VansAirForceForums  
Home > VansAirForceForums

- POSTING RULES
- Donate yearly (please).
- Advertise in here!

- Today's Posts | Insert Pics

  #11  
Old 03-30-2017, 10:47 AM
ppilotmike's Avatar
ppilotmike ppilotmike is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 1,967
Default Dan Horton..

..made a great sticky that holds a lot of tips about composite work.

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ght=fiberglass

If you use the search function, you'll also find other good nuggets from this site about composites. There isn't too much about FG on the 10 because that's a fairly new model. However, there are loads of posts about people doing canopies on the other models..
__________________
Mike Rettig
EAA Chapter 301 www.eaa301.org
VAF Dues Current
RV-10 Working on the "Dreaded Doors"
http://www.mykitlog.com/users/index....ig&project=803
F-14 (Pedal Plane - Daughter's Project) "Flying"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKCyX2FXrlw
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 03-30-2017, 10:49 AM
krw5927 krw5927 is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Wichita, KS
Posts: 1,958
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by climberrn View Post

Dollar store has 3 packs of paint brushes, and packs of paper cups (without wax!!!). Harbor Freight has 3 packs of paint brushes cheap also. Basically one time use.
I've found these to be suitable for brushing and stippling, with 1/2-2/3 of the brush length snipped off. Price is right...

http://www.harborfreight.com/36-piec...hes-61491.html
__________________
Kurt W.
RV9A
FLYING!!!
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 03-30-2017, 11:15 AM
snopercod's Avatar
snopercod snopercod is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Asheville, NC
Posts: 2,104
Talking paper towels

You'll need about a case of paper towels, too
__________________
(2020 dues paid)
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 03-30-2017, 11:48 AM
bret's Avatar
bret bret is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Gardnerville Nv.
Posts: 2,828
Default

Garage-shop cloths to take off at the door to the house to not bring in all that nasty stuff from sanding ect.
__________________
7A Slider, EFII Angle 360, CS, SJ.
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 03-30-2017, 12:21 PM
Bill Boyd's Avatar
Bill Boyd Bill Boyd is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Landing field "12VA"
Posts: 1,530
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by bret View Post
Garage-shop cloths to take off at the door to the house to not bring in all that nasty stuff from sanding ect.
I see you've met my wife!
__________________
Bill Boyd

Hop-Along Aerodrome (12VA)
RV-6A - N30YD - Built '98 / sold '20
RV-10 - N130YD reserved - under construction

donating monthly to the VAF - thanks, Doug
Reply With Quote
  #16  
Old 03-30-2017, 12:23 PM
pilot2512 pilot2512 is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Spring, TX
Posts: 449
Default

I got this composite practice kit from AS. It has done me well.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...lickkey=241917

Jay
__________________
Jay
RV-9A
Empennage complete.
Wings complete.
Fuselage in progress
Wiring in progress
2020 Donation made!
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 03-30-2017, 01:14 PM
DanH's Avatar
DanH DanH is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: 08A
Posts: 9,500
Default

A few notes...

I've been using straight-sided paper cups about 30 years. Straight sides and flat bottoms can be scraped with the mixing stick for uniformity.

http://www.publix.com/p/RIO-PCI-167411?ch=14.4.5.

http://www.publix.com/p/RIO-PCI-186600?ch=14.4.5.

If exotherm is a problem, dump it out of the cup after mixing. I routinely wet out multiple plies between 4 mil plastic sheets anyway.

The big tongue depressors rarely break.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catal...clickkey=16462

We have no use for unidirectional cloth in RV construction. Opinions vary, but the best all around fabrics to stock the shop are 7500 plain weave (heavy weight, easy to wet) and some 7781 (will wrap around a bowling ball).

Go to Harbor Freight and grab a cheap 6" orbital sander:

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-ra...der-63178.html

Now go to the local automotive paint supply (or Ebay, etc) and buy a roll of 6" 3M Gold Stickit in 80 grit. Get a small package 3 x 18 strips too, 80 and 22 grit. Glue them to birch plywood of the same size. You'll never regret good paper.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-75-DISC-R...kAAOSwstxVX3jc

What Kyle said about scribe lines...pay attention!

I once bought squeegees, then some genius here suggested using hotel key cards. Works great.

Buy scales, not pumps. Although pumps may get the job done with West, they're useless for other epoxy, urethane and polysulfide products. Plus accurate gram scales are down to silly prices:

http://www.tomtop.com/balance-weighi...8/p-h4118.html
__________________
Dan Horton
RV-8 SS
Barrett IO-390
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 03-30-2017, 01:19 PM
BillL BillL is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Central IL
Posts: 5,516
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by climberrn View Post
Home Depot sells acetone by the gallon.

