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This month's tip pick!
Sand Bars (yummy!)
If you are having a hard time reaching an area on your boat to sandpaper, try gluing your sandpaper to a strip of wood (cut it to size if you need to) and you will have a cost effective and much easier way to sand the hard to reach areas.
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Welcome to the Tips and Tricks page! Here, you can find information categorized into eight sections that can make your model boating experience much more enjoyable. Don't forget, if you have a tip or tick you would like to share, go to the Feedback page and tell us so it can be posted here!
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Organizing your Toolbox Organizing your Workbench Electrical Tips Construction Tips and Tricks
Motors and Batteries Radio Gear Detailing Tricks Miscellaneous Tips and Tricks
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Organizing your Toolbox
Dremel Storage
If you lost or broke the case that held your dremel tools, try using a large ring magnet. You can find one at any hardware store or rip it off a TV tube (that you will never use!) and just stick the metal stems to the magnetic ring. You can also hang it from a nail in your wall for additional space in you toolbox then take it with you if you need it.
Color Bits
If you have a set of drill bits you know that the smaller ones are hard to keep sorted (too small to have the sizing engraved on them). Measure each drill bit and color-code the bits and holders with different dabs of paint. Below the colors on the holders, put the size of the bit.
Medication Crystals
As you may know, radio crystals are very delicate. To protect the ones you aren't using, try storing them in a seven-day pill container! You can also write the frequency of each crystal on each container and put a little tissue in there so they don't bounce around.
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Organizing your Workbench
Mr. Suction
To keep your workbench dust free when you saw, clip your vacuum cleaner hose to the saw area with an old droplight clamp. Be sure to turn it off before you put any parts on the workbench!
Screwy Idea
When you need to screw something in an awkward place on the boat (or anywhere) you can put a rubber fuel line over the head of the screw and screwdriver to keep them in place. It also works well on Alan wrenches.
Sand Bars (yummy!)
If you are having a hard time reaching an area on your boat to sandpaper, try gluing your sandpaper to a strip of wood (cut it to size if you need to) and you will have a cost effective and much easier way to sand the hard to reach areas.
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Electrical Tips
Solderless Solder
If you are out in the field and break (or accidentally cut) a wire you can twist the wire together tightly and cover it (and some of the insulation) with thick CA and it should hold. When you can, cut out the repaired area and solder it (with solder) because the CA will eventually heat up and emit highly toxic fumes (trust us!).
For the Neat Freaks :)
To have neater looking wires (that are less likely to fracture and need the tip above), cut and stick a peace of Velcro® where the majority of the wires run and in a suitable spot in the hull and organize them. Then cover it with the other side of the Velcro®.
Motor Breaker
When you are breaking in your new motor, solder a 7-ohm (7W) resistor on silicone-covered wire (because the resistor gets hot when it is discharging) between a 6-cell battery and the motor.
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Construction Tips and Tricks
Sticky Fingers
To easily position a small washer or nut, wrap a strip of tape (any kind will do, except used tape of course) around your index finger with the sticky part outward.
Root Beer Float
Glue two empty 12-ounce soda cans to each other (open-end to open-end, remove the tabs) and secure them in the hull, put as many as you can fit in the hull. If you have a smaller hull, try using empty water bottles (with the screw on top) as flotation.
Sink or Float?
If you decide not to try the tip above, glue a block of foam under a loose-fitting non-attached skylight or hatch. Attach about 10-25 feet of the strongest fishing line you can find (you have to lift your boat with it) to the hatch and the model. If it sinks, The buoy will float to the surface and you will be able to pull it out.
Velcro® Hatches
You can use Velcro® to make a secure, easy to open hatch (or anything) fastener. Velcro® is widely available at most hardware stores.
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Motors and Batteries
Cut that Noise!
Sometimes your radio "glitches" even though you have installed radio-frequency capacitors on the brushes. Try soldering a flexible copper lead from the motor to the metal stuffing box. The propeller shaft rotating inside the metal stuffing box sometimes causes the "glitches".
Temperature Charging Batteries
When you fast charge your Ni-Cd battery packs, they are peak charged when they get hot. Instead of buying an expensive peak charger, tape a liquid-crystal aquarium thermometer (That goes around 130oF) to your battery pack. When it reached about 100-125oF the batteries are about peak charged. The thermometers are widely available at most pet stores.
Battery Discharger
To avoid buying an expensive discharger, wire a 1A car bulb to a plug that matches your battery pack. The bulb will discharge the pack and when it goes out, the pack is discharged (and ready to be recharged).
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Radio Gear
Futaba® Adapter
Futaba® plugs can't be used with any other receiver because of the little thing that sticks out from the side. To fix this, simply cut it off (BUT, mark the side that you cut it off from so you don't put it in backwards).
Don't like it, hide it!
To hide the antenna from view, glue drinking straws around the inboard side of the boat and insert the antenna in them. Don't double the antenna back on itself because that will shorten the range drastically. Be sure to check the range after you do this.
Shorter Antennas
If your antenna is to long for the above tip or for any reason, Cut a piece of corrugated card (not too large) and weave the excess antenna through the alternate channels.
Plug-A-Antenna
The larger stereo-system plugs (from Radio Shack®) can be used as an antenna that can be removed when you aren't using it. Bind the wire rod to both terminals with copper or brass wire. You should put a substantial epoxy fillet around the soldered joint for additional support and shrink-wrap the sleeve that supports it.
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Detailing Tricks
Easier Paint Mixing
It makes paint mixing a lot easier if you drop a few clean ball bearings into the paint jar and shake for a minute or two.
EZ Dope Brush
Get Polyurethane foam and stick it in a paper gripper to make a cost effective disposable dope brush.
A Stapled Ladder
To add a scale ladder to your model, use an appropriate sized staple and stick them into the model securing them with a drop of CA. To ensure the proper spacing, measure and mark before hand with a ruler and to get a uniform height, use a small piece of polyethylene (which is as high as you want the staples to be)-.
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Miscellaneous Tips and Tricks
Epoxy Spreaders
Use a plastic tab from your bread wrapper and use it to spread your epoxy, especially in the tight spaces.
AAA Boat Retrieval
If your boat stalls on the water and you have another, attach a modified coat hanger to the bow with a piece of duct tape (or some fastener) and bring the stalled boat back to shore with it!
FuelDex
Drill out the sprayer head from a window-cleaning bottle, put an epoxy tube into it's place, and pump it into pint cans, etc.
Spill Guard
When pouring into small-mouthed bottles, pour the liquids down a rod (straw, pencil, anything) to keep them from dripping all over the place.
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