Sunday, February 13, 2011

Infusion port side

Hi all

It's been a long time but this project is not over yet allthough some might have that thought..... I tried to infuse the outer half of the BB side and it went quite allright. Reason was that I have tried it on my job (Mathis værft, Aalborg) and I could do all details that should be done later in one shot. That included window rebatted and the tube for the net. I shot a sort of video that was just for the fun of it.

5 comments:

Tor Rabe said...

Are you satisfied with the result? Probably a bit heavier than wet lay up and bagging, but better bond between glass and foam. I kind of regret I got tired of chasing leaks and skipped the infusion of the main hull exterior...

MartinF said...

You are right about the weight, it is a bit heavier, but it was well worth the effort when concerning the install of tube and window, and I did by myself.
I find that the normal dry layup recommended by Farrier is not with out problems: you can end up with a to dry bond between foam and laminate,especially if vacuum is applyed to soon. I recommend that the foam is given a wetout before the laminate is applyed (wet layup).
Also the leaks are a problem with infusion, you cannot have any, as with vacuum bagging. I find vacuum bagging on foam best if available help is at hand, it is by far faster to do and the result is almost as good as infusion. Infusion is good if you got a solid mold or doing large repairs as we do in the yard.

nico peursum said...

Great to see you are still working on your F-82R. Your blog has been very informative and helps me in planning the build of my F-85SR.

Andrew said...

Martin - Glad you're blogging again. I am interested in vacuum bagging exterior one half at a time (building space will not allow me to do it easily on site after join and I think that it will make it so I can put halves together outside more quickly without weather cover, then move back inside). I used extra lip of foam for vacuum tape on inside, then trimmed before placing bulkheads, but now considering what to do on exterior. When you did vacuum infusion of exterior, did you just have narrow edge of un-glassed foam which you will cover with extra wide tape at time of joining -- or did you do something else?
Looks like great progress --
Andrew

MartinF said...

Hi Andrew

I leave an app. 10 cm foam strip along edge for tape, releasefilm and bleeder. Be sure if you do trad. vacuum to mask properly along edge to avoid epoxy running down where tacky tape should stick. This problem is avoided by using infusion.

When joining hull I plan to cover the 10 cm with the layer from other half and place a tape over join. The actual seam is not weaker than other part of foam that is glued as well. I will join hull soon so you can have a look again and see how I do it. If you dare you might be able to go for a narrow unglassed edge of foam just 5 cm wide, it is just a matter of not getting epoxy down there. You might attache vacuumbag to keel side of hull and roll it up so it will be ready when you done the lamination. Best luck and write again if I can help you in any way.

Martin