Marking Tools for Aircraft Sheet Aluminum

Van's RV Aircraft kit is the basis for my writing but the same principles apply to all experimental homebuilt aircraft whether you are building a rag-wing or sheet metal airplane.

Obviously, the first step will be to mark the sheet metal for cutting and bending. For simple straight cuts and bends a rule and a permanent parts marking pen are the essentials.

On more complex parts you may try a method that I learned in a silver-smith class. Use a paper copy of your drawing and a bottle of rubber cement. Simply coat the back of the paper and the part with a thin layer of rubber cement, allow to dry thoroughly. This will bond much like contact cement when you stick the paper and metal together. After the part is cut the paper and rubber are easy to remove.