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Welcome
To Sodaplanes.com
Your home for hand crafted can art items made from your favorite
brand of beverage cans.
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Here is another tip sent in by Wayne at BC Air Originals: "When building these planes I use a simple
"Holding Box" to help keep the plane in place while I'm lining
things up and making sure everything is straight." |
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Here is a tip for the wing struts for high wing planes like the Cessnas and Pipers. Instead of using the round 3/32-inch welding rod for the wing struts, I use the flat metal strips from the inside of old, worn out windshield wipers. These metal strips come in several widths and lengths, but can be had for free or next to nothing at your local autoparts store, or garage where they replace a customer's windshield wipers. I cut them into 5 1/2" lengths and at each end, I angle-bend them about 45 degrees a quarter inch from each end. They slip right into slits in the fuselage and the under sides of the wings. |
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If you have access to a band saw,
this is an easy to build jig that makes cutting the ends off your aluminum
cans a breeze. Cut a piece of standard "4x4" to 3 3/8"
long. Lay on end and draw out a circle that is 2 5/8" in diameter.
Using your band saw, angle cut into the piece and cut out the center
of the 4x4. Glue a guide piece on the bottom to fit the groove in your
particular saw and then glue or screw another "push" piece
on the back side for pushing the jig through your saw. Now, slide your
empty can into the hole in the jig, gently squeeze the jig (to close
the angled cut across the top) to secure the can and slowly push the
jig through the blade. I use a 1/4-inch band saw blade with 15 teeth
per inch. It makes a smooth, clean cut and I can remove both ends from
20 cans in about 4 minutes. |
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Here is an easy bending block used to make helicopter skids: Click on the picture to get
the actual size - print out the page on your home printer - Cut out
the pattern onto a sold 3/4 stock wood (some kind of hardwood works
best) - Drill the holes per the pattern. Once your are done with this
it will be real easy to make the Landing Skids & Landing Gear.
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| I find that cutting the Landing
Skid with a pair of linesman pliers it leaves the ends in rough shape
so I take the skids over to my 1" belt sander and hit booth ends
to clean them up.
* A bit of warning here! the wire gets hot
fast so just a quick shot to sand the ends flat |