Constructing your own fibreglass mold Page
2
By Tony Rogers |
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Shape
up the fuselage with a “Stanley Surfoam Rasp” or any coarse
rasp and 80 grit sandpaper the first layer will not be pretty or
perfect but just mix up some more filler and fill the dents and
fair to the required shape. If you use 45 min set filler it goes
off fairly quickly and you can work on it within the hour and
add more as required. Now you can also add
detail like raised panels etc but remember not to make
reverse or compound curves which will stop you getting the plug
out of the mold. When satisfied sand with a fine sandpaper. It
should now be like photo #
5
At
this stage you have to decide what your ultimate goal is. If
your fuselage is just a tube like shape and you only want to
produce one finished fuselage you can lay the final fuselage
over the plug and not make a mold. If the fuselage is a
complicated shape as is the Vixen you will have to make a mold
as you will not get it off the plug. If you really want to get
serious and produce a fuselage with all the rivets panel lines
etc molded in than you will have to skin the plug with glass and
finish it to a high standard before making the mold as the plug
made of just the filler is to soft to retain the lines, rivets
etc.
If you are
carrying on with a mold from the plaster plug cut some 18-20swg
steel sheet into 2” strips about 18” long and tap it into
the joint between the 2 profile pieces screwed together at the
start. Put them into the gap all around the top, bottom, and the
sides this is why it is important not to screw these parts too
close to the edges when making as it will make it difficult to
get the steel strips in. These strips make the separation and
joining flanges for the finished mold and is a lot easier than
trying to make separation dams out of cardboard plasticine etc.
Paint the
whole assembly with and undercoat and topcoat. I just use
lacquer it works well and is fast to use. Finish the paint to
your requirement remember as with any mold
the surface on the plug is what the surface in the mold
will be. Photo # 6
shows the plug with separators and painted ready for
laying up the glass
The
plug must now be “waxed” with release wax 3-4 coats is
needed to ensure the mold will separate from the plug. No short
cuts at this stage or you may be starting again. I also use a
PVA parting agent over the wax before glassing just as an added
precaution. I always use a gel coat when laying up a mold it
allows the sanding out of any small imperfections in the
finished mold. If you are serious about producing quite a few
fuselages out of the mold use “molding gel coat” if it is
required for only a few normal gel coat is quite okay. Glass up
the mold with “chopped strand mat” depending on the weight
and size of mold 2-3 layers are required. Make sure you glass up
the separation strips. When dry drill through those separation
strips about every 4” with a 3/16” drill . These holes are
used to reposition the parts of the mold back together when
joining up the various parts.
Glassing finished Photo # 7
If you did the
waxing etc right the molds should pop off by pushing some small
wooden wedges either side of the steel separation strips.
Remember to drill the alignment holes before you do this it is
hard to line the mold sections up later without them. Photo # 8
shows a complete set of molds
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