SIMSAMURAI

GUIDE
TO
COCKPIT
CARPENTRY
A PILOTS GUIDEBOOK TO MATERIALS, TOOLS, AND TECHNIQUES
FOR BUILDING A WOOD SHELL FLIGHT SIMULATOR COCKPIT
V1.0.0 -- 05-2014
 SimSamurai's Guide to Cockpit Carpentry

Liability Disclaimer
We cannot and do not assume any liability for damage or injury caused to you or others during the
fabrication and assembly of any SimSamurai product. We recommend that you use good judgment,
common sense, and insist you carefully follow any and all safety precautions as outlined by the tool
manufacturers for which tools you may use in any construction project. Any injury or bodily harm
caused while completing such projects is at your own risk and your own personal liability.

Assessing Your Skills

All SimSamurai cockpit designs are made to be fabricated using basic home construction tools such
as a circular saw and a drill. This tutorial booklet as well the cockpit blueprints, any associated DIY
builder manuals which you may have received and the website's own Builder Tips videos are all
engineered to help the inexperienced builder become proficient at key carpentry skills within a very
short amount of time. However, If you have never measured, cut, sawn, screwed, drilled, painted, or
assembled anything in your life we also recommend that you consider turning your project over to a
skilled carpenter and pay them for completion or at minimum have someone available for added
advice who may have experience in these areas. Depending on which cockpit design you purchased,
your project may take anywhere from 30 hours to complete up to 300 hours. Please see your specific
builder manual and the SimSamurai website for more details on your individual design.

Licensing and Trademark Notice

Please be aware that if you have purchased a set of SimSamurai DIY blueprints it means that you are
only allowed to build one single cockpit with that purchase. Each print set receives its own license
number and we keep track of each customer order. Your single license purchase does not allow for
further reuse or redistribution of your purchased plan set(s) in the future. Your purchase does not
allow you any rights to re-distribution, re-sale, or re-use of our product and or plans set nor use of
the completed cockpit(s) in a commercial environment unless specifically authorized and licensed by
SimSamurai. Commercial licensing carries added requirements. After completion of your personal
flight simulator cockpit please discard all given builder material or carefully store the builder plans
and all associated tutorial data for your own personal reference in the future.

DIY Builder Manual / Carpentry Guide Details

This carpentry guide was written to supplement the actual DIY Builder Manual which you will also
receive with your SimSamurai DIY Cockpit Blueprints set. For the simplest cockpit models such as
the DK-1 Kotori and DK-2 Katana you will only receive this Carpentry Guide and no added builder
manual as those are only necessary for the larger cockpit designs. The actual DIY builder manuals
which include full materials lists and step-by-step construction details are only for the CS-1, CS-2,
HX-1, FJ-1, RX-1, XS-1, AX-1, AX-27 and LX-1 models. The simplified DK-1 and DK-2 models will
only receive this carpentry guide simply because their own step-by-step DIY manuals and material
lists are printed onto the actual blueprints themselves. Regardless, throughout this guide we have
done the best to provide you with all the necessary details for properly completing your project.
While all of our cockpit designs are born from a "form follows function" philosophy to help minimize
complexity, you will likely find certain areas to be somewhat challenging. This will most likely occur in
making angled, beveled, or plunge cuts in wood, as well during parts of finishing such as painting.
Because we are aware of the general challenges which you may encounter, rest assured that we
cover these topics in sufficient detail to help you overcome these issues. This guide, as well the
builder manuals, are broken down into several chapters and phases which are similarly outlined on
the next pages. Once again please review all accompanying blueprints, textual and graphical data
and any associated photo / video documentation before beginning your project.
Introduction to General Carpentry
This tutorial booklet is a detailed overview of the basic materials, tools and methods you will need to
become familiar with in order to build a SimSamurai flight sim cockpit. It does not however teach you
how to build any one specific cockpit. You must purchase a plan set for that and in doing so will also
receive separate step-by-step instructions and builder photos. The importance of this guidebook is
that it teaches you all of the materials, tools and techniques you will need to know in order to build a
professional quality cockpit. Secondly, because of the general nature of this guide you will also find it
very useful for other small construction projects you may desire to complete around your house as
the contents can be applied to many other things. While it is not extremely comprehensive in nature,
it will definitely get you up to speed on both basic and advanced carpentry tools and the many key
techniques which will allow you to build many things. It also provides enough knowledge so that you
can advance your carpentry skills even further after having become familiar with the information and
resources provided in this introductory booklet.
This guidebook was most purposefully written to allow you to complete a SimSamurai flight simulator
cockpit by yourself or with the aid of a friend or family member. If you know someone with previous
carpentry experience who can help out in this process we highly recommend it as this can speed up
the building of your project and will also help you to achieve a more professional looking product.
Regardless, having someone else on hand to help you or give added advice will most certainly help
if you have never actually built anything by yourself before.
As said earlier, you will notice that your fight simulator blueprints also contain a lot of diagrams and
information which are pertinent to the design you have chosen. In most cases our cockpit designs
can actually be built by just paying careful attention to these details. To ensure that the process is as
easy for you as possible we have provided this cockpit construction guidebook in addition to the step-
by-step builder manual which is unique to each cockpit. Finally, we also provide various builder tips
videos which can be found on our website on the Builder Tips page.
While most SimSamurai cockpits will have the additional builder manuals, some, such as the DK-1
and DK-2, do not have the added step-by-step manual simply because they are the easiest to build
and because all of the key information is printed directly on the blueprints. Therefore, in all cases
please pay special attention to any and all blueprint plan details, diagrams, and legends printed on
the blueprints and then reference this guide booklet and or your additional step-by-step DIY builder
manual for any added construction techniques and ordered steps of the fabrication process.
The detailed step-by-step directions in the DIY builder manuals are carefully laid out in a very orderly
and systematic process to ensure you do things properly and it will ensure you save time in the
process. Not following directions and performing tasks out of order can and will cause problems
which could result in the inability to finish the project or could cause need to purchase additional tools
or materials not specified in this guidebook or in any DIY builder manual.
Lastly, before you actually begin any project please make sure to carefully review the blueprints and
any other associated material such as this guide booklet, any DIY manual, photos, videos, etc.
Using the mixed combination of all these resources, as well the videos found on the Builder Tips
page of the SimSamurai.com website, will help you complete your cockpit in a very professional and
orderly manner. As always, read the directions first and familiarize yourself with the general steps
and procedures before you begin any project. There are two sayings I always repeat weekly;
“Do it right the first time!”
And,
“When all else fails, ..read the directions!”
Construction Guide Section Legend
Part 1 The Work Site
• Creating an efficient work area
• Power and Lighting

Part 2 Material Selections

• Plywood and Framing Lumber
• Screws, Bolts, and Fasteners
• Brackets, Straps, and Hinges
• Adhesives, Fillers, and Sandpaper
• Paints and Stains
• Trim and Decor

Part 3 Tool Selections

• Measuring, Marking, and Leveling Tools
• Saws and Cutting Tools
• Drills and Drill Accessories
• Sanding and Planing Tools
• Painting and Finishing Tools
• Other Necessary Tools

Part 4 Basics of Carpentry

• Exercising Safety
• Using Measurements and Conversions
• Conversions for Metric Customers
• Starting Your Project
• Cutting Two Plywood Sheets at Once
• Changing a Saw Blade
• Cutting Plywood with a Circular Saw
• Setting Proper Blade Depth
• Properly Marking for Cutting
• Setting Up a "Floor Style" Cutting Platform
• Golden Rules of Marking and Cutting
• Proper Cutting Techniques
• Setting Up a Rip Fence
• Using Rip Fences and Cutting Guides
• Using Clamps
• Cut Line to Fence Line Calculations
• Sizing up the Cut
• Making Plunge Cuts
• Making Angled / Beveled Cuts
• Working with Damaged Wood
• Creating and Using Jigs
• Using a Table Saw
• Using a Miter Saw
• Drilling / Screwing Techniques
• Painting / Finishing Techniques
• Trim and Decoration Options
• Cockpit Seating
• Final Words
Part 1 Creating an Efficient Work Area
Building a cockpit requires that you have adequate space in your garage or in your driveway to
complete fabrication. If you are lucky, maybe a family member has a small wood shop with a good
tool selection that you can use. Any closed garage is often best because in most cases you will be
working on your project for several weeks. In addition to buying the materials for the cockpit itself,
you will want to buy two rough grade 4" x 4" x 96" posts which should be cut into four 48" sections.
We will use these pieces later on to create a floor style cutting platform and this is also something
which is demonstrated in the Builder Tips videos on the SimSamurai website.
You may also want to purchase a set of saw horses and a general construction grade sheet of
plywood to create a simple worktable for yourself. A 34” x 96” surface is usually ideal. A large table
area such as this could also be used for supporting various pieces as you cut, drill, and screw things
together and it can also be used for painting purposes. Getting your project up off the floor will also
reduce dust and moistures hazards and will also save you from many potential back aches!
Prior to buying materials you should plan ahead and clean out your work area. Before purchasing
any materials, especially large sheets of plywood which will need to be stored flat on a floor or close
up against a wall you will want to plan where such items can rest. Therefore before purchasing any
project materials it is best to clean up and clean out any trash from your work area and then formulate
a plan of how you think it will be best to maximize the usage of space you have available.
You will typically want to have at minimum 15ft x 15ft or 5 x 5 meters available so that you can spread
out your materials and tools. Any size less than this can be troublesome and you will probably find
that you may constantly have to move things around in order to move on to a new task. This can
quickly become annoying so you should also consider what type of storage you have available for
your various tools. This could be something simple like a few plastic buckets, cardboard boxes or
could be more formal like actual tool chests or work crates. Regardless, your goal should be one of
staying safe and organized so that the project process can move forward without hassle.

Powering Up
In addition to tool storage you will also want to make sure you have sufficient lighting and power
outlets available. Depending on the tool you are using you may need a 20-amp outlet rather than
standard 15-amp outlets. Things like welding equipment typically require a dedicated 30 to 50 amp
circuit and some table saws can also require 220 volt power and a 30-amp circuit. Regardless, you
should check all of the available outlet locations and make sure you have at minimum one proper
extension cord which can easily reach to all sides of your work area. Also make sure your power
cord is rated for the power it will receive. Standard 15 to 20 amp circuits can make use of a power
extension cord made of 12 to 14 gauge wire but high powered 30 amp circuits for example need
extension cords whose gauge is a much thicker 8 to 10 gauge. Regarding wire “gauges” the lower
the number, the thicker the wire. Therefore 20 to 24 gauge wire is extremely thin and small.
Part 2 Material Selections
If you received a specific builder manual for your cockpit you will find a comprehensive materials
list within it. If your cockpit does not have a builder manual please consult the details on the
blueprints themselves for this information. All SimSamurai cockpits are generally comprised of
plywood and general carpentry framing lumber and various screws and bolts. Finishing materials
includes various paints and or stains and finishing hardware such as knobs, connections brackets,
aluminum trim, or other similar items. Below are basic tips to use when purchasing materials.
Plywood
Plywood is typically categorized by three main types : Rough Sheeting grade, General Carpentry
grade, and Finish Carpentry grade. For all SimSamurai cockpits you will always want to purchase
Finish Carpentry grade hardwood plywood such as Birch or Maple and most all of the cockpit designs
are cut from two to six sheets of 48" inch (4 feet) by 96" inch (8 feet) by 3/4" (.75 inch thick) plywood
sheets. If you are a European customer the standard sheet size is typically 1250mm x 2500mm
(125cm x 250cm) with a thickness of 16 – 18mm. Finish grade plywood typically costs 25% more
than general carpentry grade plywood but this is because it is much smoother and flatter and is
designed to be used for furniture and cabinetry.
Home improvement centers in the USA sell good finish grade Maple or Birch for around $45.00 a
sheet. While Oak wood plywood is also an option we do not recommended it because it splinters
and cracks easily. We always recommend using Birch or Maple. Specialty lumber stores sell even
higher grades of plywood which can cost $60 to $90 a sheet. If you are willing to spend the extra
money this is your best option as specialty lumber stores typically carry much better selections.
A final factor to look at with plywood is to find out if it is what is called "solid core" or "solid fill".
Some finish grade hardwood plywoods, when cut, may have occasional voids, gaps, or divots within
the sheet that would require filling with epoxy or spackling prior to banding with an edge strip or even
prior to painting if you did not want to band any of the cut edges. Solid core plywood is the best in
that all layers of the plywood are 100% solid wood without any gaps or voids. Regardless, make sure
the sheets you buy are very flat and do not have any major bows, curves, warps, or twists.

As you can see at left, there are many types of plywood

available and each type has a unique quality and purpose
which is engineered for a particular task.

MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) is often used by some

people for flight simulator projects but this type is only
recommended for small parts because it is essentially a
wood pulp powder which is chemically bonded with toxic
formaldehydes. MDF will also easily absorb water and it
does not serve as a good surface for painting due to its
porosity. This is why we recommend fine grain hardwoods.

Plywood such as Particle Board or OSB (Oriented Strand

Board) is also not recommended for furniture building due to
their general lack of structural integrity, porosity, and rough
surfaces which make them difficult to paint.

All plywoods do in fact have various forms of glues and

formaldehyde based chemicals which bind the bits or layers
together. Therefore whenever cutting plywood, or any wood
for that matter, it is very important that you use the right tools
and blades for the job and you should also wear a respirator
mask which is approved to block chemical vapors as well the
fine sawdust particles which are created during cutting.
Rough Lumber and Dimensional Specialty Woods
As said in the last section you will always be able to purchase better quality wood at specialty lumber
yards which provide a wide variety of woods to professional furniture builders. Home improvement
centers usually only have a small variety of specialty woods because they supply wood for home
remodeling not furniture building. Regardless, you can make good use of low cost general framing
lumber if you know what to look for and are picky about it. Most all SimSamurai cockpit designs use
some rough dimensional lumber such as 2x4s which actually measure 1.5" inch wide x 3.5" inch wide
which can be used. In the old days of construction a two by four (2x4) was actually 2 inches by 4
inches. This size was reduced over time yet the original name "two by four" stayed the same.
You can purchase hard stock dimensional wood at specialty lumber yards and then shave, plane, and
sand your lumber to whatever dimensions specified in any building plans but in most all cases this is
generally unnecessary and could likely be considered overkill. You could also use hard stock maple
or birch or other hard woods but you will quickly see that all specialty hardwoods are also very costly.
In North America hard Pine and Poplar are used in a wide variety of furniture applications and you will
find these two types to be the cheapest, yet are durable choices if using specialty hard stock wood.
Only in building the CS-1 or HX-1 design should you consider using any "pro grade" hard stock
lumber due to the skeleton like wall frames of these models. For all the other cockpit models which
mostly use plywood for their framework you will find that they do not use much rough dimensional
lumber at all. Most all of the SimSamurai cockpits such as the XS-1, AX-1 or LX-1 use less than ten
(10) 96" long 2x4s. Because of this, (and unless you are actually building the CS-1 or HX-1) you can
use general home carpentry wall framing 2x4s for the vertical or cross supports of your cockpit.
Therefore in these cases it is ok to buy general wall framing lumber at your local home improvement
center but while doing this you need to follow some special tips and guidelines to pick out the very
best wood possible as most framing lumber can have some bad issues for furniture building.

Tip 1 - Choose the wood type. You should always choose the best type of wood that is suitable for
the job you are performing. While there are literally at least 50 types of wood that can be bought at
specialty lumber stores, for the general purposes of building a flight simulator cockpit you will only
need to choose 1 to 3 different types. In the USA this generally comes down to using Poplar, Pine, or
Douglas Fir. Other harder types of wood such as Birch or Maple cost considerably more than these
three types. Whenever selecting rough 2x4 stock, such as used in household wall framing, you will
commonly find that they are all made of either Douglas Fir or Pine (most common in USA).
Either of these two types are fine to use but you will want to make sure to buy the kind that is already
Kiln dried. Non-dried or "wet wood" is really heavy, and it will typically bend or bow with a slight curve
or twist as it dries out. Because kiln dried wood is already dried, it has already become as bowed,
bent, or twisted as much as it can or at least to within 90% of what it is going to do. Because of this
fact, always buy 2x4s, 2x3s, or 2x2s from the pile that specifically says "Kiln Dried". Typical kiln dried
2x4 framing lumber cost $3.00 per 8ft in the USA. If you were to look at buying hard stock furniture
grade lumber instead, you could easily expect to pay $3.00 or more per foot not $3.00 per 8 foot!

When selecting wood carefully “site” or “eye” the wood from each end and each side to avoid common
deformation issues such as cupping, bowing, bending, twisting, crooking or cracking.
Tip 2 - Inspect the board. While looking for framing lumber take your time to pick through the pile and
get the cleanest and straightest boards you can find. This means look the whole board over for knots
and cracks. Most kiln dried lumber may have a small crack or two at the very ends and this is fine as
long as the crack could be cut off within a few inches from the end of the board. Lastly, inspect the
grain of the board. Wide, loose grains and wide rings can aid in screw placement as it is very difficult
to drill right into sap rings on a board. However, tight grains however closely spaced sap rings will
yield a board that will be stronger and heavier and in many cases this can be very beneficial.
For example; using lighter loose grained boards for building things like vertical walls and door frames
is a good idea as it will yield a lighter weight structure and then using heavier, stronger, tight grained
boards for horizontal supports which have to bare some load or weight forces would be a good idea
as these types will provide much better structural rigidity than light, loose grained boards. If you
decide to specifically select and use two different types of wood with various grain styles make sure
to label them with some masking tape and marker once you get them to your work site so that you
remember what to use each of the specially selected boards for.
Tip 3 - Site the board. What this means is place one end of the 2x4 (or 2x3 or 2x2) on the floor and
hold the other end of the board right up to your eye and then rotate the board onto each side.
In doing this you will quickly start to notice how some boards are much more bowed, curved, warped,
or twisted than others are. After doing this you can also place the board flat on the floor and rotate it
onto each edge to check for curvatures. However, this would also assume you have a perfectly flat
surface to compare the board to! In most all cases floors are not perfectly flat even if they may look
like it so try and make sure you are working on a nice flat and level surface. This tip also applies to
the actual building process down the road because if for example you are trying to make sure a
horizontally placed piece of wood is level, then everything below it also needs to be level and this
always starts with the actual surface your project is sitting on.
Regardless, your goal should be to pick out the straightest wood you can find that is also clean and
knot free. I have typically spent 30 minutes or more sorting through a pile of over 100 2x4s to find
those 20 or so boards which can pass for "furniture quality" once they have received a finish sanding.
Just remember that the more detail oriented you are, the nicer your finished product will look! Taking
the time to select good quality wood will save you time in the building process and helps to guarantee
that your project looks both professional and will come out being very close if not exactly matching up
with the designs and blueprints you are working from.

Whether selecting plywoods or dimension hardwoods

(or softwoods) take the time to learn about their
different characteristics and qualities.

Once you become more knowledgeable, you will see

Shown above is 1 inch solid core birch plywood.
how spending just a little more time and money on
The consistently tight laminated layers provide a
good quality materials will ensure that you can build
very beautiful and modern look which can be used
a very professional product. Be selective!
for many different furniture building projects.
Screws and Bolts Selection
In regards to all screws and bolts there are several basic things to know. These are:
- Lengths This is how long the shaft is. It’s usually the length of the part applied, not the tip or head.
- Diameters This is the total width of the work piece. Your insertion hole should be a little larger (if a bolt).
- Thread types This is English Standard or Metric or another system explained below.
- Head types This is head shape such as recessed, dome, pan, etc, and can relate to the tool used with it.
- Material types Generally always metal such as Steel, Zinc, Galvanized, Brass or Stainless Steel.

Length -- Screws and bolts can be measured in inches or millimeters or centimeters. In America
where we use an English standard, screws are typically measured in inches or fractions of an inch
such as ¼” (one-quarter) ½” (one-half), ¾” (three-quarter), etc. All SimSamurai cockpits typically use
standard coarse black metal, recessed head, Phillips type, drywall screws whose length varies from
5/8" up to 3". The length of screws and bolts are typically measured by the shaft length of the screw
or bolt and the measurement does not include the head. For example a 2" screw would have a shaft
length of 2" but the actual total length with the head would be more like 2.25 or 2 &1/4" inches.
Diameter -- The diameter of both screws and drill bits is very, very important in carpentry. You will
want to buy what is called a "drilling guide" so as to help determine what drill bit and what screw to
use with any hole you intend to create. For example, and as you will learn later, it is very important to
pre-drill holes in wood prior to installing a screw because not doing so will cause the wood to crack or
split. If you drill a hole too large in width you would then need a screw bigger (meaning wider) than is
intended. If you pre-drill a hole too small then the intended screw will have a greater difficulty of
penetrating the hole and again this can cause the wood to crack or split. In all cases use a drill bit
that is 1/32" or 2mm smaller in diameter than the screw you intend to use and always drill the hole to
the same depth or only 3mm shorter than the screw. If using a bolt, then drill the hole 3mm larger!
Thread Type -- For general carpentry purposes screws and bolts typically come in two types; coarse
thread or fine thread. Coarse thread screws have wider spaced rings are made specifically this way
to bite into wood. Fine thread screws on the other hand are made for metal work such as sheet metal
or metal wall stud framing. Because all of the SimSamurai cockpit designs are made from wood, you
will always want to use coarse threaded wood screws. Thread styles can also be a "unified" value
such as "#10-24". #10 is the major diameter and the second value deals with thread distance.
Head Type -- Screw heads come in a wide variety such as the common Phillips head which has an
"X" slot on top or the ancient Flat head which has a single "I" slot on top. Most all coarse wood /
drywall screws you will want to use in cockpit building are of the recessed Phillips type. Recessed or
"countersink" head screws have a "V" shaped head that allows the screw to sink down into the wood
for added tension and stability. The other typical types of heads are Machine head, Pan head, or
Dome which have a rounded head but have a flat seat where the screw rests against the material.
Pan heads or Machine heads are best used for things like exterior skin attachment or for securing a
metal bracket for example. Some screws have specialty heads such as a square slot or star slot
called a Torx head or perhaps an Allen wrench style head which is a recessed hexagon. Some
screws (and most all bolts) have a hexagonal shaped head on the exterior perimeter so that the
screw or bolt can be installed using a socket wrench or screwdriver with a socket style attachment.
Material Type -- All screws are made from some form of hardened steel. Screws can also be painted
black, gray, or blue or green for corrosion resistance. Screws also come in Zinc metal which is very
strong or you can buy Galvanized screws and bolts which are a dark, dull gray and are used for
exterior purposes like fences or gates. Lastly, Stainless Steel screws and bolts provide the ultimate
in rust and corrosion resistance but stainless steel is typically much more expensive.
To learn more about screws, visit this web link: Screw - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
To learn more about nuts and fasteners : Fasteners - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brackets and Straps
All construction brackets and straps are made from various types of metals be that of standard steel,
zinc, stainless steel, or galvanized metal. Brackets are usually made as 90-degree "elbow" brackets
which are used to help connect one piece of material at a right angle to another piece. All Elbow
brackets typically come in sizes ranging from 1" up to 6" (2.54cm to 15.24cm) and when larger than
6" or 8" (over 20cm) they are generally considered to be a "shelving" bracket and at that point will
typically have an angled reinforcement strap which connects the two ends. For cockpit building you
will generally only use small elbow brackets which are 4" (10cm) or less in height.
Other brackets commonly used in SimSamurai designs are the GA-1 and GA-2 brackets by Simpson.
If you do not have these at a store in your area, they can easily be ordered online. They are made of
stamped cut galvanized sheet metal and are very inexpensive, usually less than a dollar per bracket.
While you can always look at using brackets of your own choice, these are solely recommended
because of their low cost, wide availability, and rust resistance.
Straps are very similar to brackets but they are always flat. Straps usually start at 1" (~2.1cm) long
by 1/2" wide (1.2 cm) and they can be up to several feet long with varying widths and thicknesses.
Long thin straps for example could be used to help hold a shape or a curve as thin straps can be bent
whereas a thick heavy strap would be used to joint two sections together that need to act as one
cohesive structure. Depending on the types of holes in the straps or brackets you can use machine
head or recessed head styled screws. Obviously thin straps would require a machine head screw or
bolt whereas a bracket or strap that is 1/8" (5mm) or thicker may have an angled concave like hole for
using a recessed head style of screw or bolt. This is also very typical of things like door hinges.

