Tools to build the Triplane

The Triplane wings are made of aircraft quality spruce and plywood and the fuselage is made of steel tubing welded together.  I'm building the wings first so the tools are geared towards wood. 

The bandsaw is indispensable.    Of all the power tools, it gets the most use.  I use it on almost every component of the rib:  fore and aft webs, top and bottom capstrips, nose fillers, top filler, and capstrip fillers. 

   
I bought this high-quality DeWalt table saw just for the Triplane project.  It was most helpful in making the power tool table and the spar table.  I didn't need it for the ribs but it is indispensible for making the scarf and taper cuts on the box spar flanges.  
    
As good as the table saw is, it's just not suitable for cutting long, thin pieces.  Of which there are many in this project.  So I bought this miter saw.  It's been the perfect tool for many jobs already. 
    
 The drill press is essential for all aspects of the projects, from drilling rib lightening holes to making swallowtail blocks. My brother-in-law Bruce gave me this drill press and it may not look like much but it does the job.
    
I use these hole-saw blades for the web lightening holes. They sharpen up pretty well with the triangular file. The key to making good, clean holes is to have some sacrificial scrap wood underneath the material to be cut.  
    
The rulers and files get used frequently.
   
My trusty DeWalt electric drill, veteran of the entire RV project. I've drilled tens of thousands of holes with this drill and its still going strong.
  
This belt sander is another big time-saving tool.  
  
The miter saw is great for wood but for steel tubing, not so much.  Bruce gave me this Cut-off saw.  It uses a 6" cutoff wheel perfect for going through steel.  Makes cutting steel tubing fun!
   
For notching the steel tubing ends so they can fit together, I use an angle-grinder with 4" grinding wheel.  Works great. 
  
The project requires lots of clamps.  I like the mini-bar clamps shown below.  They only cost a few bucks each at Harbor Freight.   I use the plastic Irwin clamps for a wide variety of things on the RV and Triplane projects.  Extremely useful. 
   
Surprisingly, the jig saw comes in very handy at times. I like using it to cut big sheets of plywood into smaller pieces that the band saw can handle. I have a new, fine tooth blade for it that works well on the plywood.
   
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