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Permalink Reply by Dan Hill on November 8, 2017 at 8:28am

use 3/4" you will gain no advantage with 1" MDF works ok, but it will break down on the edges that you are working with eventually. I don't believe that you gain any more support with the extra 1/4" thickness as once the edges and corners begin to deteriorate it will have fractured all the way thru. I used MDF for my larger form and cutting blocks, but for smaller pieces I used plywood. holds up better and much nicer to work with. My next plane I plan on using plywood for the majority of the blocks. Dan.

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Permalink Reply by Michael T. on November 8, 2017 at 9:23am

I`m going to switch over to using plywood for the rest of the forms, any type you think is best. Finished on one side? stay with the same thickness 3/4 for the plywood also?

cant remember where I heard it, putting crazy glue on the mdf edges to keep the wood from falling apart. I think ill try it on the forms Ive already made.

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Permalink Reply by David J. Beaulieu on November 8, 2017 at 8:30am

Can you just double layer the 3/4" to make the form blocks?   Disclaimer - not a scratch builder, not a tin knocker ;O

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Permalink Reply by Dan Hill on November 8, 2017 at 9:36am

The way I build mine is one set of form blocks is 2 pieces of 3/4" material. your aluminum is sandwitched between the 2 pieces and then formed to the left or right depending on which way you want the flange to go. If you glued 2 pieces together you would end up with 1 1/2" of material on either side which is way overkill for the number of parts we are going to form. In my opinion you will gain nothing of value by using anything over 3/4" material plus it will add expense, time and complexity to the project. I personally enjoy the building process, and I waste time and money  building/buying extra tools and tooling, but the ultimate goal is to have a flying airplane so I try and keep some things as simple as possible. some form blocks are only required to build 1 piece such as rudder tip. It is a small piece with sharp radius and releif. Takes a fair amount of forming. 2 small pieces of plywood are all that is necessary to form it and will work for 1 or 2 times use. MDF in my experience will not hold up to this particular forming operation. choose the proper material once, build it strong enough but as simple as possible and move on to the next operation. This is not a criticism of anyone elses way of doing things, just a reminder to not overthink things a keep it as simple as possible to continue moving forward, Dan.

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