Foam Cores

[Bill Little]

I may be guilty, myself, of posting in the wrong section, but move it Randy, if necessary!

I just received a set of foam cores from John Duncan.  They are "perfect" from all I can tell.  Unsheeted so I guess they are good for BOM.   Price very good, service very fast.

Bill

[PJ Rowland]

I cut my own cores - which are perfect, and certainly are BOM

My theory is on BOM, if you have to ask : is this [BOM] then it probably isnt.. 

John does excellent work from all reports.

[proparc]

Finally, a moderator doing something illegal. Except, I don't have to the power to bust him. Not sure how these forums work. Of course just joking.

Actually, I cut my own foam wings also. When you figure all the work that goes into it, sometimes it's actually easier to stack up a set of ribs and rock. But certain configurations just lend themselves to foam wings sometimes.

[PJ Rowland]

Im a big fan of Lost foam wing building, very accurate.

Obviously cutting cores here is imperitive. Once its cut I can pump out a wing in a weekend.

[Bill Little]

Im a big fan of Lost foam wing building, very accurate.

Obviously cutting cores here is imperitive. Once its cut I can pump out a wing in a weekend.

You know what, PJ?  To me it seems easier to build a wing from the Lost Foam system than to make up a foam wing.  Problem is, I have never cut foam and buying a "system" for each plane is cost prohibitive for me right now.  So for economy as much as anything, I will get a set of foam core cores.

BIG Bear
RNMM/AMM

[PJ Rowland]

Hi Bill..

I had to learn to cut cores - We are blessed nowadays with many companies offering " One box solutions" for cutting cores.

I made my own machine and temp controlled but you could get the gear simply premade :

http://www.acpsales.com/Hot-Wire-Bows.html

This is a local US manufacutre of some high quality gear. Get that combined with a
http://www.acpsales.com/Thermal-Generator-c-4738.html

They also sell the wire to suit.

Making templates is simple, and sure you will make a few mistakes, however for the most part, it shouldnt be more than 5 sets of cores or test cores to get you up to speed with the cutting. The hardest part really is getting all the equipment to work, but when you can pre-buy it its easy.

Both lost foam, and foam core are excellent ways to build.

Learning to do it yourself is a great learning tool. Bob hunt spent along time with me showing me how to get it all working.

[Bob Reeves]

Building a Lost Foam wing would be great if we could get laser cut ribs. The wing in my Latency is a Lost Foam wing I built and the only part I didn't like was sanding all the ribs to shape. I will say it's the straightest, lightest and stiffest wing I've ever been able to build but making those ribs was a real PTA.

[john e. holliday]

I guess according to one person  I am illegal, as I bought my foam cutter ready to assemble.   Had to make my own templates for the tip and  root ribs.   I have also done the  lost foam wing construction using the prebuilt foam cutter.   I now cut foam for  myself  for lost foam wing only, unless I can get laser cut set of ribs.   Now Big Bear you on another learning curve.

[Bill Little]

Building a Lost Foam wing would be great if we could get laser cut ribs. The wing in my Latency is a Lost Foam wing I built and the only part I didn't like was sanding all the ribs to shape. I will say it's the straightest, lightest and stiffest wing I've ever been able to build but making those ribs was a real PTA.

HI Bob,

I have had to do basically no sanding of the ribs when I use the Lost Foam System.  The foam templates are perfect sections and I just cut them out carefully.  I do trace around the foam and then cut the wood.  It has become my favorite building method other than presheeted foam wings which are usually out of my budget range for a model.  Being on a fixed income and having all the medical bills I have amassed, I am having to be mighty cheap on my expenditures.  But everything will be alright in the end!

BIG Bear
RNMM/AMM

[Randy Cuberly]

I guess according to one person  I am illegal, as I bought my foam cutter ready to assemble.   Had to make my own templates for the tip and  root ribs.   I have also done the  lost foam wing construction using the prebuilt foam cutter.   I now cut foam for  myself  for lost foam wing only, unless I can get laser cut set of ribs.   Now Big Bear you on another learning curve.

Since when is using purchased foam cores...even sheeted ones, not BOM legal?
They are!

Randy C.

[john e. holliday]

It depends on  the person you are talking/communicating with.

[John Sunderland]

I love  lost foam gigs and the ribs are perfect. What I hate is all the half ribs. They go together well but not necessarily fast. Im going back to faom cores for the most part. Most triple cored wings barely weigh more than a well built wooden counterpart. Besides, we have good engines that will handle one extra ounce without question these days. Got my last set from Bob and I will do it again this year I hope.