fabric iron

[cap01]

probably everyone else already knows this but for me it's new . while following the oratex thread I went to their site . on their site they list some tools that they will sell you , one of the tools is a toko iron . a little searching and I found a thread on the backcountry pilot site where they talk about the iron . this toko iron turns out to be a ski wax iron . since my winter project of reworking the tail on my 1050 involves some fabric work I thought I'd shell out $60 or$70 and give one a try . naturally I went for the cheap one to try it out and as it turned out well worth the money . no comparison to the clothes iron . heats up fast , holds a temp rock solid and smaller , and easier to use . the time saved in calibrating alone is worth the money . naturally there are a bunch of different models and a guy could spend hundreds of dollars for one if he wanted . not being a skier I had never heard of a ski wax iron much less using it to shrink fabric . I did think I had a problem with the iron when I first received it . I couldn't get more than 95 degrees with the infrared gun but figured out the gun wouldn't read off the shinny surface of the iron . worked great with the polyfiber method of calibration .

[jrevens]

I believe one thing about the Toko digital iron that Oratex was using at OSH (the T-14, 1200 watts) is that it only goes to 320 deg., & those ones were closer to $125 in price. Maybe the smaller ones do have enough wattage to get the job done though, & maybe the extra 30 deg. to get to 350 is not a big deal. They look like good irons.

[cap01]

that is correct , the t8 is a 800 watt iron . gets plenty hot enough for anything I want to do on the Kitfox . if I were covering an entire airplane I wouldn't hesitate to get the t14 rather than put up with the wife's iron and risk getting caught sneaking it out of the house

[jcloninger]

While talking with Hualdo Mendoza at Poly Fiber I mentioned that I was having trouble getting my Black and Decker iron from Target to hold a steady temperature. I got to know Hualdo when he taught my class through EAA on fabric covering. Poly Fiber's manual is adamant that you must not overheat the fabric, etc., and I was spending a lot of time with my thermometer checking and re-checking the temps on my discount iron.

Hualdo, who is an excellent resource, told me about the Fabric Pro irons. These irons are designed and made by Steve Nussbaum, an electrical engineer. They are specifically designed for ironing heat-tightened aircraft covering fabric. Steve does electrical work on some of the vintage aircraft restorations Poly Fiber's sister company works on. He listened to complaints about the poor heat control on irons and came up with the Fabric Pro.

The Fabric Pro is not cheap, but I bought one and really like it. You dial in the temperature you want, and that's it. It heats up fast and hold the selected temperature very closely. I like not having to worry about overheating my fabric and having to strip it off and redo things. It's also light and easy to maneuver into tight spaces.

Steve's company is Fabric Pro USA. The web address is: fabricprousa.com.

It is well worth checking out. I am glad that I bought mine.

[mattkalin]

We used the fabric pro iron at my Eaa workshop and it is excellent! I will be purchasing one very soon!