Handles and Hinges

Much like brackets and straps, handles and hinges come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, materials,
and can use a diverse amount of screws or bolt types to fasten them to any project surface. For our
purposes we will typically only need basic styles of door hinges or strap style hinges which can be
used for doors. Strap hinges in particular do a good job of looking like many real aircraft door hinges
found on general aviation aircraft. Real aircraft door hinges are of course very costly and are typically
custom made for each aircraft so they will commonly not work for flight simulation purposes unless
you have an actual aircraft fuselage complete with its own hinged doors and hatches. Because there
is such a wide variety of hinges I am only providing the web link below if you feel you need additional
information in this area. Hinges - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Glues, Adhesives, and Fillers
Glues come in many various types and there are so many to choose from that you will really need to
perform your own research online and or talk to an experienced person at your local hardware store.
The glue most commonly used in any SimSamurai cockpit is a simple, strong, yellow wood glue
called Titebond II. It does an excellent job and can be quickly cleaned up with water while it is still
in its wet form. Be careful though as it is very hard to sand off once dry and therefore wiping away
excess glue while it is still wet is a good idea! Use a damp rag while wiping away any glue drips!
Other glues such as those which are urethane based can have an expansion agent which foams and
expands the glue as it dries. This can be bad in many cases as it can force apart a joint which you
had desired to stay tightly together so make sure to carefully learn about the properties of whichever
type of glue you wish to use as there are many types and each are suitable for different applications.
Adhesives are the same in that there are different types for different uses. Spray adhesives can work
well in simulator construction for applying vinyl fabric or faux leather to an interior panel for example.
Spray adhesives also have what is called varying "tack time" in which some set up fast while others
will set up slower to give you a longer working time. There are also epoxy type adhesives which are
thicker like a putty and therefore can be used to fill objects in addition to joining them together.
A very good example of a strong epoxy filler / adhesive is the product called JB Weld.
Fillers and spackling pastes are used to fill cracks and voids in wood and or metal prior to sanding
and painting. There are many different filler types which can include silica-based fillers or pastes
which are like a drywall mud compound and then there are alkyd based pastes which also work very
well for filling small and large cracks in wood. There are also automotive types of “Bondo” fillers
which are a plastic type of epoxy. The main difference between an automotive “Bondo” type of filler
and a household type is that the household type is typically used to fill cracks in wood and will often
have an added agent which helps the filler to retain a small amount of pliability or flexibility.
All types of fillers are designed to be sanded once dry and additional layers can be applied to level a
surface. In each case, spackling fillers should not be used in voids deeper than 1/4" or if that deep
then a 1/8" layer should be applied first and allowed to dry before applying the second and final layer
to level the surface to the surrounding material. In some cases you may need to apply 3 or more
layers depending on the specific void you are filling. Regardless, you should always try and use the
minimal amount needed, especially for the final layer(s) so that you do not have to spend extra
amounts of time sanding off portions of unwanted filler which will certainly prove difficult.

Sand Paper
You will want to buy a few packs of sandpaper for your project and I recommend a package which
has 150 grit, 180 grit, and 220 grit. Use the 150 grit for heavy sanding of rough material and 220 grit
for fine sanding just prior to painting. You will also want to buy a sanding block which holds a piece of
the sand paper or you can build one out of a scrap piece of 2x4 wood by just wrapping the paper
around the scrap wood. Most importantly, always wear form fitting work gloves while sanding!
Whenever using sandpaper it is always important to sand back and forth with the grain direction of
the wood and never sand cross grain. While you can sand cross grain on very rough wood for more
quickly removing large amounts of material it is never recommended for wood that will be smoothed
for painting or staining and I would never recommend cross-grain sanding any finish grade plywood
as even though you may perform a final sanding moving with the grain using 220 grit or higher, you
will typically still be able to see sand marks from previous cross-grain sanding and this will certainly
detract from any surface which you intend to have a professionally painted or stained appearance.
Lastly, remember to use a dust brush, such as an old paint brush, and a damp warm cloth to dust off
your sanded surfaces prior to painting. Blowing them off with compressed air also works well.
Paints and Stains
Paint comes in a wide variety of types and colors. The three main types of paint are water-based
latex, water-based acrylics, and lastly oil-based acrylics and alkyds. Latex paints are commonly used
on the exterior surfaces and interior walls of houses. While latex paints are good for some projects
they simply form a thin rubberized layer on the surface of the material being painted. Over time this
can wear away or peel off if the surface to be painted was not properly washed, primed, or sanded.
Even if the surface is scratched this can peel up the latex skin. Water based acrylics however, do
provide a much more durable coating and are now used on things like interior kitchen cabinetry or
furniture and so acrylic types of paint are a much, much better choice for flight simulator "furniture".
Oil based paints are also a great choice for furniture and flight simulator cockpit building because oil
paints do a much better job of soaking and penetrating into a wood surface than does water based
latex or acrylics which primarily "float" on the top surface. When properly thinned out and properly
applied, oil base paints will also "settle" on to and in to the surface so that you do not see any brush
strokes from a paint brush which is very common with latex based paints. When oil-based paints are
thinned down greatly they will become a stain or a wash that is made to penetrate the wood and then
be rubbed in and wiped off after having been allowed to soak in to the wood for a short time which is
typically 10 to 20 minutes. A “wash” can be considered as a very, very thinned out stain.
The only downside to using oil based paints is the fact that they are not water-soluble and therefore
your paintbrush must be cleaned off using Mineral Spirits or Lacquer Thinner. Typically, Mineral
Spirits can be used both as a thinning agent as well as a cleaning agent. Please note however that
some oil paints will specify that you not thin them out with spirits and may require Acetone which is
another thinning / cleaning agent much like a woman’s nail polish remover. Whenever you are using
petroleum based paints, stains, solvents and chemicals such as these please read the directions and
labels of whichever items you buy for pertinent details. Please be aware of their safety warnings.
All of the Ready To Assemble cockpits built by SimSamurai are painted with a custom mix of 1 gallon
of Rustoleum Gloss Black and 1 quart of Rustoleum Aluminum combined with 1 cups mineral spirits
(or Acetone). This mix creates a gun-metal like color and the thinning of the paint provides a slightly
longer working time as well helps to allow brush strokes to disappear once the material is left to dry.
Once initially painted, it is important to perform a final set of even strokes in the same direction to
allow for color uniformity as the aluminum content has a unique way of following brush strokes.
Regardless of which paint you use, you should set up a proper painting area which should include
drop cloths, mixing sticks, a mixing bucket, various sized brushes and rollers (if actually needing
rollers) and many cotton cleaning rags which could simply be some cut up old t-shirts. A proper
"paint station" should have a dedicated 2ft x 2ft area for opening and closing paints, a second 2ft x 2ft
area for mixing paints, and a final third area for cleaning the paint brushes. Your entire working area
and paint mixing / cleaning area should all be set up properly before you actually begin painting.
Regardless of your paint choice, water-based or oil-based, make sure that you always paint in cooler
temperatures, preferably 65 to 75 Fahrenheit (18 to 25 Celsius max.) Never paint in direct sunlight.
It is always best to paint in the shade. Paint in a well-ventilated garage if possible to avoid dust and if
having to paint outside, only do so on days with little to no wind. Pay careful attention to the patterns
of the sun to find which times and sides of your home give the longest shade. Make sure you are
always painting in very well ventilated areas whether this be in a garage or in a yard.
When done for the day always cover up and close the lid tightly on your paint as otherwise the paint
will create a dried film or thick dried skin which would have to be removed prior to repainting. For oil
paints the thinning agent within the paint will slowly evaporate causing the paint to thicken up over
time. This process will happen more rapidly on hot days and in dry air. Therefore if painting for
several days in hot air or any temps above 70 Fahrenheit you should always plan to mix in a small
splash of thinner each day to help maintain a consistent working thickness of your oil based paint.
Part 3 Tool Selections
All of the tools detailed in this section can be purchased at your local home improvement center such
as The Home Depot or Lowes (USA). You can also purchase cheap "throw away" tools at places like
Harbor Freight Tools but my experience with these cheap "Made in China" type tools are that while
cheap, they do not last long and can often be more headache than they are worth. Regardless, if you
are not looking to make purchases that you can use for many other projects, nor need years of lasting
longevity, then these cheaper tool types can be an option for you. If you wish to purchase "lasting
quality" tools I highly recommend the manufacturers RIDGID and Porter Cable. Ryobi is also ok.

• Measuring, Marking, and Leveling Tools

You will want to purchase a few specific measuring tools for your project. These are a standard tape
measure, (12ft or 16ft is sufficient or a Standard / Metric combo) a nice metal ruler (18" or longer)
and a small level (preferably 24" inch). In addition to this you should purchase a framers square
which is a 90 degree angled piece of metal. These come in a 6” & 12" size and an 18" or 24" size.
The largest one will help you to make better cuts over longer lengths. I regularly use all of them.
The next marking tool you should get is what is called a Fence Cutting Guide or Rip Fence. This tool
is simply two pieces of aluminum which snap together to make one large cutting fence which is
clamped onto plywood. When used with a Circular Saw it allows you to make very straight cuts.
Use of this tool is explained in greater detail later on in the carpentry techniques section.
Another measuring and marking tool you will want to buy is a Protractor and or an Angle-Marking
Guide. When used together these two little tools can help make angle cuts seem very easy!
Lastly, don't forget to buy marking pencils and a pencil sharpener. (I like the battery-powered type!)

• Saws and Common Cutting Tools

You will want to buy a good 7.25" Circular Saw such as the ones by RIDGID, Skil, or Porter Cable.
If available in your area the website “Craigslist” can also provide you with some good used deals.
Whenever making a new or used tool purchase take some time to read reviews first and find one
that is rated as a good one. Always make sure to buy a fresh new blade for your saw!
The second saw you will want to purchase is a small flexible blade handsaw. These are commonly
called "jap saws" or jab saws" and they typically operate by cutting on the pull stroke not the push
stroke. These cheap little saws are very, very useful in carpentry. The key tip to using them is start
slow and don't apply down pressure to the blade, just let it do the work first and only once it starts to
cut a groove should you then apply a little pressure to continue making the cut.
Lastly, a 10" or 12" Table Saw and Chop Miter Saw can be very useful in cockpit building but these
two items are actually not a necessity for any SimSamurai design. While they can speed up some
parts of building, most all cuts must actually be made with a circular saw due to how the patterns are
laid out on the plywood sheeting. Only with cockpits like the CS-1 or HX-1 would a chop miter saw
become useful for some parts due to their skeleton style framework which uses many wood 2x4s.
As described earlier, a portable cutting fence, or "rip fence", is considered to be a must have tool for
making straight cuts in plywood with a circular saw. If you watch the videos on the Builder Tips page
of the SimSamurai website you will see this tool in action while cutting plywood on a floor or ground
style cutting platform where the plywood is elevated off of the ground and supported by wood 4x4
posts. The posts are cut to 48" sections and are then spaced evenly under the plywood for support.
The procedures for setting up these two items are detailed later in this tutorial.
 • Drills and Drill Accessories
You will need at least one corded or cordless drill to build a SimSamurai cockpit and we always
recommend having two drills available. This is so that you can keep a drill bit in one drill and a screw
bit driver in the other drill. This will come in very handy the moment you start assembling your cockpit
as you will quickly find that you need to drill a hole, install a screw, and then repeat the process again
and again. If you only have one drill you will constantly have to change out the drill bit or screw head
each time. After having to do this a few times it will quickly become very annoying.
The second items to purchase are various drill accessories which should include a drill bit set that
provides sizes from 3/32" up to 3/4" or 3mm to 19mm. If you want to purchase specific bits then the
ones to typically get would be 3/32", 7/64", 1/8", 5/32", 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 7/16",1/2", 5/8”. 3/4”.
Along with drill bits please purchase a drill index guide. This is a small flat metal plate with a bunch of
holes in it. This tool allows you to measure the shaft diameter of your drill bits, bolts, and screws.
While not an absolute necessity, a drill press is also a great tool in the carpenter's arsenal because it
allows you to drill very straight, accurate holes in any material and helps you to do so quickly. The
only draw back is the distance from the spindle to the support shaft as this limits your distance of
use into your material. If you are looking to buy new, the Porter Cable floor model is the best on
the market due to its 4" long quill stroke depth, but older Craftsman and Delta models can be bought
used online or Harbor Freight Tools has a decent bench top model for under $100.

• Sanding and Planing Tools

In addition to buying 150, 180, and 220 grit sandpaper you may also want to look at purchasing a
3" x 24" hand held belt sander or if you can afford it a 6" x 48" table mounted belt sander. While
these two are not an absolute necessity for cockpit building, these items will help you quickly clean up
any rough-cut lumber such as 2x4s prior to painting them. Again, websites like Craigslist in the USA
can have a lot of good quality used tools from people looking to dump out of their equipment. While
we generally don't recommend used tools, they should last long enough for a few projects and you
could always re-sell them again when you are finished. Other items to consider would be a 6" x 48"
jointer or a table mounted planer which are also used to shave down and clean up rough lumber but
again, these are more professional tools that are not an absolute necessity for your project.

