rib consoles?

[james]

hi lads,I was just wondering if anyone has a step by step guide on building your own console? I know i can get someone else to do so,but I have a fair idea and am good with timber structures,I just need to know more about making the plug,mould and fiberglassing,gel coating laminating etc....?.thanks

 

[Hydrostream]

James,
You need to build an exact replica of what you want your console to look like, build it from plywood, foam, timber, plaster or whatever you like as it will be discarded later. Stay away from recesses and returns (ie mushroom shaped) unless you want to build a 2 piece mold, it's a little more difficult and more finishing work is involved.
When you have built your rough shape you will need to fair it with body filler or something and sand it to a nice smooth surface rounding off all the corners, sharp corners don’t mold very well.
Then you will need to finish it with gelcoat, do you have paint spraying facilities? Sand and buff your console to the finish you want your final piece to reflect.
You will then need to prep the plug for making the mold, wax it with 3-4 layers of mold release wax and you are ready to make the mold.
Do you plan on building many of these consoles? Because if you don't it's a lot of work to go through to make just one console and there are other ways to build a 'one off' GRP structure.

Alan

 

[Gav]

Bravo!!!

 

[Hydrostream]

Bravo!!!

Is that sarcasm???

Now you can tell him how to lay it up

 

[Gav]

Is that sarcasm???
Now you can tell him how to lay it up

Most definitly not! was a compliment

Now i wouldnt want to steal your thunder

 

[glen76]

keep going hydrostream, you tell a good story. and also what if it is a one off, whats the prepared choice of manufacture then?

 

[Gav]

Alternatively.........................

dont make a plug, make a mould from melomine board(18mm). though this method restricts the design of the product!
so......make up an inverted console out of melomine, use modelling plastercine or wax fillet to radius all your edges, one release wax then gelcoat the surface of your mould, once gone off, repeat gelcoat.

Lay up with 600g (2oz) mat, 3 layers of, roll out all air, leave to cure. Add any reinforcing at this point ie 9mm ply pads for steering boss, throttle box and any other points which you are lable to fix to. Its avisable to bed the ply on to a peice of 2mm coremat ( this eliminates the ply showing through from the outside as often happens after prolonged exposure to the sun!)then cover with a layer of mat.
Once you are satisfied with strength of console and has cured for 24hrs you can then dismantle the mould from around the moulding.

The next stage is to clean all the plastercine off and a couple of hours flatting down with wet or dry should get you somewhere near. after that you need a polishing mop, a tin of farecla g7 or g6 and g3. its ten upto you how much time and effort you put into the finishing.......

As i said this is ok if you are just making one! if you intend to make more, make a proper plug and mould. Makin a proper plug will certainly give you a lot more scope as to what shapes you can create.

Hope this is of use to you

 

[Hydrostream]

nice one!!!

Yep, thats the one off way I was thinking

Also you can use sheets of formica, they bend a little more than the melomine board but you will need to build some extra structure around the formica as it's prety flimsy on it's own. A hot glue gun is good for sticking the formica to the framework.
If you weld a large ball bearing to a steel rod it's a good tool for making wax fillets.

Another one off way is to build a male frame of your part from 2x1 or something and screw foam core to the frame from the inside. Lay up your glass over the outside of the core and after it's all set unscrew the core from the inside and dismantle the frame.
Chamfer the edges of the core in all the corners and lay up the inside, just lay some extra runs of glass tape over the corner areas to beef them up. Again this is a little limiting in the shape of the part and there is a LOT of filling and sanding to be done to the exterior.

Alan

 

[Gav]

Alan

Have you ever used "Finish kare Total-T" liquid wax?

From a new mould, 60 mins with this stuff and you can start producing!



Allan (yes another one!)

 

[Hydrostream]

Allan,
No can't say I've ever heard the name of it, is it like PVA?
How is it applied, spray?
Do you need to buff it?

 

[Gav]

Allan,
No can't say I've ever heard the name of it, is it like PVA?
How is it applied, spray?
Do you need to buff it?

No not like PVA, its a wax system developed by them god dam honkentash's!!!

2 part,

1/ 1 US gallon of 80T mould cleaner & sealer

This you literally wipe on thenwipe straight off again!

2/ 1 US gallon 135T total kare wax solution.

put 4 coats on, 1 every 10 mins leave the last coat 20 mins and then buff as normal. mould part, de mould part, 1 wax with135T, moulds good for 7 or 8 pulls.


Pricey mind!!$£$£$

80T = £50 a US Gal
135T = £80 a US Gal

But last for ages........

 

[glen76]

im confused about this waxing stuff, especially with a ball bearing welded to a steel rod!! what do you mean?

 

[jw.]

im confused about this waxing stuff, especially with a ball bearing welded to a steel rod!! what do you mean?

Aye, two different uses for wax are being talked about.

The ball bearing thing... u can use a kinda wax string/rope for radiussing internal corners. It is pressed in and the ball bearing can be used for smoothing it into an even radius.

The other waxing is for polishing the mould to prevent the laminated object adhering to the mould.

 

[Gav]

im confused about this waxing stuff, especially with a ball bearing welded to a steel rod!! what do you mean?

sorry glen,

wax fillet is a strip of moulded wax in a radius shape, the ball bearing is heated slightly to melt the wax into the angle in the mould.


the other wax we are talking about is for production really, its what you would use on a grp mould.

 

[james]

thanks for your replies lads much appriciated.

 

[Hydrostream]

No not like PVA, its a wax system developed by them god dam honkentash's!!!

Allan, thanks for that, although I don't do a lot of production molding, mostly small one off pieces. But handy to know, waxing's a pain in the a$$.

And what the hell is a "honkentash"

Alan

 

[Gav]

And what the hell is a "honkentash"

Alan

Dunno see post "wots a honkentash" in torkin bollix!!!

if you want some to sampe i'll send ya some........thats the wax not the honkentash!!

 

[TheOrs]

Gav

Do you ever use Release Agent on your moulds, or just wax?

I used it (Release agent) once & got the awful results. The moulding was matt in appearance in places & was a bitch to release.

Is it a waste of time/money or was I doing something wrong?

 

[Gav]

you mean pva? blue in colour liquid?

 

[Hydrostream]

Dunno see post "wots a honkentash" in torkin bollix!!!

if you want some to sampe i'll send ya some........thats the wax not the honkentash!!

Right, so nobody knows what it is
Yeah thanx, that would be cool, would like to try some on the cowl molds, if the fkrs ever get here

Ors, I've used PVA with similar results, very mat finnish. Then again I did wipe it on with a rag If it's sprayed on the texture might be a bit better. It did release easily though but I also used a few layers of wax beneath it, the finnish was not important, I just had to be 100% sure it would release.

Allan, do you ever spray PVA as a mold release on it's own?