We have completed all but two panels and we realized that we had miscalculated the amount of epoxy resin we were going through. The raw Corecell panels were soaking up way more epoxy that we had originally expected, so I placed an order for more MAS brand epoxy from Noahs in Montreal and we have to wait until Friday for delivery.
It was a chance to switch gears for a bit, so we started work on the next phase - building a jig to hold the panels in place while they are bonded together, and cutting the exact panel shapes out of the rectangular carbon boards. The following steps are a continuation of the step by step "Building WiTHiN" blog post from last week. I'll continue to revise that blog post by adding new steps as we do them.
It was a chance to switch gears for a bit, so we started work on the next phase - building a jig to hold the panels in place while they are bonded together, and cutting the exact panel shapes out of the rectangular carbon boards. The following steps are a continuation of the step by step "Building WiTHiN" blog post from last week. I'll continue to revise that blog post by adding new steps as we do them.
23. The panel drawing is placed on the cured carbon fiber panel. The photo shows the bulkheads drawing on a section of panel with the peel ply and blanket layers removed. Normally, we do not remove this layer until AFTER the parts have been cut out.
24. The drawing is taped down to the carbon panel by cutting holds in the paper and taping through to the panel.
The two photos above show the paper pattern taped down to the carbon panel ready for cutting.
25. I use a jig saw and follow the cut lines on the paper pattern. Since the paper is taped down to the carbon panel, I can cut right through the paper and panel.
This shows a small panel part cut-out with the paper panel still taped on. Note the nice tight fit between the pattern and the cut carbon panel.
This is the cut-out top deck panel with the peel ply / blanket layer still attached. We won't remove this layer until we are ready to place it into the jig because it protects the surface of the carbon.
26. Ken is building a jig for the top & bottom hull halves. He is starting with a long, straight square box on wheels and the jig stations will be mounted to the top of it and aligned. We will start with the top deck (top hull half) and when it is assembled, we will remove the jig stations and install the jig stations for the bottom hull.
Labels: boatbuilding
Wow What a job.
Hi Greg,
Thanks for the information on carbon fiber.
1. How much does the carbon fiber cost?
2. Where do you get it?
Don Gerhardt
Hi Greg
How's the weight of the panels coming out if they're soaking up a lot more epoxy than you thought?