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Where can I learn to mold fiberglass for a cabinet build?

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vivificus:
Thank you so much, I spent the night looking at the Fibre Glast series on youtube of a racing pod they were creating; it looks very time consuming to say the least, I'm wondering if there is another way to get an equally as hard substance? Paper Mache hehe? All jokes aside I will need to see if I have said tools available in my area and have to price them up.

TopJimmyCooks:
can you give an idea of what shape you're trying to make?  the entire cab? bezel, control panel?  If its the entire cab I would seriously consider doing most out of wood with some composite accents, like the star wars bezel or the control panel area of a pole position upright. 

Vigo:
Yeah corners can be cut with fiberglassing. I found a video of a guy who makes a speaker baffle mainly from a wood box. He adds a fiberglass front, but primarily uses a polyester cloth instead of fiber glass fabric. Since the polyester does not make a smooth surface, he just fills everything with body filler to smooth things out.

Good example of making a composite accent, though.

SavannahLion:

--- Quote from: TopJimmyCooks on May 20, 2011, 03:00:04 pm ---Are you copying a cabinet or making molds from scratch?

if you're copying, making the first reverse form is done on the actual original part.  this is typically called splashing and the splashed mold is single use.  Then, you use the splash to make a positive part and hang/mount that over a metal or wood frame called a buck to keep the shape right.  Then, off of that buck/positive you make your real mold.
--- End quote ---

I've been reading books on this subject and this is the first I've heard of this exact method. Clearly, I've missed something.

Why make a splash at all? Why not go directly into making the mold from the part? Does the process destroy the "original"?

TopJimmyCooks:
my fiberglas experience comes from an automotive context.  the splash is made because it's taken from a car body panel and sometimes the car isn't even disassembled.  the splash mold is flexible and quick to be able to be made on the car and pulled without damaging the original.  With an arcade type part you might have the same concern if it was something rare or fragile. 

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