• Painting and Finishing Tools

Tools used for painting should include both a 2" angled brush for getting into tight spaces and corners
of material and a larger 3" or 4" flat edged brush for painting large surface areas. In most all cases of
cockpit building you will not need to purchase any roller applicators or roller trays unless perhaps you
are painting large exterior skin panels such as found on the SimSamurai CS-1, HX-1, XS-1, AX-1,
AX-27 and LX-1 models. Please see the specific builder manuals of these cockpit models for the
exact paint types and colors recommended. This was also discussed earlier in the Materials section.
In addition to purchasing brushes and some mixing sticks, you will want to purchase a box of latex or
nitrile gloves to help keep paint off of your hands. You should also get a few large canvas drop cloths
and if you will be using oil based paints, buy a roll of plastic to go under the drop cloths. Lastly, a one
gallon or half gallon can of mineral sprits will be necessary to thin and or clean up oil based paints. If
the paint you purchase requires something like Acetone for thinning then you will need that too.
You should also have a large empty can available and a few large jars in which you can place a few
inches of sprits into and then place the used oil brushes in the spirits after you are finished painting
for the day. Because most painting projects will take more than one day, use a thick stack of old
cotton rags or paper towels to brush out the excess mineral spirits from your brush on the following
day before you begin painting again. If you use water based paints then mineral spirits is not
necessary but all the other items discussed will still be needed for painting your cockpit.
 • Other Required Tools
Clamps - I highly recommend buying four 12" clamps by Wolfcraft. If found online at places like
eBay you can get them for $8 a clamp. They are an invaluable tool that you will need for clamping
down any fence cutting guide and can be used with a wide variety of many other projects.
Hammers - I recommend buying a general carpentry hammer. While no SimSamurai cockpit uses
any nails, a hammer and also a rubber mallet are two very useful tools in any carpenters tool bag.
Screw Driver Set - A set of good quality screw drivers is definitely needed for any construction job.
While corded or cordless drills can certainly fill this need in many respects, screw drivers are very
useful and necessary for simple and common tasks where a drill is overkill or wherever a drill may
not be able to get into a tight space. Therefore both long and short screwdrivers are recommended.
Flexible Drill Extender - This specialty tool is likely a must have for cockpit building. It is a flexible
shaft with an internal spinning mechanism and a socket on the end for inserting any style of screw
driving tips. It is best used in cases where it is difficult to install a screw with a standard drill or screw
driver. Flexible extenders are usually 6" to 12" in length and cost $20 at most. I have an 8" style.
Socket Wrench Set - A set of good quality SAE and Metric sockets and socket wrenches is always
helpful, especially when installing nuts and bolts and most all SimSamurai cockpits contain anywhere
from 6 to 20 bolts. I don't ever recommend using pliers on bolts because the teeth of pliers always
scratch up and destroy the smooth finish of both bolt heads and their nuts.
Scribes and Picks - I recommend a scribing tool which is essentially a metal point that can be used
to mark on both wood and metal. A set of dentist style picks often comes in handy for many things
including lifting small cracks or chips in plywood that need to be glued back down.
Painters Tape - Painters tape is typically blue or green and has less tack than standard masking
tape. It is very useful for marking lines, or for holding down glued pieces or a wide variety of other
tasks. You can leave in place for a few days on a painted surface without worry whereas standard
yellow masking tape can pull the paint back off of your material or over time can be hard to remove.
Hand Protection - Make sure to buy a set of good quality form fitting work gloves. Do not get the big,
loose kind. Always wear work gloves while cutting wood and always wear them while sanding wood.
I have had many minor accidents in my years of carpentry and in each case my work gloves saved
me from trips to the hospital (and some did not!). Wear form fitting safety gloves...always!
Eye Protection - Make sure to buy a set of good quality impact resistant safety glasses. Whenever
cutting wood it will throw up saw dust and small splinters. This stuff will quickly obstruct your vision.
In worst cases it could launch a splinter into your eye. (it’s happened to me) Wear them...always!
Ear Protection - Make sure to buy a set of good quality noise suppressing ear phones. (and no, your
aviation headset is not a good idea!) All power tools make loud noise and you will quickly find that
your concentration level is much better when you are comfortable. Loud noises can actually make
you rush things or cause an accident so noise suppression actually helps you to be safer and have
better focus in addition to the main goal of protecting your hearing! Wear them...always!
Lung Protection - Make sure to buy a good quality respirator mask. I own one by 3M and it has
replaceable filters. They range in price from $25 up to $75. Get one that is NIOSH approved. I do
not recommend cheap paper/fabric style masks as they do not make a good seal on your face and
therefore do very little good as they still allow you to breath in dust and debris from the sides.
Regardless, always wear a dust mask whenever you are cutting wood or sanding wood and if the
mask is approved for VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) you can wear it while painting too!
FINAL NOTE : Please see the Builder Tips page of the SimSamurai website for several videos
which showcase and explain how to use all of these tools and more! SAMURAI BUILDER TIPS
Part 4 Basic Methods of Carpentry
Exercising Safety, Safety, and more Safety
As an experienced carpenter I cannot stress enough of how important safety is while using power
tools. Always : wear gloves, wear goggles, wear ear plugs, and wear a dust / vapor mask !
Secondly, always use good tools with fresh blades. Old worn out tools and old saw blades are a
recipe for disaster and personal injury. Before you cut something pay attention to what you are doing
and mentally walk yourself through each process right before you begin to actually perform a cut or
drill. Plan wisely, Plan ahead. Measure twice, Cut once. Be precise and methodical about everything
you do. And for god’s sake never drink on the job! Your fingers and hands will thank you later
because without them you will not be flying that much will you??!! Stay focused and stay aware!

Always exercise good judgment, caution, and safety!

Understanding Measurements and Conversions

Before you can cut or drill anything you need to be able to properly calculate and measure any item.
This includes materials such as wood, metal, plastics, screws, bolts, etc, but this can also relate to
some tools themselves such as blades and bits. Measurement calculation and conversion is fairly
easy but there are also things such as weight and volume calculations and conversions that this
guidebook does not need to explore. (you can do all that on your own rainy day)
In the U.K. and U.S.A. we use what is called the Imperial Units System (also known as British
Imperial) whereas the rest of the world (the ones with more common sense) use the Metric System
which is based on units of 10. The Imperial inch (1 inch) equals 2.54 centimeter or 25.4 millimeters.
The Imperial foot (12 inches) equals 30.48cm or 304.8mm. While it is so easy to make conversions
within the Metric System simply by moving a decimal point, we cannot do this with the Imperial
System yet it is still widely used. The Imperial System instead uses fractions of an inch for precise
measuring or it can use inch based decimal values on a scale of 1/100th or 1/1000th of one inch.
Using a standard English (Imperial) ruler or tape measure you will see how each inch is commonly
divided up into two halves, four quarters, eight eighths, sixteen sixteenths, thirty-two thirty seconds,
and likely not shown are the sixty-four sixty-fourths or the almost microscopic one hundred and
twenty eight one hundred twenty eighths….all of which comprise yes, just one single inch.
For example, a measurement written as 1-1/2” is one and one half inches which is also one inch and
two quarters or eight sixteenths or could be said as one inch and thirty-two sixty fourths if you want to
be overly precise and have people look at you funny. Indeed, the fractional inch based system can
be very confusing but it works. Another example would be that one and seven eighths inch (1-7/8”)
also equals one and fourteen sixteenths, or one and twenty-eight thirty seconds. I digress. The point
here is that you can be as precise as you need to be using the Imperial standard of fractional inches
but once you get below (or smaller) than using sixteenths of an inch things will become increasingly
confusing. Fortunately enough most all measurements in any SimSamurai cockpit design use halves
and quarters and only uses eights and sixteenths when absolutely necessary. I will never ask you to
measure out something as confusing as 49/64ths which is just one sixty-fourth longer than ¾” inch.
If I was on a job and had someone ask me to do that I might just quit! Regardless, inch fractions can
kind of be fun and the more you get comfortable with them over time you will see my point.
Now let’s explore the decimal values scale of one inch based on the 1/100th or 1/1000th conversion.
1-1/2” (one and one half inch) is also exactly equal to 1.5 inches. This is a decimal value. Likewise
1-3/4” inch is equal to 1.75” (one and three quarter inch). This there is obviously a decimal value for
every fractional equivalent right down to the 64th or even the microscopic 128th but again.. do we
really ever need to go that far down the rabbit hole in general carpentry.. probably not!
Now that the lesson of the last page is over let’s look at the chart below which will probably make
your life (and mine) a little easier when it comes to measurement conversions. Like I said previously,
you will probably never even need to look at this more than once or twice but you may find it useful in
cockpit building or may find it useful for many other projects. This scale below is based on one single
Imperial inch but it provides the conversion factors for fractional values, decimal values and even
Metric Millimeter values. Take your time and soak it all in. Don’t forget that you can also use internet
search engines like Google too for conversions. Simply search “Inches to MM” or “CM to Inches” etc.
You can quickly get an equivalent value that way too, but the chart below may provide to be much
more useful while sitting out on your shop table next to your tools.

Note to Foreign Customers

For those of you who live outside the
USA or UK and have purchased a set of
SimSamurai DIY blueprints you may
have likely thrown your fists up to the
heavens and shouted “why no metric!”
I too asked myself this long after having
drawn over 50 pages of designs and
unfortunately the program I used could
not just instantly recalculate and publish
everything in metric scale, otherwise I
would have already made this option
available for the world. I’m sorry ok!!!
Hopefully at some point this will change
but for now you will still have to use the
given conversion table at left to convert
to MM or CM or use Google for each cut
measurement given or I also suggest
the “Rule of Thumb” conversion below
which is referenced when you get your
DIY Builder Data email.

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.
The conversion scale in the chart above makes quick and
easy work of converting fractions of an inch to a decimal value
or even a millimeter value. Take for example ¼” (one quarter)
is .25 of one inch in decimal value which is also 6.35mm.
Because an inch is mainly divided in eight segments of eight
take notice of how those decimal values are shorter such as
.125 (1/8) .25 (2/8) .375 (3/8) .5 (4/8) .625 (5/8) .75 (6/8) .875 (7/8)
This rule of thumb below is primarily for
countries whose “4x8” plywood sheeting
is a metric size of 1200mm x 2400mm
which is slightly smaller than the 4ft x 8ft
(1219.2mm x 2438.4mm) and therefore
you will need to slightly down scale the
English measurements to make sure all
parts will fit onto the metric plywood.

Foreign Customer “Rule of Thumb” Conversion

If you are using metric sized plywood which measures 1200mm x 2400mm you must use the conversion scale below to
make sure all the cockpit parts will fit as they should onto the plywood sheet, otherwise you would have to buy additional
sheets. Using this “downscale” method reduces the overall size ever so slightly, so little in fact that you would not notice
if placed next to a cockpit of “English Standard”. The English Standard conversion is 1" (inch) = 25.4 mm (millimeter)
Knowing this you can instead simply multiply every given English measurement by a factor of 25. (instead of 25.4)
First convert to inches with a decimal value. For example 2' -3 1/2" = 27.5" (two feet three and one-half inch is also
twenty-seven and one half inch or 27.5”) So.. 27.5" inches x 25 = 687.5 millimeters. (or also 68.75 centimeters)
While not an exact 1:1 scale the downscale formula will still make the cockpit extremely close to the English Standard.
Again, the English Standard plywood is 48" x 96" whereas European plywood is slightly smaller at 1200mm x 2400mm.
96" converted to metric is 2438.40mm (thus it is 38.4 .mm larger than metric plywood) However 96 x 25 = 2400 mm.
Therefore this (*25) "down scale" formula is a simple method which will provide dimensions very close to actual size!
If you purchase metric plywood which is 1200mm x 2400mm use this formula to convert all English dimensions!
Starting Your Project
Once you have all the necessary materials and proper tools on hand, you should now be ready to
begin cutting out the plywood parts and lumber pieces for your SimSamurai flight simulator cockpit.
Please refer to your blueprints for all the pertinent measurement data and added notes and details.
Pay careful attention to all the pattern cuts and measurement lengths. If available, you may also
consult the accompanying picture folders for each phase of construction so as to see the basic steps
during each phase of work. These will most likely be in the form of online hosted slideshows.
If your cockpit has pictures available you should have received an email which provides links to online
slideshows which will aid in the construction process. However do note that any and all pictures are
from the original prototypes so please make sure that you always use the dimensions specified on the
blueprints themselves if you ever find that any dimensions in photos or dimensions in any manual
differ from what is found on the blueprints themselves. Always follow the blueprints!
Using the referenced combination of blueprints, photos, videos, the DIY manual and this carpentry
guidebook you should be able to start transferring the blueprint patterns onto the plywood exactly as
shown and then begin cutting out the pieces. You will notice in the patterns of some cockpits that the
two left 4'ft x 8'ft sections will detail that you need to cut out an identical second sheet. Thus you will
make two of the right, two of the middle, and two of the left. Therefore if two sheet patterns are
identical you can sandwich two pieces of plywood together and cut two sheets at once. If you decide
to do this so as to speed up the process, carefully mark out all the patterns on the first sheets bad
face and place it on top of the second sheet with its own bad or “ugly side” sheet face down. This way
you create a mirror image of the first sheet with both good sides sandwiched together. Once all is
cut, this creates a mirror image of each left and right piece. I call this process "pattern cut mirroring".

