It's been much too quiet on this list. Is the weather so nice outside for
everyone
else that they've actually been *driving* their vehicles rather than working on
them
in the shop?? Curses to you all.... =;^)
Since I'm stuck in the great Pacific Northwet, I'm spending my time playing in
the
shop. My thoughts are turned towards making some motorcycle parts out of carbon
fiber/kevlar; more specifically, I'm thinking of making some bodywork and
brackets
from the stuff.
I'm wondering how similar handling this stuff is to dealing with fiberglass.
I'm
comfortable with making a mold for fiberglass stuff, and I imagine that the
process
is similar for cf. The layup seems to be similar too, except I don't think I'd
be
using a gelcoat, and would start straight off with an epoxy resin (gotta let 'em
know it's cf... =8^). Except for small pieces, autoclaving would be impossible
for
me; is this always necessary, or can I avoid it by using pre-preg cloth. I'd
think
it's not absolutely necessary, as Aircraft Spruce doesn't mention the need, and
they
are catering to people putting a lot more stress on the finished product. I
also
wonder if vacuum bagging is absolutely needed if I stipple the resin enough; I
believe the reason is to use less resin and save weight, but I think the
trade-off
in complexity would cause me to avoid it. Finally, I'm wondering how the parts
are
finished trimmed. Most of the commercial parts I've seen look like they are
finished
trimmed after they are made; I don't see how the parts could be molded that
accurately.
What is used to trim the parts? I'd think a saw would leave a messy cut line,
and I don't think scissors would cut it....
Thanks for any thoughts,
Mike
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