Wingin' It: Make the Best With What You Have

In this Instructable we will learn what to do and what not to do when 3-D printing a file off of Thingiverse.com.

Originally, I intended to make a glider from one of the files I found on Thingiverse.com, a website used for sharing 3-D printable designs. Instead of checking all the files, I hastily sent them all to the 3-D Printer.

In a few days, after the pieces were all finally printed, I looked at them and began trying to assemble the plane. Unfortunately, the pieces were not well made due to file errors, and the sizing was all off. It was at this point, I realized that the glider was nothing more than a pipe dream.

So I began sanding anyway, and started thinking about what I should do with some of these random parts that I had printed, and decided to make a Franken-Plane for purely aesthetic purposes. (I didn't wan't the pieces or time to go to waste.)

Next, I cut a 1/8" steel dowel and drilled holes in the parts of the wings where I wanted them to connect, and then connected them.

Then, I took parts of what was supposed to be the body of the plane, and did the same, only with 1/8" wooden dowels. I then proceeded to connect the wings to the new "body" with more 1/8" metal dowel pieces and hot glue.

I then took a 1/4" wooden dowel and cut a 1/6" notch in it with a scroll saw.

I used the same hot glue/metal dowel process to make the tail out of other left-over parts, and then glued them into the notch. I finally spray painted it yellow to hide the ugly, which it arguably did. I think it was a success since many people seemed to like the plane and wanted me to throw it to see if it flied. (It did not) It is now hanging in my room with eye-hooks and fishing line.

I want the takeaway of this project to be that you should never just download files and spend time and resources printing them without checking the files first. Also, it is important to look at perceived failures, and be optimistic. That's what I did, and with a little thinking and work, the error was reparable.

Thanks for viewing my first Instructable! :)