Cutting Two Plywood Sheets at Once

If you are planning on using the dual sheet cut method I just explained, you must make sure that all 4
corners of both sheets are in perfect alignment with one another and then once so, carefully drive a
1.25" screw at the four corners as well place ~ 4 other screws on several places on the scrap areas
(not within pattern borders) so as to closely mate the two large 4x8 sheets for cutting. You will also
want to make sure your Circular Saw is equipped with a fresh blade (recommend a 40 or 60 tooth
blade for smooth cuts) and that it is set to a depth of 1.6" inches so that it will penetrate both sheets.
Before you begin to cut the plywood please take the time to familiarize and or re-familiarize yourself
with the many useful carpentry tips on the next few pages. It is very important that you first become
knowledgeable in some key areas of carpentry technique. Even if you have used power tools in the
past these next few pages will greatly help you to make a professional looking cockpit.

Sheet mirroring can sometimes be confusing and if doing so you will need to take extra time and care not to mess
anything up or overcut lines. It is always helpful to label each piece or sections with a pencil first before mirroring.
Make sure you have assigned and labeled both the inside and outside and left / right before performing any types
of either stack cutting or mirror cutting two sheets of material. In general, never cut more than 2 sheets at once.
Changing a Saw Blade on a Circular Saw
Having a sharp saw blade with a number of teeth appropriate to your task is very important. The
higher the teeth count, the smoother the cut will be. Also in general, the sharper and newer the
blade…the faster the cut will be! In short, dull blades are dangerous, slow, and are much more
susceptible to binding and sporadic kick-backs which can possibly result in serious injury,
maiming, disfigurement, and a lot of blood and stitches! Sharper always = safer.
To change a saw blade you will need a wrench and or socket that fits the center bolt holding the
blade on. Before removal make sure the saw is unplugged and put on your work gloves on. Now,
take notice of the blades rotational direction. On the front or opposite side of the saw you should
now find a small lock button to press in. This will lock the blade and usually you have to hold this
button in to keep the blade locked. Next, you will actually have to turn the blade’s center lock bolt
clockwise with your wrench (rather than counter-clockwise like a normal jar) to loosen the nut. Turn
the center locking bolt clockwise until it comes off (usually with a big flat washer too) and then raise
the safety fence and remove the blade out through the bottom of the saw’s safety fence. Now replace
the blade with the new one and make sure the blade teeth and rotational direction are faced properly.
You may also notice that your new blade may have a solid center hole, while the old blade has a
diamond shaped center hole. If this is the case you will need to get a hammer and a large flat head
screwdriver and then carefully punch out the center diamond on the new blade.
If you look closely at your new blade you should see that the diamond center is already machine
punched but you must first knock out this metal piece before re-placing the blade on the saw.
To do this, set the blade on top of two pieces of wood scrap leaving just enough space in the middle
for the diamond to fall out underneath. Using a hammer and large flathead screwdriver carefully tap
the diamond center near one of the machined edge lines. Slowly keep doing this as needed around
the diamond perimeter until it breaks loose. You may also use a pair of pliers if needed to finish the
center “punch out” removal. Once done, reset the blade on the saw, make sure your teeth and
rotation are properly aligned and then reset the flat washer and bolt and begin to tighten down with
counter-clockwise rotation. To secure the blade you must once again repress and hold the lock button
on the opposite side of the saw and use the socket / wrench to make sure that that blade and center
lock bolt is secured tightly. The bolt should be now be tight but do not over tighten this bolt either.
Lastly, give the blade a spin with your hand and make sure the blade is not wobbling around!

Cutting Plywood with a Circular Saw

Depending on the material quality of your selected plywood you may often have a “good side” and a
“bad side”. You will want to take note of this as you lay out your pattern lines because you will want
to have the bad sides come out on the bottom faces of your finished product so that you don’t see
imperfections such as knots or cracks. Therefore when cutting plywood you will always want to
actually make your cutting marks and pencil lines on the bad face and therefore face the good side
down for cutting as doing this will actually provide a nicer and cleaner cut on the good face side!
This is because a hand held circular saw cuts counter clockwise, or up and back towards the
carpenter so it cuts smoother on the initial bottom cutting face because the blade spin up into and
against what would be the good side and cuts rougher on the top face as it rips up and out through
the material. Therefore, when cutting plywood I generally mark my patterns on the bad sides thus
placing the nicer side or my desired finished side face down! When mirror cutting two sheets the
bottom piece’s good face is face up but because it is sandwiched against the top sheet its cut marks
will still come out very clean. This is how the pro’s do it! While doing this, make sure to mark which
side of material you are supposed to cut on and mark it carefully. A whole piece of wood can easily
be scrapped with just one mis-cut which would then cause a second trip to the lumber yard. As we
discussed earlier, always carefully mark your material on the proper sides and then always check
measurements and cut positions twice before you actually perform a cut operation. You have been
warned!…Check measurements twice..and then cut once!
Setting Proper Blade Depth
Setting up a proper blade depth is very important when it comes to smooth, accurate rip cuts. First
make sure the saw is completely unplugged and then look for the adjustment lever or wing-nut on the
rear of the saw. Do not change the bevel angle on the front of your saw as most cuts will be square
90o cuts. However, there are some instances where you will need to make bevel cuts and in those
instances you will set the bevel angle first, and will then adjust the rear lever blade height adjustment
second so as to set the blade depth as per the material thickness you will cut.
To set the blade depth on your saw loosen the rear lever on the saw so that the flat metal base easily
slides upward and downward thus serving to raise or lower the blades cutting depth. Next, place the
saw on the edge of the plywood sheet(s) (or 2x4) and hold up the rotating safety slide. Next, from the
side of the saw, observe how far and or deep the blade will protrude into and underneath the bottom
edge of the plywood sheet(s) (or 2x4) when cutting.
Set and lock the blade depth so that the deepest blade tooth only sticks out below the plywood by
approximately 3/16” inch or ~5mm at most. Lastly, retighten the lock lever or wing-nut to maintain the
new blade depth setting and recheck the depth once tight. When cutting 2x4’s the blade depth
should typically be no more than 1.625” as a standard 2x4 wall stud in the USA is 1.5” inches thick.

Properly Marking for Cutting

Whenever you mark or “pull” a line make sure to make a hash mark with your pencil exactly on the
dimension as specified, i.e; if directions say pull your tape from the right and measure to 15” inches
and mark, this means place your tape measure on the right side of the board and pull it leftward past
15 inches and then place a hash mark with your pencil directly over the 15 inch mark on the tape
measure. I typically make a large “V” mark with the bottom point of the “V” pointing to the exact
measurement I want. This is much, much better than using a single style “I” line hash mark.

Setting Up a "Floor Style" Cutting Platform

To cut large plywood sheets with a Circular Saw on the ground you will need to lay out 4 evenly
spaced 4x4’s flat on solid ground such as in a garage or out in an area such as a flat paved driveway.
Then carefully lay the plywood on top of the four 4x4s. Before cutting any line make sure to adjust 2
of the 4x4’s to 6”~12” on either side of your cut line so that you do not actually cut into the 4x4!
Having the 4x4’s spaced a few inches on either side of your cut line will help assure that either side
of your plywood will not bow upward as you cut nor bend downward as you cut. Either of these
situations can bind and grab the saw causing it to violently kick back and if so, it can possibly cut your
leg instead! Therefore, carefully place 4x4’s under the plywood in the same direction as your cut line
and space them accordingly to keep the plywood and saw in a flat and level plane through the entire
cut. I always keep at least four to six 48” long scrap pieces of 4x4 to use for a floor cutting platform.
Before making cuts you can also place them perpendicular to the cut (not parallel) but it sacrifices
the 4x4s as you will slightly cut the supports as you pass over them. Because of this, setting proper
blade depth is very important as a blade set too deep will slow down as it passes over the 4x4.
You can see how a floor style platform works by visiting the Builder Tips page on the SimSamurai
website and view the associated tutorial videos on cutting plywood on the ground.

Golden Rules of Marking and Cutting

Remember this simple carpenter’s rule; “If I want to keep the right side then I will cut left of my line.”
And vice versa… “If I want to keep the left side, then I will cut on the right side of my line.” Obviously
you can cut a square board from any direction so knowing what side of the line to cut on is crucial to
your accuracy! As always.. “Measure twice, … and cut once!” Always make several “X" marks near
any cut line to label the scrap / cut side of your work. This is a crucial tip to remember as cutting on
the wrong side of any line will reduce the size of your work piece by the amount of blade thickness!
Proper Cutting Techniques
When cutting a board you always want to make sure you are cutting on the proper side of the line
before you begin to cut. For example, if you just marked off a 15” section to cut having pulled from
the right as outlined prior and are wishing to keep the 15” section to your RIGHT you must then place
your saw blade on the LEFT side of the line and will want to then cut LEFT of the marked line so as to
leave the entire 15” dimension of the wood.
However, take notice that cutting to the left side of any line is much more difficult with a circular saw
because it is harder to see the line as the line is now behind the blade. Therefore it is always visually
easier to cut with the saw to the right of the line because it is in now in front of the blade so that you
can see it. Therefore if you find that you have to ever cut left of a line you should first try and see if it
is possible to attack the wood from the opposite side so as to see the cut line. Sometimes its not!
While you can try and cut the same line from the opposite end or other side of the board so that you
still retain the whole piece of wood you want to keep you may find that this is not always an option
and the next few pages will teach you how to overcome this issue through using cutting fences.
Regardless, after marking your cut lines you should always mark several large or small “X’s” on the
“scrap side” which is always the side on which you will need the blade to cut. So remember…The X
will always go on the opposite side of the line for the piece you are wanting to keep for your project.
To conclude this lesson, you will always need to know which side of the line to cut on and know how
to properly mark the “to scrap” side. If you were to ever cut on the wrong side of your line then you
will have just reduced the actual piece you want to keep by about 1/8” inch (the saw blade width) and
making any mistakes like this will quickly cause your project to have major issues or could cause you
to have to throw away a whole piece and start over. Even as an experienced carpenter this has
happened to me on occasion because I was rushing things and not paying enough attention!
There are always occasional instances where, for whatever reason, you will have to cut on the left
side of your marked line. In rare instances such as this, it is very important to set up a proper cutting
fence with clamps as this will assure you of making a straight and accurate cut even while not directly
seeing your cut line. Therefore setting up a clamped rip fence is explained in the next sections.

Here a small piece of wood is being used as the cutting

guide or “stop fence” to allow the metal shoe of the
saw to ride against it as it cuts. This allows the saw to
make a very straight clean cut just like a table saw.

This is a “floor style cutting platform”. It is made of 4x4

wood posts so that the standoff height allows the use
of clamps which will hold the wood and cutting guide.
Setting Up a Rip Fence / Cutting Guide
A "rip fence" is a very handy tool in the carpenter’s arsenal. Using one will allow you to make cuts
both as smooth and straight if not straighter than a table saw will if used properly. A rip fence can
be purchased for about $25 at any good hardware store. You can also use a long, straight level if
available for any short cuts which require a fence. Generally a piece of wood is not recommended
for use as a fence unless you are really sure that the wood is very, very straight. A piece of wood
that looks very straight can still be 1” off over 8 feet or can be bowed without really being able to see
it visually! If you don’t have a cutting fence available then just make sure to carefully mark your lines
and carefully make all your cuts by hand while moving your circular saw slowly and steadily all while
keeping a watchful eye on your cut line. In either case please make sure to review the last few
tutorials on how to properly cut plywood on a floor style cutting platform.

