Thanks for documenting how this is done. What a great technique for garage builders...
MattyCiii's third build
- Thread starter MattyCiii
- Start date
MattyCiii
100 kW
spinningmagnets said:
It's been a lot of work but so far no problems. Tonight's step is the key. The basement is cool, like 63*f, and the epoxy won't cure below 60*f, so I'm on the edge. The gel coat took 3 hours to setup enough to put on the first reinforcement layer. Hopefully within an hour that layer will be ready for a second reinforcement, at which point I'll let it cure for about a week (I'm inherently impatient; but my days are booked for a while so might as well let it cure good!)
Here are some images of the first reinforcement layer. I started out using fiberglass mat - pretty heavy weight stuff, too. It does not conform well to the compound curve of this plug. So, right away I started cutting it into small rectangles and even triangles, wetting them out and overlapping them. You can see the results here:
This approach felt like a recipe for disaster. It was taking a long time to make progress, and I was not confident the results would be bubble free and strong. I have some 6" wide double bias weave fiberglass on the shelf (intended for use in the finished fender). I figured "what the heck - better try the bias weave or I might not have a decent mold to use". The bias weave worked great - it conformed to the plug very well, overlapping onto the flanges about 1/2" on each side. I reinforced/extended the flange overlap with strips of the fiberglass mat. Here are a couple pictures of the result:
If I were to do it over again, I'd start with the bias weave tape and do it right from the beginning. I hope my layup of the mat is good enough to make an adequate mold, because doing this over will be a real ball buster. We'll see in a week when I take the mold off the plug. For now, I'm going to wait till the first reinforcement layer sets, then layup a second - this time it will be the bias weave tape from end to end.
LSBW
100 W
I was contemplating making my own fenders for 16" Pirelli's, but then I saw 2 steel 3-1/4" x 26" wide fenders for $40, and realized DYI fenders is huge waste of time. One evening spent for mounting and painting, and voila:
MattyCiii
100 kW
LSBW said:
Thanks for the tip! If my mold fails I'll pick up a pair of these myself just to get things going on the rest of the bike build!
cwah
100 MW
subscribed and waiting for the pictures of the fork sliced 
Cheers
Cheers
Matt is working on a shaft adapter to hold a threaded freewheel and also a splined cog. The development for that has been moved to its own thread here:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=89285
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=89285
