Tools and Materials
Depending on the tools that you have in your woodworking studio, you can either make a very simple helicopter or a more complicated one. For the simple helicopter project you will need some wooden dowels, some pine wood or balsa wood, a wood rasp or carving knife and an electric drill. For the more detailed helicopter you will need more tools. A denser kind of wood such as cherry or birch should be used for the detailed helicopter. You will need to have a miter saw, table saw and router to form the helicopter pieces. You will also need some wooden dowels for this project as well. For both projects a wood stain and sealant can help make results look more professional.
Simple helicopter
A simple helicopter is more of a basic propeller rather than a detailed helicopter. Shape the pine wood into a propeller shape using the rasp. One side of the propeller should be angled one way, and the other side should be angled the other way. This process will take some time to do correctly, but if the time is not taken the helicopter will not fly properly. File each side of the propeller to the same width. Drill a 1/4-inch hole into the middle of the propeller for the dowel to slide into. Glue the dowel into place and allow to dry. The helicopter can be flown by twisting the dowel rod between the fingers and into the air.
A 3-D toy helicopter can also be made from wood for a fun, homemade toy to give to children. Outline the shapes of the cockpit, rotor blades and propeller onto the wood. The rotor blade and propeller should be cut out of 1/4-inch thick wood, while the cockpit should be cut out of 2-inch thick wood. The tail and landing gear of the helicopter should be cut from 1/2-inch dowels, while the poles connecting the landing gear to the helicopter should be cut from 1/4-inch dowels. Sand all pieces of the helicopter before assembling. Drill holes into the cockpit large enough to fit the tail and connecting landing gear pieces securely into the cockpit. Also drill holes into the bottom landing gear pieces to accommodate the other end of the landing gear connector pieces. Attach the top propeller with a 1/2-inch long wood screw and a small rubber tube separating the propeller from the top of the cockpit. Attach the rotor blade to the tail with a small 1/4-inch screw. Place the tail pieces and landing gear pieces directly into the cockpit holes.
For more details : Toy Helicopter, Toy Helicopter
