custom fc guage pod progress
03-25-05, 12:22 AM
#26
I'm a boost creep...
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Originally Posted by YearsOfDecay
I have a haltech, so the only idiots lights I really care about anyway, are the hatch open, door open and low fuel lights.
Last edited by NZConvertible; 03-25-05 at 12:25 AM.
03-25-05, 12:40 AM
#27
Locust of the apocalypse
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Originally Posted by NZConvertible
Not sure why the Haltech's relevant, but those lights are trivial compared to the low oil and low coolant lights. It's good to hear you're relocating the lights rather than just covering them up.
But your right... It would be nice to have those items still functional!!!!!!!!!!
03-25-05, 08:12 AM
#31
a few thoughts
I don't want to bug anyone, but I have a few thoughts that I hope don't turn into disagreement and flaming. Just wanted to drop my $0.02
and it's early for me to be up, so the brain's not quite up to speed yet.
Compubob, go ahead and make the model however you feel looks good. As faras I can tell in the pictures there's no reason to fill the valleys in. Unless you want a chunky looking part. You can mold and cast that part with no prolems, even in CF.
If you've never worked CF before, it might take a few tries to get the fabric to lay in real nice, but I've done even more extreme angles and curves and they have always come out great. The trick is to use thin bi-axial CF. It's really flexible and can be pushed into just about any shape you want. also because this is not a structural part, one or two layers of thin CF should be fine.
Years of decay, if you wanted to you could mold your 4 gauge pod. IT would just have to be a multi-part mold. There is no reason why you should stick with the thought that mold must be one piece. You are right about the mechanical lock, but that's why you make it a multi-part mold. Where you think (or know) you will have a lock, make a parting line. Place a shim (either Aluminum flashing, Clay, or plexiglass- whatever is easier for you) and bulid the mold up to that shim. Then remove the shim and make the mold of the other part, before you remove any of the molded parts. The most important thing is once all the mold sections have cured is to drill holes in the 2 joining part, so you can bolt it together , getting a perfect match each time.
It also wouldn't hurt to put a mold and key in each parting line/mold section too.
Attached is the front end I'm redesigning on my '71 GMC P/u. It will me molded and cast in a one piece tilt forward front end. Biggest thing I've molded using this method.(I have made molds of Sculpture that's 8' and 11' to be cast in bronze)
|M|
and it's early for me to be up, so the brain's not quite up to speed yet.
Compubob, go ahead and make the model however you feel looks good. As faras I can tell in the pictures there's no reason to fill the valleys in. Unless you want a chunky looking part. You can mold and cast that part with no prolems, even in CF.
If you've never worked CF before, it might take a few tries to get the fabric to lay in real nice, but I've done even more extreme angles and curves and they have always come out great. The trick is to use thin bi-axial CF. It's really flexible and can be pushed into just about any shape you want. also because this is not a structural part, one or two layers of thin CF should be fine.
Years of decay, if you wanted to you could mold your 4 gauge pod. IT would just have to be a multi-part mold. There is no reason why you should stick with the thought that mold must be one piece. You are right about the mechanical lock, but that's why you make it a multi-part mold. Where you think (or know) you will have a lock, make a parting line. Place a shim (either Aluminum flashing, Clay, or plexiglass- whatever is easier for you) and bulid the mold up to that shim. Then remove the shim and make the mold of the other part, before you remove any of the molded parts. The most important thing is once all the mold sections have cured is to drill holes in the 2 joining part, so you can bolt it together , getting a perfect match each time.
It also wouldn't hurt to put a mold and key in each parting line/mold section too.
Attached is the front end I'm redesigning on my '71 GMC P/u. It will me molded and cast in a one piece tilt forward front end. Biggest thing I've molded using this method.(I have made molds of Sculpture that's 8' and 11' to be cast in bronze)
|M|
Last edited by Mordachai; 03-25-05 at 08:17 AM. Reason: Posted wrong picture-
03-25-05, 06:04 PM
#32
Windsor, Ont
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yah, I'm not going to be doing CF, just fiberglass.. but if my buddy who actoually does CF for a living wants to take a crack at it, I'll let him.
and I agree, multi piece moulds are not that hard to do!
anyways here is a updated pic, I just coverd the rear of it.
still needs smoothing, ect.
and I agree, multi piece moulds are not that hard to do!
anyways here is a updated pic, I just coverd the rear of it.
still needs smoothing, ect.
