Hello all,
After cleaning up the molds I was almost ready for putting down a gel coat and laying up the first parts. I could do any number of the molds. Coat the Hard shell molds in PVA and with the Silicon ones I could just go right ahead. However I decided to add another feature the main hull molds that would make fabrication of the main hull part trickier but would lend to a much better middle hull half. I wanted to put an inner flange along the top of the Middle hull mold. This would give the top hull mold a flat surface to sit on and would also lend some rigidity to the overall frame. To do this I decided to use some acrylic sheet that would bolt down to the top flange of both middle hull halves. I then took a texta and marked out the curve of the rim of the mold and then added an extra overhand rim of about 10 mm. This is where I would cut along the length. I then cut this out and drilled a series of holes along the main flange of the hull molds and after more release agent could bold these long strips of acrylic sheet to the flange. The Gel coat would be next and then would be brushed up underneath with a brush, in the video I bent a brush to get up underneath here. I now gel coat the two halves separately and then lay up some continuous strand before joining the two halves and putting a little more gel coat down the keel and then a conventional layup for the rest of the one part hull mold.
The Acrylic sheet ends before the stern hard shell glove mold. As the first boat out of the molds is mine I didn't mold the stern separately as I had to ship it nowhere. The white masking tape helps to avoid flash down the inside flanges of both halves.
Gel coat down. Nice and thick and 27 degrees.
You can see how the Gel coat has worked up under the rim of the acrylic sheet. I created a similar fitting for the bow. I wanted to mold a register lip into the back end of the forward lower bow section. To do this I created an acrylic boat that goes across the perpendicular flange at the end of the bow molds. This piece follows a profile just a little bit shallow of the overall hull bow profile. This is designed to create a slight 'dam' effect with the gel coat and a raised step with the weave that will when pulled away translate to a slightly inner register lip. That's the plan anyway....
Wrapping the resin and weave around the complex profile of the torpedo tube doors wasn't easy. Some kind of profile that I can press up against the mold might do. The register idea works however there is some dribble along the in side flange between the dam and then flange.
Several layers of 225 weave. Extending to the rear stern torpedo section.
Finally removing the lower bow section. It is a bit rough but nothing that filler and sanding won't fix.
My Horten Ho 229 front end looks like a Troll doll.
More next week.
David H
After cleaning up the molds I was almost ready for putting down a gel coat and laying up the first parts. I could do any number of the molds. Coat the Hard shell molds in PVA and with the Silicon ones I could just go right ahead. However I decided to add another feature the main hull molds that would make fabrication of the main hull part trickier but would lend to a much better middle hull half. I wanted to put an inner flange along the top of the Middle hull mold. This would give the top hull mold a flat surface to sit on and would also lend some rigidity to the overall frame. To do this I decided to use some acrylic sheet that would bolt down to the top flange of both middle hull halves. I then took a texta and marked out the curve of the rim of the mold and then added an extra overhand rim of about 10 mm. This is where I would cut along the length. I then cut this out and drilled a series of holes along the main flange of the hull molds and after more release agent could bold these long strips of acrylic sheet to the flange. The Gel coat would be next and then would be brushed up underneath with a brush, in the video I bent a brush to get up underneath here. I now gel coat the two halves separately and then lay up some continuous strand before joining the two halves and putting a little more gel coat down the keel and then a conventional layup for the rest of the one part hull mold.
The Acrylic sheet ends before the stern hard shell glove mold. As the first boat out of the molds is mine I didn't mold the stern separately as I had to ship it nowhere. The white masking tape helps to avoid flash down the inside flanges of both halves.
Gel coat down. Nice and thick and 27 degrees.
You can see how the Gel coat has worked up under the rim of the acrylic sheet. I created a similar fitting for the bow. I wanted to mold a register lip into the back end of the forward lower bow section. To do this I created an acrylic boat that goes across the perpendicular flange at the end of the bow molds. This piece follows a profile just a little bit shallow of the overall hull bow profile. This is designed to create a slight 'dam' effect with the gel coat and a raised step with the weave that will when pulled away translate to a slightly inner register lip. That's the plan anyway....
Wrapping the resin and weave around the complex profile of the torpedo tube doors wasn't easy. Some kind of profile that I can press up against the mold might do. The register idea works however there is some dribble along the in side flange between the dam and then flange.
Several layers of 225 weave. Extending to the rear stern torpedo section.
Finally removing the lower bow section. It is a bit rough but nothing that filler and sanding won't fix.
My Horten Ho 229 front end looks like a Troll doll.
More next week.
David H
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