fibreglass moulds

[gav the welder]

Hi guys im wanting to make a box from fibreglass and was wondering if anyone on here has any experience with regards to fibreglassing ?

I want to make the mould from wood for re use purposes is this possible ?

Also I would like to know if anyone has any knowledge of where to buy fibreglassing materials in bulk .


cheers guys
gav

 

[madkayaker]

look up north east fibre glass they have decent technical support i have used them in past

 

[rtbcomp]

Thsi website looks very useful too

http://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/Home/tabid/38/Default.aspx

There's "making moulds" under the "projects" tab

 

[pedrobedro]

East coast fibreglass supplies here or CFS. I know people who have used both and had no complaints.

 

[madkayaker]

that's the same people there good on the phone as well

 

[gav the welder]

cheers chaps if u know of anymore let me know .

regards
gav

 

[pedrobedro]

There's another one in my bookmarks that I know nothing about, ABL Stevens resin supplies.

 

[piman]

Hello Gav,

one tip if you want to make anything in a mould, it must have a couple of degrees taper or you'll never get the article you make released. (Unless of course you make the mould in pieces so it can be dismantled. You will then have the joint marks showing in your finished article.)
Also use mould release, to stop the resin sticking to the mould.

Alec

 

[gav the welder]

Well the plan is to make a 5 sided box in a female mold that can be disassembled when the fibreglass is set .
Also using the modeling clay to radius the corners . Ive done a little bit of research last nite so im now thinking that i have this sussed . Its just suppliers im looking for i think now .

 

[pedrobedro]

I have a few of these in my bookmarks, just found another page that I read and think I might have a go at one day epoxy resins look in the buttons at the top. I use pva mould release and also cling film kitchen roll for little jobs. I've not done any for ages now but you can also use fleece like the stuff jackets are made of and soak it in polyester resin to make shapes for things like speaker housings which will be unexposed. Make a shape, cover it with cling film then fold fleece round it and wet it with resin. and leave it to go off.

 

[piman]

Hello Pedro,

isn't epoxy resin much more expensive than polyester? I know epoxy is used for potting components etc but didn't realise it was used for boat building?

Alec

 

[Normsthename]

Many years ago I used to build GRP speedboats for a living.
Some of the moulds were built up so you coud release the complicated shape.
We used sellotape to cover the joints
Brown Packing tape is also very useful in GRP

Andy

 

[pedrobedro]

Hello Pedro,

isn't epoxy resin much more expensive than polyester? I know epoxy is used for potting components etc but didn't realise it was used for boat building?

Alec

Polyester resin is not waterproof so it swells up and blisters when it is subjected to a lot of water, epoxy is water resistant.

 

[piman]

Hello Pedro,

I must have missed something, polyester resin is the usual resin for glassfibre work?

Alec

 

[paul33]

For making simple moulds melamine board is very useful it only needs a couple of release waxes before use. Corner fillets in female moulds can be made with silicon the best way to finish fillets in the corners is with a special tool, I dont know the name of it but it is a ball bearing on a rod easy to make I have a few of different sizes. If you want to make a number of products it is worth making a fibre glass mould. The best book I have seen for starting with the sticky s**t is "The Fibreglass Manual" by Keith Noakes. good luck

 

[pedrobedro]

Hello Pedro,

I must have missed something, polyester resin is the usual resin for glassfibre work?

Alec

Because it's cheaper than epoxy it is used more. The site I showed gives plans for boats and polyester resin is not recommended for coating wooden boats as it allows water through and the wood rots. I'm not telling him to buy epoxy resin, he asked for suppliers and I posted it, that's all.

 

[piman]

Hello Pedro,

I wasn't being critical, but I still find it difficult to understand how how you say polyester is not waterproof considering the number of glassfibre hulls made with that material. I was making no comment on coating wooden hulls. (why would you anyway?)

Alec

 

[busastars]

Not quite on the subject but still fiberglass.

Here is my Fish tank 3D backround, covered in polyester fiberglass resin:

Ive bought all my fiberglass supplies from:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/mbfibreglass

 

[Keith 66]

Melamine faced ply or chipboard gives a good release for one of moulds like boxes, fillet of p38 in the corners two coats of wax one of pva release agent & away you go.
I am surprised nobody has mentioned Glasplies in Southport, they are fast efficient & well reasonable on price especially if buying any quantity. They also do 2nd quality chopped strand mat & reprocessed resin for cheaper jobs.

 

[pedrobedro]

Cichlid forum link about tank backgrounds. Polyester resin is used to make boats using gel coat as a primary barrier, I'm not sure what we are discussing here but the link I gave the OP was about fibreglass coated wood boats, did you look at it ? They also supply fibreglass materials. Here is a bit about polyester resin used for boat building and scroll to the bottom of this page for a summation of polyester resin for boats. He wants to make a box for something and will be fine with polyester as long as he isn't going to fill it with water. I use polyester resin to make, repair and modify parts for my car and it is the commonest and cheapest in everyday use.