03-25-05, 06:11 PM
#33
Locust of the apocalypse
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Yeah bud... one problem... never made a multi part mold before!!!!!!!! I have enought trouble getting single piece molds to come out without bubbles in them.. or sags...
03-25-05, 09:30 PM
#34
XBL** Ownicus
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Compubob, that is ******* hot looking. Where did you get your clay? I have been doing little fiberglass projects here and there and being able to mock things up with clay would make it much easier. 
03-25-05, 11:09 PM
#35
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Originally Posted by uRizen
Compubob, that is ******* hot looking. Where did you get your clay? I have been doing little fiberglass projects here and there and being able to mock things up with clay would make it much easier.
this is the stuff they give you to work with in Art class in gradeschool
03-25-05, 11:34 PM
#36
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I like the work so far, after looking at it I may have to go back and redo the one I did. I'll attach the pic so you guys can take a look and maybe get a few ideas. sorry the car's a work in progress, the I'm just finishing up the center bezel after flushing out my apexi SRM and adding my mini cooper switches which I decided to retro fit in the rx since we all know how crappy the factory ones are. But anyways alittle paint and that'll be done tomorrow. amazing what alittle bondo and fiberglass can do. The pic's dark but you can see the gauge pod well enough I think.
Last edited by DraygenX; 03-25-05 at 11:43 PM.
03-25-05, 11:37 PM
#37
NA-BOOSTIN
that is going to be a fine product in the end if you start to crank those bad boys out for sale i know i will want one once your done if your are going to what do you think your going to charge 
03-26-05, 12:12 AM
#39
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just a suggestion but you might want to "milkshake" it, basicly take about 90% bondo and 10% fiberglass resin and poor it over top. that will give you a stronger surface to do the finish work. it's alot easier to sand than try to smooth the clay I would imagine. Atleast that's one of the methods I used building mine. Now only if I can find someone who has the resources to reproduce mine LOL.
03-26-05, 08:54 AM
#40
^^ Great Idea, But I think it's like six compared to one half dozen, IMHO...
another long winded post, jeez!
But I do use the Bondo method too, just depends on what I'm making/molding.
The truck front end is Bondo ( really not brandname bondo- a bodyfiller)over Urethane foam and lumber. Don't use brand name bondo, it sucks . literally, it really does absorb moisture. It sucks it in good too, and makes it warp, and also hard to sand(if it's really wet) My new personal favorite body filler is something called Z-grip made by evercoat, it's much thinner(think of cake frosting compared to peanut butter!) and it has 2 very important qualities, 1. it has something in it that makes it not so porus( it still is, just not as much) and much more important 2. the main filler in the z-grip (as well as others) is talc. The main filler in bondo is gypsum(I believe) whatever it is, it's much harder to sand that's for sure, and it's heavier too. Also stuff made by USC is pretty good. Just go to your local Professional Autobody shop and tell them what you're looking for.
I think if it's a tight corner or curve that would be harder to sand, I'd go with clay and hand smoothing. mabye even use a tool to smooth it out too. you can make your own scrapers out of aluminum roof flashing cut to the exact contour you are looking for, works great.
the other thing about the 'milkshake' is just aweosme, you can buy fillers that are called glazes and are pourable, more or less, they are usually easier to sand, but not always. The best thing ever for fine tuning the part.