Dollar store has 3 packs of paint brushes, and packs of paper cups (without wax!!!). Harbor Freight has 3 packs of paint brushes cheap also. Basically one time use.

Used a variable temp heat gun quite a bit. Amazon has some good ones for cheap.

A 5" orbital sander was indispensable for me. Bosch was my choice. 120-360 grit paper. As said before, the better ones you can find. Home Depot.

+1 for the rotary cutter wheel. Spruce for a nice one, or Walmart or craft store for a plastic one. Get an extra wheel too. A burr on the wheel will drive you crazy when you make a nice cut and it misses occasional fibers��.

A good straight edge for cutting cloth. Aluminum yard stick works well so you have measurements also.

A pack of silicone?? mini putty blades, or squeegee. Harbor freight has some yellow ones that work well, and cheap.

West Systems worked well for me. The "calibrated" pumps got the job done.

Repurpose all your worn out good drill bits for fiberglass.

Face mask, and gloves were mentioned. I'll add, arm protection also. Wash as needed to keep the inside clean. As little exposure of the dust on your skin the better. The body can build up reactions to the glass dust from repeated exposure.
Good List, but add a HF scale. Small paper cups (water cups) are great for small batch patching, just a little short and other small jobs. Pay attention to the weight ratio, remember, it is not the same as volume ratio. I got the roller cutter, mat and mixing sticks at Hobby Lobby, if one is near.

BTW - Check epoxy/hardener expiration dates, some may be as short as a year, but many good ones are longer.

The selection of permanent carbide sanding tools is costly, but will save it's price in even the best sand paper. 3M green lasts longer than others, but on glass, (not just resin) the perma-grit is the longest lasting - mine functions like new after substantial use.
__________________
Bill

RV-7
Lord Kelvin:
“I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about,
and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you
cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge
is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind.”

Last edited by BillL : 03-30-2017 at 01:25 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 03-30-2017, 01:34 PM
goatflieg's Avatar
goatflieg goatflieg is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Clarkston, MI
Posts: 660
Default

Fibre Glast is a supplier that was recommended to me at the Synergy Air quickbuilding course, and I've had good experiences with them so far. Great website and product lines; very responsive; quick delivery and decent prices. The only possible complaint I could have is the way their online algorithms work. We've all experienced the situation of visiting a supplier website, and for awhile afterward ads will pop up in various other online sites you visit, trying to sell you the stuff you looked at earlier. Well, Fiber Glast uses that marketing technique as well... but their prompts say "Your shopping cart is still full!"... so you wonder, did I complete my purchase or not? It's just a gimmick... but I wish they knew they don't have to BS me into second guessing myself... it's not the best way to get the attention of an already loyal customer.
__________________
Martin J Filiatrault
Clarkston, MI
RV-8 #83507 - currently working on finishing & firewall forward.
N657AR reserved
Builder websites:
http://goatflieg.blogspot.com/
http://www.mykitlog.com/goatflieg/
YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/goatflieg
Dues paid for 2020... extra payment included for psychological therapeutic services rendered.

_______________________

Have you ever gotten the feeling you were smarter than you could ever prove?
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 03-30-2017, 08:02 PM
Bill Boyd's Avatar
Bill Boyd Bill Boyd is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Landing field "12VA"
Posts: 1,530
Default picked this up tonight

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-58-in...ade-61834.html

I'll report back how it works. Should be trimming cabin flanges this weekend.

HF was out of 1" chip brushes tonight. Someone had filched all their 3/8 x 13 inch sander belts out of the packaging, which was still hanging on the display hooks. It's not in the best neighborhood.

I have a good line on tongue depressors and purple nitrile gloves at work (and I suspect our urinalysis specimen cups are wax-free), but I don't often stay at Holiday Inn Express, so hotel keys are not the go-to squeegees here. HF did have the yellow plastic ones, so I tossed them in the basket. Didn't see Dan's orbital sander recommendation in time to snag one tonight but we are going back to the city this weekend to see Beauty and the Beast, so I can probably divert to Horror Freight while there.

That little scale was super cool for the price! Oh, to be a nerdy kid again - but with all the stuff available now, instead of just what was hawked in the classifieds of DC Comics, Boys Life, Pop Mechanics and Edmund Scientific!
__________________
Bill Boyd

Hop-Along Aerodrome (12VA)
RV-6A - N30YD - Built '98 / sold '20
RV-10 - N130YD reserved - under construction

donating monthly to the VAF - thanks, Doug
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:53 AM.


The VAFForums come to you courtesy Delta Romeo, LLC. By viewing and participating in them you agree to build your plane using standardized methods and practices and to fly it safely and in accordance with the laws governing the country you are located in.