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With a little bit of creativity, almost everything can be obtained from a local discount store, instead of spending high dollars from aviation stores.
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- Resin and hardener are dispensed using mini turkey basters or plastic pipettes. I
keep them in a plastic jar to prevent drips, and I throw them away after a couple of
months when they start to look old. Mini basters cost $1.00 each at Walmart.
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- Wax-free paper mixing cups. Available in 3oz and 5oz at Walmart for $2.50 for a box of 200
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- Wooden mixing sticks, also known as craft sticks. Also available at Walmart for very cheap
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- 1" wide chip brushes available in bulk for about 12cents from Harbor Freight (sale price $4.49/36 pack). They are not worth cleaning for reuse. Simply discard after each use.
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- Smaller (1/2") shop brushes for about 5cents from Harbor Freight (sale price $1.99/36 pack).
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- Plastic drywall compound spreaders can be used as squeegees. Since all my
laminations are done with a platic wrap, the squeegees can be used indefinitely.
About 75 cents each at Lowes, Walmart or Home
Depot.
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- Plastic syringes and needles are useful for repairing laminations. Available from any farm supply store for about 25 cents each. Hobby shops (and Aircraft Spruce) sell the same thing for $7.00 each. Ouch!
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- Acetone in a metal paint bucket with a sealable lid for rinsing off epoxy from tools. Lowes and Walmart sells them by the gallon or quart.
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- Disposable gloves. Nitrile works better than latex. I like powderless gloves.
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- Plastic food containers for storing flox and micro. Coffee measuring scoop for dispensing them.
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- Ohaus digital weighing scale with a 0.01g accuracy
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- Heat pad for epoxy, especially useful in the winter from keeping the resin from crystallizing.
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- I treat all my aluminum parts with alodine, which is a two-step process: acid etch and chromic conversion. Having each chemical premixed in plastic drums helps avoid spills and keeps everything tidy.
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Lots of shop towels
Bondo automotive body filler for misceleneous bonding and filling. Available at Walmart for $4.00 a quart
Organic vapor mask, which I don't use as often as I perhaps should.
Plastic drop cloth and plastic food wrap for preparing laminations and fiberglass tapes.
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