Using Rip Fences and Cutting Guides

Using a rip fence / cutting guide in conjunction with floor style or table style cut platforms is very
useful for precise “home style” carpentry. If you can get these basic concepts in your head for how to
accurately set up and use a fence you will be able to get very straight and professional cuts out of all
your wood and will often do so as good as any machine can. Because all SimSamurai cockpit
designs are mostly comprised of plywood this next lesson is a very, very important one.
A rip fence can be a straight piece of metal or wood which has a high enough sidewall edge so as to
serve as a “stop or block” for which the edge of your saw will rest up against as you make a cut. A rip
fence then, in essence, is a "guide-rail" for your saw. A rip fence can be as short as 2 feet or as long
as 8 or 9 ft. and typically it will be good to have both sizes available. I often use a shorter 3ft piece of
hard oak wood for a short style rip fence or I use the side edge of a 2ft aluminum level.
My longest rip fence is a 2-part aluminum guide I purchased at a hardware store. It breaks down into
two shorter 48” sections or can be connected to make one 96” long rip fence. I also have a straight
2ft machined aluminum carpenter’s level which I often use as a rip fence because it is very straight
and has a 1.5" high sidewall which is great for making plunge cuts in plywood. Lastly, I also have a
few scrap pieces of solid, straight hardwood such as oak or maple that I often use for short length rip
fences. Regardless, any rip fence you may use needs to be very straight with a suitably high sidewall
for the saw to press against as it cuts down the line. High sidewalls also aid in plunge cutting.
The sidewall height of any rip fence is very important so that your saw doesn’t ride up or over the
fence as you cut. A .5” to .75” inch sidewall height is typically ideal. Higher sidewall fences are much
better for making plunge cuts in plywood as a plunge cut is when the saw’s rear end is first raised in
the air before cutting and then you slowly lower the saw into the material. Thus a higher sidewall for
plunge cuts will allow the saw to make more contact with the front edge of the circular saw’s fence
and this will help you to maintain a straighter line as you start the saw and then slowly plunge the
spinning blade down into the wood. Plunge cuts in plywood is detailed a few pages ahead.
Using Wood Clamps
The second most important part of creating a good homemade cutting guide are to use good quality
clamps. I suggest buying at least four hand squeezable clamp / spreader type made by Wolfcraft.
For general purposes I suggest purchasing those which are 12” long as you will not need to clamp
anything that is overly thick. In some cases a few standard 3”or 4” metal screw type “C” clamps can
also work for clamping a rip fence to a piece of wood but they are much more cumbersome and their
smaller heads can slightly damage your project material if you do not use added wood spacers.
As you clamp the cutting fence / guide rail to the plywood on two ends the total jaw width for each
clamp will commonly be 2” inch or less which is why smaller clamps may be ok to use.
The important thing to remember with using fences and clamps is to make sure you tightly clamp
down the fence at each end of your plywood so that the fence cannot move around at all while you
are pressing up against it with your saw….especially while cutting!
Secondly ALWAYS check your fence to cut line distance very carefully at both ends of the fence once
the clamps are in place as the action of clamping can easily move you a little farther or closer away
from the proper distance from your actual cut line. It always happens. Measure twice...cut once!
As you clamp down the rip fence to your wood this line to fence distance can often move around a
little if you are not very careful. Once clamped re-check your fence to cut line distance about every 2
feet down the entire length of your cut line. Only then will you be assured that you have properly set
up and clamped your rip fence to make a very accurate cut.
Another important factor is to get someone to help hold down your cutting guide as you make the cut.
If you are cutting a sheet of plywood over long distances and only have your fence guide clamped at
the two far most ends, the guide will have a tendency to bow or wobble slightly as you move towards
the middle which is obviously not clamped in place. Therefore having both a straight and accurate
line marked along the entire length, as well having someone to hold down the fence in the middle of a
long line before you cut will help make a very accurate cut along the entire length of your material.
The next section details how to accurately set up and calculate "fence to cut line distances" as this
distance will vary from saw to saw and greatly depends on how you need to cut the material.

The left picture shows an aluminum style cutting guide used on a floor platform. The second shows a
shorter guide rail made from hard wood which is being cut on a work table. In both pictures the metal
ruler is used to determine accurate placement of the fence on the proper side of the cut line.
Cut Line to Fence Line Calculations
The next important skill in using rip fences is finding your “cut line to fence line calculation”. (CLFLC)
By this I specifically mean you will have to routinely adjust how and where the fence is placed based
on several key factors. These are commonly;
A; where the line to be cut is, B; how long that line is, C; how the piece to work with is shaped, then
D; what side of the line is the material to be kept, and E; on which side of the line you will cut.
Because there are several ways to cut a piece of wood with a fence you will often see that you will
have to choose from four basic options on how best to “attack” the cut line and material. This can
often prove to be confusing to a novice carpenter but once explained properly it is really not difficult to
understand. The next page includes a simple diagram that will help demystify how to achieve perfect
cuts using various fence methods which will attack the line and material to be cut from all different
sides of the wood. There are in fact only 4 specific ways.
When using a fence during your own cutting you will often want to refer back to this page and the next
so as to help you make the best decision on how to cut the material you are working on. While a lot of
these smaller cuts can be made freehand without any fence (especially if you have a very steady
hand) I will suggest that you use the rip fence method for any cuts over 12” long as I assume you do
want your sim cockpit edges to come out very professional looking. After all, you will be spending a
few hundred dollars to make this cockpit so please don’t disappoint yourself by making a lot of
shoddy freehand cuts just to try and speed up the process. Once you get the hang of using a rip
fence (of any length) your cutting confidence and skills will quickly grow and you will learn a lot from
each of the 4 different fence to line cut variations.

Sizing up the Cut

On the next page are the key components of the Cut Line to Fence Line Calculations that were
discussed in the last section. The diagram on the next page shows how to achieve smooth and
accurate rip cuts while attacking the cut line from various sides of a piece of wood. The diagram
specifically shows how to calculate the saw blade distance from the cutting fence while placing the
fence on either the left or right of your saw, and then cutting against the cut line or away from the cut
line meaning cutting either left or right of the line. You will want to carefully record these four specific
distances for each scenario based on your own saw and fence so that you can quickly reference
them later when ready to make any cut. The next page provides a simple diagram for you to
establish these four cut scenario figures using some scrap test wood before you begin cutting. This
exercise will establish all of the four distances with your own circular saw. Refer to the pictures and
slideshows which may have accompanied your plan set to see some of these rip fence variations in
action. You can also consult the Builder Tips page on the website for tutorial videos.
There are only four cutting scenarios because the saw blade can go on either side of the line and the
fence or cutting guide can also be placed on either side of the saw itself depending on the material to
be cut. Therefore there are only four (4) cutting options, each of which will yield a different distance
that you must set up from the cut line to the fence line which will then be clamped in place.
In all cases of all four options of the CLFLC rule, always make sure that you cut on the scrap side of
the line to retain the desired dimensions of the project material you will be keeping. As discussed
earlier, always place small “X” marks on the scrap side of your line and then cut on that side.
In all cases also make sure that both the project piece and scrap sides are both properly supported
underneath your work surface so that one side or the other does not inadvertently fall off onto the
floor as this can severely damage the project piece you are cutting.
 Fence Placed & Clamped On
Left Side of Saw

A - Placing project material on left

(scrap on right) and saw cuts on
right side of line mark.

-- The distance from fence to line =

___________
B - Placing scrap material on left
(project on right) and saw cuts on
left side of line mark.

-- The distance from fence to line =

___________

Fence Placed & Clamped On

Right Side of Saw

C - Placing project material on left

(scrap on right) and saw cuts on
right side of line mark.

-- The distance from fence to line =

___________
To record each distance draw a straight line on
some scrap wood and then use your saw and D - Placing scrap material on left
fence to set up each scenario. Press your saw (project on right) and saw cuts on
against the fence while placing the blade on each left side of line mark.
side of the straight line. Then record the distance
of the line to the fence based on the different saw -- The distance from fence to line =
blade positions. Lastly, you will switch the fence ___________
to the other side of your saw and repeat the
same process by recording two more different
line-to-fence distances.

The simple four-part exercise above will instantly cover all the possible cutting scenarios you will ever
face in any home carpentry project. They will always be tailored to your specific saw and blade.
Use the two diagrams above with your own saw or saws. Once you have determined the four proper
“fence-to-line" lengths based on each different cut scenario write them in the spaces provided and
then use them for future reference as you make all your cuts. You will quickly find that these four
dimensions will come in handy for any project where you need to make very accurate and straight
cuts! Lastly, just remember to always check and recheck your fence to line distances at each end of
the cutting guide near your clamps before making the cut as once you clamp one end, the other end
can and most often will slightly shift left or right. If you ever use a thinner cut blade on your saw the
dimensions will slightly change again so as always --- measure twice ...and cut once!
Making Plunge Cuts in Plywood
Plunge cutting can be one of the more difficult and more scary things you will do whenever cutting
plywood. Not all SimSamurai cockpits require plunge cuts but some do. Plunge cuts require that you
first place the front of the saw against the stabilized rip fence while holding up the rear of the saw in
the air. You will then need to start the saw, allow it to reach full speed, and then slowly plunge the
saw down into the plywood. To properly perform a plunge cut you should first place the saw in a
good starting position that is approximately 6-8 inches away from any intersecting or angled lines.
Do your best to make sure the rear / high end of your saw is also squared up with the fence even
though it is raised in the air above it. This is why using a taller fence with plunge cuts is a good idea
because more of the fence will make contact with the edge of the fence or shoe of your circular saw.
Typically the cutting fence cannot be more than 2" high though and this is because the motors of
most circular saws will extend out past the metal shoe base of the saw. Therefore if the cutting fence
is too high it can hit the motor as you plunge down into the material and this would then cause the
saw blade to instantly angle which will cause binding and kick-back and this is very dangerous.
To begin a plunge cut make sure the rotate-able blade safety guard is sufficiently pulled backwards
and then, with the front of the saw pressed squarely against your rip fence, fully squeeze the saw
trigger and slowly lower and thus plunge the fully rotating saw blade into the plywood. Keep your eye
on the pencil line as you plunge into the plywood. As the saw becomes flat onto the plywood notice
how the blade has actually penetrated rearward closer to any angle marked intersection! If you had
started exactly at any intersecting line you would have immediately made a wrong cut into and over
an intersecting line! Therefore whenever making plunge cuts remember to start sufficiency ahead of
any intersecting lines. Now that the saw is fully seated back onto the plywood you can then cut the
line moving forward and you should stop cutting about ½” inch before any other intersection.
Making Angled Cuts and Beveled Edge Cuts
Using the pattern diagrams on your blueprints you will mark out all lines with a tape measure,
straight-edge, and sharp pencil on the plywood. Then refer to your “fence-to-line” dimensions we set
up earlier. Also know that these distances will change any time you make an angled cut or bevel cut.
This is because the more you angle the blade…the more the blade moves toward the saw’s own left
side of its fence edge. Therefore, if you must cut anything where you will adjust the bevel angle of
the circular saw at any angle greater that 0 degrees pay attention to this fact. Use a fence guide and
a test piece of scrap plywood to determine the new fence to blade distance and then re-clamp the
cutting guide fence at the new distance. Remember that this will change with every degree.
Cutting Angles in Wood
If using a chop miter saw to cut angles, mark the angle on the wood first with a protractor and angle
guide and then mark the proper side of the line to cut on with an X. If the angle to cut is greater than
45 degrees you may need to make a plywood jig at a given angle of 45-degree (or less) and then
subtract the jig angle amount for your cut. For example, to make a sharp 65-degree cut you would
need to build a triangular cutting jig with an angle of 20 degrees. (thus 65 minus 45.... 45+20 = 65).

Working with Damaged Wood

If the end of your 2x4 lumber or plywood is rough or cracked feel free to cut off a few inches from the
end first (if sheet / cut patterns allow it) so that you can begin your cut measurements on a nice and
new clean end. If you have a friend or spouse around that can hold the wood (plywood or 2x4s) in a
stable and “pressurized position” while you perform any cut then so much the better so as to not allow
your wood to slide or kick around while you make the cuts.
Your goal throughout all of your cuts should be to make clean exacting cuts without the wood moving
or binding your saw which could be dangerous and of course would not allow the piece to come out to
the exact design specifications or it could injure you while cutting. Saw kick-back, especially with
hand held circular saws, can be very dangerous as it can injure you if it kicks out of the cut slot.
Using Jigs
A jig is either a handmade or store bought device which aids in completing a cutting or drilling
process. Luckily no SimSamurai cockpit design requires the use of a jig but because they are often
used in many advanced carpentry projects they are worth discussing. As a first example, a jig could
be a square hole cut out of a piece of plywood where you use the square hole to then hold pieces of a
picture frame together for the purpose of gluing or nailing the frame together. So in that sense a jig is
an “extra set of hands” that can position and hold or squeeze something together that you cannot
normally do with your own two hands while working. A second example would be a piece of wood
that needs to be cut to a specific angle. If a saw, like a chop miter saw can only move to a maximum
angle that will not allow for what you need, you would have to create an angled “jig” piece that allows
your work piece to be pushed or rotated within the limits of the saws maximum cut angle. A final
example could be an angled block of wood on which a piece of metal is attached which must have
holes drilled into it (at the opposing angle) which the wood (jig) block is providing. So in this case the
angled wood jig holds and supports the piece which needs angled holes. If the jig is 60 degrees this
means the holes that are needed in the material might be 30 degrees. 60+30 = 90 degrees and this
is something you always need to account for when making angle cuts in carpentry.
As you can see, jigs are a specified tool with a specific purpose and because of that most jigs are
homemade simply because they often have to be made for a “one use” type of purpose. Jigs can be
of any size or material so long as the jig can perform the desired task to facilitate the desired outcome
on the actual work piece you are needing to create or modify.

