If you ’ ve been looking at these reciprocating saws and really wanted one but didn ’ t know why , then here ’ s the reason to go shopping . They are fantastic for cutting the slots for hinges . I used to use a plastic guide for finding the centre of the control surface , then cut a slot using a V shaped blade , then picked out the debris with a special hook shaped blade . When I finished all of this work , I would find that the three hinge slots on a strip aileron were not perfectly in line which results in the control binding .
Using the 20mm blade on the saw , place a guide in front of the surface to be cut which is half the thickness of the wood . If you want to be very accurate , the saw blade is 0.6mm thick so your guide should be half the thickness less another 0.30mm to get the exact centre . Start the saw and push the blade in to the depth of your hinge using the measuring scale on the blade .
Repeat the process for the wing / fin / tailplane , ease out a s m a l l r e b a t e t o accommodate the hinge pin moulding and the job is finished . When you come to fit the surfaces to the plane after covering , remember to glue and then pin the hinges for a strong , long lasting job . Now that you know why you want a R e n o v a t o r / M u l t i tool / Reciprocating saw , go out and treat yourself !