Other Tools

Below is a bunch of other things in my inventory that assisted greatly in the manufacture of my cockpit. These are power tools; the other hand tools you will need are pretty self explanitory- screwdrivers, drill bits, tape measures, rulers, pencils, hammers etc etc.

You may notice all of mine are Ryobi branded- that is only because Bunnings in Australia always has them in stock, and they will price match the lowest price I can find. Plus- once I commit to the first cordless tool, I went with the same brand so I could share batteries. Having said that- I do recommend them. I have not had a single tool or battery fail yet, despite all the hate and memes ryobi tools get.

CORDLESS DRILL / DRIVER

I had these things before I started the cockpit. They drill holes and screw things together. You need to do a lot of that if you want to build your own home cockpit. You could absolutley make do with just the drill, if you dont mind constantly changing bits or driving screws the old fashioned way.

RIGHT ANGLE DRILL ADAPTOR

I bought this thing online for cheap. Attaches to the end of your drill/driver to enable drilling holes or driving screws in tight spaces, like the inside of the side consoles.

MOUSE / ORBITAL SANDER

A couple of sanders. I have a mouse sander and an orbital one, to make sanding before paint easier and quicker.

I used the mouse sander much more than the orbital, so if I were to buy only one the mouse sander would win. I also noticed that the orbital was more likely to scuff the surface if handled incorrectly.

POWER MULTI TOOL

This was a purchase I made just for the cockpit. The varitey of different blades avaiable make small cut-outs, or even entire side panels easy to cut, with minimum noise and dust. I even used this to trim the entire outside of the 270 degree screen MDF sheet to fit the frame. You can also use it as a sander in tight spots.

DRILL PRESS

A drill that is mounted to a stand or table. This was the very first tool I bought specifically for the purpose of making cockpit panels, before I had the laser. Drilling 12mm holes to mount buttons and switches in acrylic sheet is much easier, accurate and repeatable using a steady hand and a drill press.

JIGSAW

This was in my inventory before i started the cockpit, but I use this thing constantly. I had my parts CNC cut- but i have no doubt that someone with a steady hand and who knows to measure twice, cut once, could make the entire thing by hand using just a jigsaw.

ROTARY TOOL

This is another tool that I had before I started the cockpit project, however it proved to be very useful when making minor changes to acrylic panels, mounting holes, or for sanding away material on the consoles where a switch or LED might foul. Mine is a corded Dremel 4000 model. I also have the router base for it, which came in handy for routing cables.

I have the drill press stand for the Dremel Rotary Tool. It is handy for sanding or smoothing out edges, but is not as accurate as the drill press above. It is made of plastic and has a lot of flex in it.