Using a Table Saw or Miter Saw

Two other tools and processes worth honorable mention are Table saws and Miter saws. Both Table
and Chop or Slide / Chop style Miter saws commonly have either 10” or 12” inch blades. Table saws
are mainly for cutting sheet woods like plywood. Table blades can typically rise out of the table by an
amount of 40% of the blades width. Therefore if using a table saw with a 12” blade you can probably
cut through material that is up to 4.5” inch thick. This means you could rip cut or “fillet” wall stud 2x4s
or even 4x4 or 4x6 fence posts or some wall beams if needed. The main thing to remember however
is that the thicker you cut, the slower you need to push the material through the saw and it’s always a
good idea to have a robust motor that powers the saw for thick material. Typically a 1-2 horsepower
motor is common for most table saws. Some run off 120volt power whereas other more industrial
types may require 240 volt. Some are built to run off either type but you have to set up your service
panel breaker correctly and may have to reposition some wiring within the motor of the saw.

Regardless of the power and horsepower, table saws are an extremely handy tool in any wood shop.
They can be used for a wide variety of cutting procedures and in addition to performing long rip cuts
you can angle the blade on most (normally only back toward the fence) so that you can make angled
or beveled cuts in a long piece of wood whether it be plywood or hardstock. That said, my most
important tip for making any angle or bevel cut is to never trust the angle gauge or “pointer” which are
a typical stock feature of any table saw. Usually their settings can be off be 5 or even 10 degrees so
if you need to make a precise angle or bevel cut you should use a hand held angle guide and adjust
the saw blade to match the tool as this will provide much greater accuracy.

Lastly, table saws are considered to be a very dangerous tool because of the exposed blade. Many
people have been maimed and permanently disfigured by table saws. Because of this fact my two
golden rules of thumb for this tool is to “always keep your eye on the blade any time it is in motion”
and “always imagine a 1 foot radius around the blade that your fingers must never, ever enter”. If
more people had followed these two simple rules they would still have all of their fingers like I do and
I have been using this tool almost weekly for over 10 years. Just like a checklist in any aircraft, you
can’t gloss over small things like this or you will wind up in very bad places!
 Aside from making straight rip cuts or bevel cuts with a
table saw you can also use one to make cross grain
cuts if desired much like you might do with a board on
a chop miter saw. A lot of carpenters and woodworkers
will do this because the table saw can allow for much
larger pieces to be cut than a chop miter saw can.

Another unique feature to most all table saws is they

An angled Miter jig placed on a table saw to make
angled cuts on pieces placed on either side of jig.
also contain grooves on the table surface for installing
angle jigs. You set up the jig at a desired angle and
then press your material against the jig and make your
cut. This is common practice for places like cabinet
shops or any place which makes furniture that requires
angled pieces of material. In some cases you can both
angle and then bevel cut a piece of material on a table
saw and in all instances of compound cuts such as this
you must first carefully think about the proper order of
the cuts and bevels to achieve the desired result.

Chop / Miter Saws

Chop saws and miter saws are often grouped together because of their visual similarity but they can
also be very different in their skill set. In addition to the most common difference of either a 10” or 12”
blade, a basic standard chop saw may have no angle adjustments at all and therefore may only be
able to chop pieces of wood at a squared off 90 degree angle. Sometimes this can be just fine for
general house framing but most people will also want to have the more useful feature of being able to
make angled or beveled edge cuts. Therefore a step up from this is the more useful Chop Miter saw.
These types have the ability to pivot or swing the blade fully left or right on a horizontal plane by a
degree which is normally no more than 50 degrees to either side. Lastly, at the top of the line in this
category are the compound sliding miter saws, which in addition to the leftward and rightward pivoting
of the blade, the blade can also be angled to some degree (usually 45 degrees) on a vertical plane
therefore creating a compound cut on two different axes. In addition to this, the entire blade and blade
motor of these models typically have the ability to slide backwards and forwards so that material up to
12” or even 14” in width can be cut. Use of the compound angle features will reduce that total cut
width but with typical home construction it is not often to find something that a 12” compound sliding
miter saw cannot do. I myself own the top of the line model by RIDGID.

As with table saws, you actually do not need to use a

chop or chop miter saw with building a SimSamurai
cockpit but there are of course several steps in each
process where one or both of these larger, more
expensive tools can be of good use. This would be
most often for quickly cutting any 2x4 wall members
or for making the occasional angled cut.
One of the best tips for using a chop miter saw or
compound miter saw is learn how to use its features
and learn how to calculate angles. For example if you
need to cut the end off of a board or 2x4 at an angle of
20 degrees, meaning you need to keep 20 degrees on
the material itself, this will mean that the saw must
pivot over 80 degrees leftward or rightward. As stated
earlier most do not pivot more than 45 or 50 degrees
per side. So when faced with problems like this you A lot can be made with a fully featured Compound
need to learn how to “attack” the wood and if needed Sliding Miter Saw such as this but be prepared to
learn to build jigs to complete the cut you desire. pay around $500 to buy one new from RIDGID.
Proper Drilling and Screwing Techniques
During cockpit construction and assembly you will need to pre-drill many holes. This is required for
attaching the main 2x4 support pieces to any base decks, mid decks, and top sections. Do not skip
over any parts of pre-drilling plywood and 2x4’s or other material. Pre-drilling is quite necessary so
as to not inadvertently crack or split the wood which would cause overall joint stability to become
quite weak if not useless. Cracked or split wood causes screws to strip out more easily and can
permanently damage the wood. Pre-drilling holes wherever needed is very important in any project
so please just get used to this fact now. You will need to pre-drill many holes in your project!
Pre-drilling any hole requires that you use a drill bit that is at maximum 1/16th of an inch smaller than
the screw diameter you intend to use. The goal of pre-drilling is to remove enough material to still
allow the screw to bite the wood properly but not too much so as to need a thicker screw! Secondly,
whenever pre-drilling wood make sure that your fingers on your other hand, which will most likely be
holding the wood surface, are not directly behind where the drill bit may punch through! I have done
this myself and drilling a half inch deep hole into your hand is not fun, especially when you have to
reverse and back out the drill bit to release your hand. Ouch!
Whenever using a corded or cordless drill it is always important to exercise the same level of safety
and awareness that you use while handling any saw. The most important rule to stress while drilling
through any surface is to make sure your opposite hand and fingers are not on the other side of the
material where the drill bit may penetrate through. It is a lesson you do not want to learn as having to
back a drill bit out of your hand is disturbingly painful. As always, wear good form fitting gloves!
#1 - Drill straight and true. If you are pre-drilling a piece of wood for the purpose of installing a screw
or bolt later on then you should be as careful as possible to drill the hole in a straight line all the way
through the material. Because hand drills are not fixed immovable drill presses which would provide
a very straight hole, this is often very hard to do. The tip here is to imagine how your drill moves on
two axes while the drill bit is resting on the drill point you have marked. One axis is forward and back
while the other axis of movement is side to side. As you drill the material keep these two axes in your
mind and concentrate on keeping the drill in the very middle of these two axes and perpendicular
(squared) to the drilling surface. Some drills now have little bubble levels which aid in this goal but
this also assumes that you have already set your material on a perfectly flat and level surface too!
You can also purchase small 2cm circular dome levels from eBay to mount on the back end of your
drill. These levels are commonly used for cameras but they work great for drills too and are a great
way to make sure you are drill straight and true down into any surface. They are also very cheap.
Another good option for drilling very straight holes is to purchase a portable drill guide / drill press
attachment for your corded/cordless drill. There is one made by Wolfcraft which can be purchased
for ~$25. This handy device attaches to your drill chuck. It has two guide rail rods and a flat base
which will allow you to make more perfectly straight and square holes than can be done by hand.
#2 - Use the right drill bit for the job. When pre-drilling any surface for screw installation make sure
that you use a drill bit that is smaller than the diameter of the screw you will use. For example a
screw with a 1/8" diameter will require pre-drilling the wood surface with a smaller drill bit diameter
size of 3/32" which is 1/32" smaller than 1/8". This assures that you are still left with sufficient
material in the penetrated hole for the screw threads to grab onto.
If making holes for any bolt installation then this rule is the complete opposite. For example, if you are
wanting to drill a hole so as to install a bolt with a 1/4" (.25 inch) shaft you should then make the hole
at minimum 1/32" or 1/16" larger and thus would use a drill bit size of either 9/32" or 5/16" in diameter.
Likewise, for a 3/8" bolt you will typically want to drill out a 7/16" hole for the bolt to easily pass.

Always remember that you can make any hole bigger.... but you can never make one smaller!
#3 - Don't tear up the back of your material. Whenever you are going to drill all the way through a
piece of material such as plywood or a piece of 2x4 always make sure to place a solid piece of scrap
wood under the location where the drill bit will penetrate through the wood. While drilling, also make
sure to apply a sufficient amount of pressure on the wood you are drilling so as to press it and the
scrap piece together. What this does is it creates a clean exit hole on the opposite side of your
material. If you drill a hole without it, the drill bit will always have the tendency to "explode through"
which will split and chip out the backside. This will damage the rear surface and leave it unsightly.
(ok..ugly!) Using this method also helps to preserve your drill bit as you would not, for example, want
to drill a hole in plywood that is resting on a hard surface like concrete. To prevent this issue use
pieces of scrap wood to your advantage as this instantly allows for clean exit holes with your drill.
#4 - Space your screws or bolts evenly. If you have a piece of material that will need to have several
bolts or screws placed in a row, or in a straight line with one another, you will most often want to
space all your holes at an exact equal distance from one another.
For example, lets say we have a 36" long board that we are wanting to attach to a piece of plywood.
We know we cannot place a screw or bolt hole on the exact ends so lets first make a drill point mark
on each end that is 1.5" inward from each end. From these first two points measure the remaining
distance between them which would now be 33" (36 - 1.5 - 1.5) If the ends of the board needed to
be supported underneath by other material then maybe you will want to start the "end holes" at 3/4"
or .75" from the end of each board. It is this first determination of where the two outermost or end
screws will go that immediately helps determine where the remaining screws in the same line will go.
We know we will already have those two outer screws to install so lets say we want to have 3 more
screws along the board for a total use of 5 screws. 3 screws between the first outer two will create 4
spaces as seen in the diagram below. So, in order to determine equal spacing between all of the
screws we simply divide the number of desired spaces (4) by the inner distance between the two
outermost screws (33") which yields an exact distance of 8.25" apart. Thus start from one of the first
two outer marked screw points, measure over 8.5" mark the drill point, measure over another 8.25"
mark again, and so on until you are to the other end of the board. Likewise, you could start at one of
the two outer end drill points mark the next inward point, then move to the first point on the opposite
side, mark the next inward point and so on until you meet in the middle.
Using this very simple spacing calculation method allows you to evenly space screws, nails, or bolts
on any given line on any project you will ever build. It’s really just that simple!

Lastly, after having become familiar with drilling techniques and proper drilling tools, you should want
to learn about other types of drill bits such as Coring bits, Paddle or Spade bits, and Forstner bits, all
of which are very common to advanced woodworking. Forstner bits in particular are great for making
deeper recesses and pockets for screw or bolt holes where you want to hide the head of the screw or
bolt. If you want to hide a screw or bolt head make sure to use the larger width Forstner bit first before
actually making the much smaller width centralized screw hole or bolt hole!
Painting and Finishing Techniques
Before you ever paint any wood surface (or any material for that matter) you should always make
sure it is fairly smooth, clean, dust free, and ready for paint. If surfaces are rough or have any jagged
edges you should sand them smooth using 180 to 220 grit sand paper and consider filling any divots
or voids with some filling compound. You can easily create a makeshift sanding block using a 5" long
piece of scrap 2x4 material. Then cut a piece of sand paper that is big enough to wrap around the
sides of the 2x4. When sanding, always move back and forth in the direction of the wood grain.
If you do not, you can actually leave grooves in the wood that will be noticeable once painted.
Lastly, you should always wear work gloves during any sanding procedure as the process can and
will dislodge wood splinters which can and will deeply penetrate into your skin! I guarantee it!
Once you have completely sanded your material you will want to make sure it is free of dust and
debris before you prime and paint it. After sanding, briskly wipe off all the wood pieces with a dust
brush and then wipe it all down with a hot, damp cloth and allow it to dry for 30 minutes. Remove as
much of the remaining sawdust as you can so that it does not get mixed into your paint while painting.
Allow all damp wood to dry out in direct sunlight for at least 30 - 45 minutes before painting.
All painting choices are up to you. Please refer back to the details given in the section on Materials
Selections. You are free to paint your material in any colors or fashion of your choosing. Don’t forget
to wear latex gloves while painting and make sure to wear a vapor mask so as to not inhale any paint
particles and vapors. If you will be using spray paint this is very, very important as all paint contains
many hazardous chemicals which over time can cause things like brain damage and cancer.
If you are only using water based latex paint with a brush or roller then a mask is generally not as
necessary as it is when spraying. If you are using any oil based mix or any oil based spray paint
remember to keep some clean mineral spirits on hand for cleaning up your hands and paint brushes
when complete. As always, use sheet plastic and canvas cloth drop cloths to keep your driveway’s
concrete or front yard clean and free of paint stains! Your family will thank you for being professional!
I highly recommend painting in the shade and never in temperatures above 80o F. Painting in shade
and in cooler temperatures from 65o to 80o will allow for more consistent brush strokes and will allow
for proper drying time. It is also best to not paint in the early morning or late afternoon or dusk when
the humidity is high. 9 am – 4 pm in the shade is typically the best times for painting anything.

