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SV Carbon Tank project for Zoran

How did you "polish? the CF piece, once you pulled out of the mold to the pic where it ia all shiny?
 
Dan071 said:
How did you "polish? the CF piece, once you pulled out of the mold to the pic where it ia all shiny?
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No polishing, no nothing. The purpose of making the plug as perfect as possible is that when the mold is made from the plug, it is a perfect as the plug. And all parts that come off the mold are as smooth and shiny as the mold. That's why I've invested so much in the mold making.
This part was taken out of the mold and all I did was wash off the PVA. That's the beauty of a nice mold.
 
1FastF4i said:
Hey Chris, any updates on the tank?
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Only that I've made very little 'new & exciting' progress. It turns out our donor tank was more damaged than I first realized/noticed. As I started preping it for final shape, it became clear that the right side was way out of shape. I've been bondoing and reshaping for hours and hours. Not too post-worthy, I'm afraid.
The good news is it's about done and ready for the top mold to be made/pulled.

I'll be posting as soon as I start the mold making process (again!).

The BAD news is that carbon fiber is all but unavailable. Boeing and Airbus both have big new planes in production that use a much higher percentage of carbon fiber than previous designs. That, combined with the military demand, has most suppliers only selling to previous customers and us tiny buyers are last on what's becoming a very long list. I was fortunate to get a few yards so I'm covered for this project but sort of hesitant to use it at all!

But for Zoran, hey, I mean he DESERVES a carbon tank, don't you think? ;)
 
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its been a month or so, but fiberglass hawaii in santa cruz had a fair amount
 
Hi Chris
Thanks for putting all the effort into this. Even though I will probably never attempt this myself it is an interesting read.

I took a basic composites class in college and the bagging process we used is basically identical to what you are doing.

For curing though, we used heating blankets that were laid over the project after it was all bagged. They were small ones and I presume they were made for what we were using them for. I don't know if you have considered this or not but I thought I would mention it.
 
I've not seen the electric blanket approach but it sure makes sense.

Now I just need to find time to get back to this project. Hopefully soon.
 
lizard said:
Bump *cough*
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All right, all right... I know. I suck. I live to entertain you and I'm sorely remiss in holding up my end of the deal...

Your timing is actually pretty good. I just got back from the Sears Poi...er, Infineon and the AFM practice day. Ran into Zoran and got a look at the racebike to verify the rear mount design. Good news is it looks nice and simple.
I suspect I will be back at this project starting tomorrow!
I'll post as before - as progress is made.

Thanks for caring.
Chris
 
tygaboy said:
All right, all right... I know. I suck. I live to entertain you and I'm sorely remiss in holding up my end of the deal...

Your timing is actually pretty good. I just got back from the Sears Poi...er, Infineon and the AFM practice day. Ran into Zoran and got a look at the racebike to verify the rear mount design. Good news is it looks nice and simple.
I suspect I will be back at this project starting tomorrow!
I'll post as before - as progress is made.

Thanks for caring.
Chris
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YAY!
 
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I <3 Twins said:
did I miss out on the adv. carbon fiber class?
I have been away from barf for a while.
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I haven't held any other sessions so you've not missed anything.

As to yesterday's progress:

I started what I was hoping would be final prep to get the plug ready to make the top mold. Ran into a couple "Hmmm, I'll need to fix that" flaws in the finish so I'll have to do some minor body work to do.

Then good news is that it should only be an hour or so and I'll be ready to start with the splitter plate fab. Remember, since I've changed the shape of the tank and need a top mold that wraps around the back of the tank to provide the top/bottom bonding surface, I need a different (and better quality) splitter. I hope to get to this later in the week so I can layup the top mold this weekend.
 
It's very good to see that you're back on the project.
We're a couple of SVRiders here in Denmark who've been following this thread for some time now, and we're very eager to see the completion of the carbon fuel tank.

Keep up the good work. :)
 
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