5/5/03 -
The first step in making fiberglass tips for the stabilizer - the blank cut
and sanded to fit. My first attempt involved using the end rib blanks, but
they were too small. |
5/10/03 - the mold form which will be filled in with Body filler, then
sanded. |
5/10/03 - Body filler added to the mold. Sanding comes next. |
5/13/03 - Sand the body filler. Use the side edges of the wood as a guide.
Don't sand down to the wood on top because it sands at a different rate than
the filler. |
5/13/03 - Apply more filler for holes and where I sanded to the exposed
wood. Another round of sanding to follow. |
5/13/03 - I used the orbital sander again - the perfect tool for this - and
now we have a very nice-looking blank (positive).Now I need to somehow seal
this. |
5/14/03 - One thin coat of resin, let dry, sand, then apply a second coat of
resin, very carefully to avoid drips. Let dry, |
5/15/03 - Apply mold release (wax), then mix up resin and apply cloth, then
matting. You have to work fast since this stuff dries in a hurry.
|
5/15/03 - After the resin starts to harden, trim the excess fiberglass and
attempt to remove the mold. At the time of this posting I don't know how I'm
going to get this out. |
Step 12 - Victory! After MUCH persuasion, the blank is out of the form. Now
another 12 steps or so and I should have some usable end tips. |
5/17/03 - Sand the mold and fill bad places (bubbles) with body filler, sand
again, apply a thin coat of resin, then sand again then cut four identical
blocks of wood and attach to four corners. (how many steps was that?)
|
5/17/03 - What went wrong? Everything. I mixed too much catalyst and the
resin started hardening too soon. The release didn't work. I'm lucky I
didn't destroy the mold! If at first you don't succeed.... |
6/22/03 - I spent half a day sanding and removing the old epoxy, then
filling and sanding some more. This coat is applied then sanded off to
reveal holes. It has been a month since the previous photo was taken.
|
6/22/03 - Another few hours of sanding and polishing to a mirror finish.
Mold release wax, then spray mold release is applied. Fingers crossed.
|
6/22/03 - This is the tricky part. I have wasted a lot of resin
experimenting with just the right amount of catalyst. The recommended amount
makes it harden too fast. |
6/22/03 - Two layers of glass applied. Now let's see if it will let go of
the mold. |
6/22/03 - Success! The part released from the mold with very little damage
to the mold and a perfect blank ready for cutting and sanding. |
6/22/03 -
Here are the three critical parts. The positive, the mold and the blank that
will be sanded and cut some more for a perfect fit on the stabilizer.
|
6/292/03 - Here's a shot of both stab. tips completed and sprayed with
primer. The original "positive" is shown as well as the mold that is still
in one piece. |
6/29/03 - I know this is not necessary, but for peace of mind, I installed (fiberglassed)
a 0.016 strip where the tips rivet to the stabilizer skin. |
6/29/03 - This is a great fit. The mold was made from an exact replica of
the ends. One step not shown here is the aluminum "fit ribs" inside the back
part of the tips. |
6/29/03
- The stabilizer is back in it's storage location. I really wanted to rivet
the tips in place, but something just kept telling me to leave the cleco's
in place. |