Yearsofdecay, I wish we were closer, so we could get together and I could mabye show you a few hints. I really like that 4 pod of yours. PM me and I'll try to tell you whatever you ask..... I think the only reasons you get bubbles and sags, is just from learning experience alone. When I look at the first molds I made, I can only wonder how I thought they were ok! after 6 years, I still have trouble, and I think that a fiberglass mold is actually a pretty tough one to make, the resin is really sticky and pretty unforgiving. If the material is sagging on you, you probably put too much release on. I have found through trial and error and error and error, that there's a fine line between not enough and too much release( It's better to have too much, too little and you'll never get the thing apart!!)
when you are appling the fabric, do you use a roller to get the airbubbles out??
mabye hit up a site like moldmakingtechnology, lifecasting.com, or the amba.org
it won't be exactly what you're looking for, but I bet you can learn alot, I know I sure do...
another thought about making the mold and the part(fiberglass or CF) it really helps to pre stretch the fabric into the shape before you mold it, then when it's wet with resin it will work into curves and corners much easier
OT, I think I got it backwards, the 7 is my DD and the P/u is the project. It's gotta be the other way around. ( actually I wanted to practice a huge one piece front end on my junker truck before I touch the 7 with wild thoughts!)
|M|
another long winded post, jeez!
But I do use the Bondo method too, just depends on what I'm making/molding.
The truck front end is Bondo ( really not brandname bondo- a bodyfiller)over Urethane foam and lumber. Don't use brand name bondo, it sucks . literally, it really does absorb moisture. It sucks it in good too, and makes it warp, and also hard to sand(if it's really wet) My new personal favorite body filler is something called Z-grip made by evercoat, it's much thinner(think of cake frosting compared to peanut butter!) and it has 2 very important qualities, 1. it has something in it that makes it not so porus( it still is, just not as much) and much more important 2. the main filler in the z-grip (as well as others) is talc. The main filler in bondo is gypsum(I believe) whatever it is, it's much harder to sand that's for sure, and it's heavier too. Also stuff made by USC is pretty good. Just go to your local Professional Autobody shop and tell them what you're looking for.
I think if it's a tight corner or curve that would be harder to sand, I'd go with clay and hand smoothing. mabye even use a tool to smooth it out too. you can make your own scrapers out of aluminum roof flashing cut to the exact contour you are looking for, works great.
the other thing about the 'milkshake' is just aweosme, you can buy fillers that are called glazes and are pourable, more or less, they are usually easier to sand, but not always. The best thing ever for fine tuning the part.
Yearsofdecay, I wish we were closer, so we could get together and I could mabye show you a few hints. I really like that 4 pod of yours. PM me and I'll try to tell you whatever you ask..... I think the only reasons you get bubbles and sags, is just from learning experience alone. When I look at the first molds I made, I can only wonder how I thought they were ok! after 6 years, I still have trouble, and I think that a fiberglass mold is actually a pretty tough one to make, the resin is really sticky and pretty unforgiving. If the material is sagging on you, you probably put too much release on. I have found through trial and error and error and error, that there's a fine line between not enough and too much release( It's better to have too much, too little and you'll never get the thing apart!!)
when you are appling the fabric, do you use a roller to get the airbubbles out??
mabye hit up a site like moldmakingtechnology, lifecasting.com, or the amba.org
it won't be exactly what you're looking for, but I bet you can learn alot, I know I sure do...
another thought about making the mold and the part(fiberglass or CF) it really helps to pre stretch the fabric into the shape before you mold it, then when it's wet with resin it will work into curves and corners much easier
OT, I think I got it backwards, the 7 is my DD and the P/u is the project. It's gotta be the other way around. ( actually I wanted to practice a huge one piece front end on my junker truck before I touch the 7 with wild thoughts!)
|M|
Last edited by Mordachai; 03-26-05 at 09:01 AM.
03-30-05, 11:44 AM
#41
yo
Originally Posted by DraygenX
just a suggestion but you might want to "milkshake" it, basicly take about 90% bondo and 10% fiberglass resin and poor it over top. that will give you a stronger surface to do the finish work. it's alot easier to sand than try to smooth the clay I would imagine. Atleast that's one of the methods I used building mine. Now only if I can find someone who has the resources to reproduce mine LOL.
DraygenX - Check your PM, lemme know what you think.......
|M|
