Control Horns From Gift Cards or Cutting Boards

Hello out there.  I found a quick and easy way to make control horns from gift cards.  You can make either 12 smaller ones or 8 larger ones from one card.

First you draw lines to divide the card into either 4 or 6 equal rectangles. The card in the photo shows half and half. Then you draw diagonals to divide each rectangle into two triangles.  Next cut them all out using a stourt pair of scissors.

You should start with a smaller blank and draw a line 7/16" from the long side.  Cut off the 90 degree corner.  Then cut about 1/8" off of the other two corners.  Then drill 3 equally spaced holes along one end as shown in the photo.  You should leave at least 1/16 of material around each hole (a little more would be better).  I eyeballed them but they ended up at 3/16" centers.  I drilled 5/64" for 1/16" control wire. Mark this one "P" (pattern) and use it as a template to mark and drill the others.  Also use the small pattern to make the 90 degree cut-off and drill the holes in the first larger one.  Mark that "P" as well and keep it for your large template..  

Take a sharp knife and remove the drilling spurs from the back side of each before "painting".

The black coloring is magic marker.

These are quick and easy and best of all, FREE!

They should look like...

UPDATE:

For heavier applications I have used three of these together to make one stiffer horn.  First take one of the smaller ones and slot it into the control surface using the longest edge in the slot.  Then take the larger ones and glue one on either side (not slotted in).  Then run a bead along each side.  You may have to re-drill the holes. I used this on my 32" Raptor to good effect.

Update:

I ran out of expired gift cards so I scoured the house and found another very suitable material.  My wife is now missing one ofher reserved flexible plastic curting boards.  I just cut them into strips equal to half the width of a gift card using a knife and straight edge.  I and then cut them into sections equal to 1/2 the length of the gift card usinga pattern and scissors.  Then I cut the small rectangles diagonally and follow the rest of the method above.  TAhese are a bit more slippery when stacked so I have used a pair of vice gips to hold thew stack together while drilling,  This also keeps the holes more consistent.  I drill 1/16 for the flag wire push robs.  Sometimes they need cleaned out a second time for the wire to go through so i always keep a drill at the ready when doing rods.