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Where can I learn to mold fiberglass for a cabinet build?
SavannahLion:
That would explain it and it makes sense. The books I found related to automotive applications focused almost entirely on speaker boxes or fabricating/modifying parts such as the dash or the bumper. It's useful info I guess, but kind of anemic. It's like reading a cookbook on waffles when you're really trying to find recipes for pancakes. Found a great book on boat construction and repair that went into painful detail but never mentioned copying parts in this manner.
I've had to guess at the process based on my scale modeling years which is basically the same technique presented here.
TopJimmyCooks:
@savannahlion - yeah, that is the same process, just starting at the buck stage for a custom built part. For some reason I thought the OP was trying to duplicate something existing. But on re-read it looks like he is starting from scratch. Interested to see if he pops back up. Ond has me rarin' to go on some type of fiberglas project now.
SavannahLion:
--- Quote from: TopJimmyCooks on May 23, 2011, 12:20:45 pm ---@savannahlion - yeah, that is the same process, just starting at the buck stage for a custom built part. For some reason I thought the OP was trying to duplicate something existing. But on re-read it looks like he is starting from scratch. Interested to see if he pops back up. Ond has me rarin' to go on some type of fiberglas project now.
--- End quote ---
Ditto. I was carving my shape out of Styrofoam until my reference monitor bulb fried. can't move forward until it's fixed. :banghead:
Thanks for the info, now I've got something to plug into a search engine.
SavannahLion:
OK I'm still a little hazy on the difference between a splash and a buck. What is the logic of not pulling the splash off, hanging it and strengthening it and using it as a buck? Why the extra step of making a positive copy to make the buck from?
TopJimmyCooks:
--- Quote from: SavannahLion on May 25, 2011, 12:25:49 am ---OK I'm still a little hazy on the difference between a splash and a buck.
--- End quote ---
The splash is a negative and the buck is a positive
--- Quote from: SavannahLion on May 25, 2011, 12:25:49 am ---What is the logic of not pulling the splash off, hanging it and strengthening it and using it as a buck? Why the extra step of making a positive copy to make the buck from?
--- End quote ---
This is doable, IF you can get the splash off of the original part. it won't work for a complex shape with re-entrant surfaces. it would also be a one shot deal. You would probably need to keep the splash thin, pull it, then reinforce the backside with more layers of cloth.
I really got off topic into re-usable mold production fiberglas here. OP is talking about one off parts, which I would hand lay. But here's my best answer to your question:
1. Company A wants to build replicas of a rare and collectible aluminum bodied vintage racecar. They arrange to borrow an original from a friend or investor.
2. Company A is going to do their bodies in fiberglas. they could do the 3D scanning thing and sculpt a buck, big $$$, but they know fiberglass in house so they mask up the car, and hand lay a shell of fiberglass on the body parts. this is the splash which is a negative mold. They pull it off, measure the crap out the car, clean it up and send it home.
3. They build a plug or buck which is a positive mold, basically a replica of the exterior of the car. they use the splash negatives as one shot molds to make positive body panels for the plug. The plug has enough internal reinforcement that they can work off of it for the permanent molds and keep the shape and dimensions accurate (not flimsy like the splash may have been) they use their measurements to get the size and alignment as correct as they can.
4. Now, from the positive plug, replica of the body shape, they now make very heavy, thick production negative molds with flanges at joint locations so that different mold sections can be bolted together to make the larger parts. They polish them out and they are ready to lay up actual parts.
the original item is reproduced accurately and you have the means of production to reproduce parts in glass. The molds don't last forever, so they keep the buck around to make new molds periodically (unless Company A sucks). You could substitute star wars cockpit bezel for the car and it would work the same way.
two vendor tutorials on same or similar reproduction process:
http://www.fiberglasswarehouse.com/fiberglass_mold_making.php
http://www.cstsales.com/tutorials/fiberglass_mold.pdf
Again, if you're sculpting your own shape and doing a one off, like Ond, just lay it up on your handmade, sculpted buck and support framework, resin it, fill it, sand it, paint it and Bob's yer uncle.
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