Painting Tools
For all paint types you should purchase the paint, some latex gloves, a 2" brush and at least one or
two 3” or 4" flat style brushes and a 4” paint roller with several ½” roller naps. Also know that paint
brushes are made of different fibers. Some are specially made for oil paints, some are specific for
water based paints (latex or latex acrylics) and some are made to be used with either type. Lastly for
latex paints you will need a plastic bucket or two and for oil based paint use 2 metal buckets, one for
mixing and one for clean-up. For oil-based paints you will also need to purchase a can of mineral
spirits and or acetone to thin the paint and to clean up your brushes. Acetone in particular is a paint
thinning agent and is not typically ever used for brush cleaning.

Use of Proper Ventilation

If you paint in a garage keep the largest door open and make sure the area is very well ventilated!
Remember, oil based paint and mineral spirits are flammable products and they contain fumes which
can make you light headed or nauseous! Therefore paint in a garage with the door open or paint
outdoors in your driveway or backyard and do so on any non-windy day! While it is best to paint in a
dust free, zero wind environment like a garage, it is very important to establish good ventilation in any
place such as this. Open windows, use box fans, and be smart about maintaining clean air flow.
Paint Color Selection and Application
For the main framework components such as all of the 3/4" plywood and 2x4 vertical supports or wall
members I prefer oil-based paints, particularly for the plywood and 2x4 framework pieces because oil
paint is very durable and penetrates the wood better than latex or acrylics. I also recommended
mixing a custom 2 color metallic oil based mixture who's formula is explained next.
For plywood and interior wall frames I mix together ~10% (12.8 oz) of Rustoleum aluminum paint to
~90 % (115.2 oz) gloss black. Using around 12-16 oz of aluminum to what is roughly 90% of one
gallon of black paint creates a rich charcoal metallic bronze color I have dubbed as “Black Galaxy”.
Mix this blend in a separate 1 gallon metal container to obtain a consistent formula. You will need to
occasionally remix the paint with a stick as you paint. Add in 1/2 cup of Mineral Spirits (or Acetone if
required) to the mix at the beginning and once every hour to maintain a thinner working mix. If you
use an oil base paint mix like this there is generally no need for priming the wood as the oil base paint
will react with the wood much like a thick stain. It will partially soak into the wood helping to preserve
it. The aluminum in this custom mix reacts very nicely with the wood giving off an iridescent metallic
quality that looks much more interesting than solid black or gray. If you want more metallic accents
then add more aluminum, remix the paint, then test before application. A gun-metal metallic gray
would be 1 full gallon of black paint to 1 quart aluminum paint.
This simple mixture will provide more than enough paint for any SimSamurai cockpit. Again, I would
also mix in 1 cup of thinner as this really helps the oil paint spread out more evenly. While painting
with the mixture as each day passes mix in a small splash of thinner (~1/8 cup) as the initial mixed
content will slowly evaporate out of the paint. The evaporation rate will be especially high in hot air
and low humidity. -(which is also a great aviation subject!)- The goal here is to keep a consistent mix
of paint to thinner. With the suggested color mix and quantity you can typically paint all the wood with
just one coat and it should not require a second coat. You will most likely have paint left over for
possible recoats or many other home projects. The leftover paint should be stored for future use in a
metal pail with a tight lid or large glass jars and tight lids. Do not store oil paint in plastic containers!

Painting Large Exterior Skin Panels / Fiberboard Sheeting

For fiberboard paneling, which you will use for the outside exterior skin of some of the SimSamurai
cockpits, it is recommend that you use a different type of paint on each side. For the rough cross-
hatched sides I recommend a Latex primer and paint such as interior latex house paint or use Kilz
Original oil based primer / stain killer tinted with 2oz of black to yield a nice mid-toned gray.
For the rough sides which are to be placed facing the interior toward the pilot (or pilots) you can
use latex primer first and then a latex acrylic top coat or use a single thick coat of stain blocking
primer such as Kilz with the included tint. You can keep the primer as your final coat or paint the
rough interior sides with a final top coat of an olive drab color, a darker gray color, or a sand tan color.
Priming does add a little more time and effort to any project but it greatly helps the second coat to
look consistent as the rough side of fiberboard soaks up a lot of paint during the first application.
Once the rough interior side is properly painted it will easily mimic the texture of aircraft cockpit panel
plastic or if a dark olive color it would mimic flame retardant fabric seen in many military aircraft. You
may also want to paint all the panels as their whole large sheets first before cutting them to size.
When painting the rough sides make sure to be careful and not get any excess paint on the smooth
side nor scratch up the smooth finish as the dried paint or scratches will show up on the smooth side
after you give it a glossy top coat (or any top coat). The exterior paneling surface can be painted with
a roller or it can be spray coated with an oil based paint such as metallic aluminum. For the smooth
side of the fiberboard skin I highly recommend Rustoleum aluminum, or gloss black, or flat black.
Sprayed aluminum paint (via an HVLP sprayer) is what is on the famous XS-1 sim cockpit and many
customer kits. Many people have thought it was real metal when first visiting the simulator.
Sim Samurai’s Top Painting Tips!
To set up for painting you will want to use proper sized drop cloths and or wood racks such as 2 long
2x4s stretched out over 2 wood sawhorses on which you can place the various pieces of the cockpit.
If you are using any area such as your driveway or back yard for painting then certainly make sure
that you use plastic sheeting under any fabric drop cloths as any paint, both oil or water base, is hard,
if not impossible, to remove from porous surfaces such as concrete and asphalt. Oil paint especially
will soak through canvas or fabric drop cloths fairly quickly. Lastly, make conscious efforts to keep
your clumsy dog or child away from the project! Be very mindful of pets and children around your
work area as they can and will quickly knock things over. The other issue is that they may want to
drink paint or other hazardous liquids so be very careful with all of your pets and small children!
When using any type of paint for the plywood pieces I suggest using a 4” inch roller and 3" brush.
Quickly paint all the large flat surfaces with the roller and use a 3” paintbrush to quickly smooth out
any thick areas and be mindful to pick up any over runs that will be common on all the edges. Wipe
excess paint back onto the interior edge of your paint can or tray with a small amount of brush
pressure. Lastly, use a cotton rag to wipe off excess paints that may bleed over any edge!
When using latex paints such as primer and topcoat for the fiberboard panel interior sides I suggest
using a 9” inch wide roller. Quickly paint all the large flat surfaces and again use a dedicated 3” latex
paint brush to quickly smooth out any thick areas and pick up any over runs that may develop on all
the edges and sides. Wipe excess latex paint back onto the interior edge of your paint can or tray
with a small amount of brush pressure. You can use a water soaked rag for latex paint cleanup or
use a rag with some mineral spirits on it for oil based paints.
As just stated, whenever painting any surface pay special attention to the edges and sides as these
are the places that will develop drips and globs of paint that will look unprofessional when dry. It is
always a good idea to keep a rag on hand to wipe away these spots where needed. If you follow the
“thick in, thin out” rule explained below it will help keep all these issues to a minimum.
A good painter keeps his brush wet! This means as you paint don’t wring out every last drop of paint
in your roller or brush as this will just compress and ruin them. Always keep the roller or brush wet
and always roll and brush moving with the longest direction of the wood grain. Wax on.. Wax off.
I generally suggest painting from one end of a board towards the other (not middle then outwards).
However, whenever you are painting a large surface like a 4ft x 8ft fiberboard panel or large section
of plywood with a large paint roller you will want to first start painting the middle areas of the panel
and then quickly work the roller out to the edges of your material once your roller has less paint. This
will greatly avoid a lot of drips and edge over-runs. Always paint with the wood grain in long, smooth,
even strokes. Remember this old painters tip… "thick in…and thin out !"
Painting of one topcoat on all wood for any SimSamurai cockpit should take ~ 6 – 8 hours. Let it dry
overnight and then flip all the wood over to paint the other sides. After all painting is complete allow
all the pieces to dry and cure for at least 48 - 72 hours before starting the final assembly! If you can,
set any of the painted pieces up against the wall in your garage so that airflow can get to both sides
of the painted wood to allow for proper drying and curing of both sides. As always, take your time,
be mindful, and don’t rush the process. If built properly with care, your sim cockpit can easily last a
lifetime or much, much longer! Make it worth your time and hard efforts!

Paint Cleanup & Disposal

For oil clean-up you will need mineral spirits, cleaning rags, and should have the second bucket or
very large jars for which to place 2” inches of thinner / mineral spirits for cleaning up your brush,
roller, and hands. Lastly, please make sure to dispose of used spirits as specified on the can.
Do not ever pour Mineral Spirits down the drain and keep all spirits and oil based paints away
from flammable sources such as cigarettes or your water heater or any open flame source.
Trim and Decoration Options
The possibilities for exterior and interior customization are endless. You can use low tack tape to
mark out pinstripes for painting or you could create stylized custom logos or could add various
stenciled numbers or placards like real aircraft have, or both, or nothing at all. Adding on real
aluminum trim to exterior corners and or interior surfaces is also an option. The choice is yours!
It would also be interesting to see people mix in their own unique colors such as metallic copper or
blue, red, etc., so as to personalize and distinguish their own cockpit from other SimSamurai pilots!
In addition to various aluminum trim and color options, other decorative trim options can possibly
include real aircraft hardware, such as buttons and switches, or signs and placards, and other such
items which can provide more realism and can add a fun feel to your flight simulator.
Regardless, all final trim and personal décor is ultimately up to you to make your project more
stylized. Just always remember that “less is more” so I suggest that you keep such things to a
minimum and don’t go overboard. Keep it simple and tasteful.

Cockpit Seating
The last thing you will probably want to explore is cockpit seating. It would be very difficult to use real
aircraft seats unless your simulator is an actual aircraft fuselage complete with its own stock seats so
more than likely you will have to come up with something on your own. Car seats, and especially
cargo van seats, can do a very good job of “sitting in” for aircraft seats. The challenge however is
finding a way to mount their metal framework to suitable bases which should most likely be on caster
wheels. You can do this by creating a 6” tall wooden box made of ¾” plywood which mounts to the
seat bottom via bolts and or screws and then on the bottom surface of the box mount 3” caster
wheels. Regardless, your goal should be to have a seat height (where your butt bones sit) of 16 to
17” maximum (40.6cm – 43.2cm). Another option is to build seats entirely from scratch and some
people have done this for their larger jet style simulators. The 3rd and final option, which is also the
easiest, is to simply use a standard office chair. If doing so, look for those which have narrower backs
and removable arm rests as this will give you better movement, especially if placed side by side in a
dual seat simulator. A final option is to look at marine and boat seating which can be affordable.

Final Words
I hope this construction guidebook is a useful tool for you whether you are building a SimSamurai
flight simulator cockpit or whether you are outfitting a real aircraft fuselage or building some other
design you may have settled on. Regardless, I hope the information provided is sufficient and will
help you to become more familiar and proficient with basic carpentry. Before becoming a pilot I spent
a lot of time as a child using these tools and also did so as an adult while working as a handyman and
remodeling contractor. In getting very familiar with the tools and tips in this guidebook you will quickly
find that you can build just about anything yourself and can certainly tackle any small project around
your home that needs attention. In addition to flight simulators I have built houses and many different
styles of furniture too. I found that once the “keys of carpentry” were given to me at a young age I got
the bug to build things. I still routinely find that I can often build things around the house for much less
than I could buy them and can also build them with much more quality. So I guess what I am saying
is don’t stop here! Woodworking and carpentry is a great skill to have and can also be a wonderful
art form to explore in taking on other projects. Finally, it is something to be shared and passed down
to future generations just like you will hopefully pass down your flight simulator to a family member or
maybe a charity or school at some point. In other words…pay it forward!
Finally, Don’t rush the building experience! Your flight sim is a big investment of time and money!
Take care of your sim! It will bring you and many others joy for years and years to come!
As always… Onward, Upward..and Beyond!

www.simsamurai.com