fiberglass lessons

On this snowy Saturday, Sam and Teddy, along with Zaahid, went to FusionFiber to meet with Mr. Whitley for the last of their fiberglass tutorials.  Here's what they brought home.

A simple ring made from one layer of 3/4 oz fiberglass mat and two layers of 1708 bi-cloth. Polyester resin was used.

A ring with balsa core! The lay-up goes like this: 1 layer 3/4 oz chop strand mat; 2 layer 1708 bi-cloth; 1 layer 1 1/2 oz chop strand mat; 1 layer 3/4" balsa core; 1 layer 1 1/2 oz chop strand mat; 1 layer 1708 bi-cloth. The result? Indestructible.

A bulkhead made by "pinching" a strip of wet fiberglass. Although the outer ring is made from fewer layers of fiberglass than the simple ring (first photo), this configuration is less flexible.

A Divinycell bulkhead. This ring was made from: 3 layers 6 oz mat; 1 layer 1708 bi-cloth. Then the Divinycell bulkhead was glassed in. This is solid enough to sit on.