when there are excessive vibrations. Secondly, power transfer is much more efficient when vibrations are minimized.

Good luck and fly vibration free!

Matt

I’ve decided to start posting about some of the tools required to properly build, maintain, and unfortunately rebuild model helicopters. Only five short years ago, models did not come pre assembled like they do today. This is great but it leaves a lot of hobbyists in the dark when it comes to maintaining certain items. More times than not a hobbyist will replace an entire assembly instead of disassembling and replacing a single cheap part. In the long run it will save you a lot of money!  I will try to do this on a monthly basis until I run out of tools to post.

The tool for December is the Arbor Press.

Q: What is an Arbor Press?

A: An arbor press is a small hand operated press. It is usually used to do smaller jobs, such as staking, riveting, installing and removing bearings and other press fit work. They are usually rated by the maximum load they can apply. The base is usually a cast metal. A ram provides the force; it may be square or round. The ram is usually driven by a rack and pinion setup. Higher force arbor presses have another gear reduction.[1]  Forces are usually generated by manual or hydraulic input. (Referenced from Wikipedia)

Q: Why do you need an arbor press?

A: In the R/C Helicopter Hobby, there are dozens of uses for an Arbor Press. I use my Arbor Press for pressing bearings into main shaft bearing blocks as well as pressing bearings out of bearing blocks. Coupled with V-Blocks and a dial indicator, you can straighten main shafts, tail shafts, and head axles (within reason, I usually do not straighten a shaft that is more than 3 thousandths out). The Arbor press will almost always ensure the object is pressed in straight without damaging either of the components.  Another use, if you ever have to change the washout pins in the head block, an arbor press is very helpful in getting them back in straight.

Q: Where can I get an Arbor Press and for how much?

A: You can purchase a decent Arbor Press for between $30.00 – $50.00 dollars at Harbor Freight and Tools.

Have fun and be safe!

Matt Botos