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A Bit More Progress

If the video is yours, then you need to Publish the video so that others can watch.
 
Did you design the lower hinge, what software did you use ?

I've been using FreeCad, tired of giving money to Autodesk !
 
Draftsight is the go for A/ Cad friendly Cad programs. Uses the same commands as A/Cad and you can work with A/Cad files with it. Was free up until last year, now something like $97 AUD / year, which is miniscule compared to an A/Cad seat.
 
Bondo is basically a mixture of polyester resin and ground plexiglass (Poly-Methyl-Methacrylate) . If you want to thin the stuff out, add acetone, the solvent for plexiglass.

Kudos to Flyer. This works really well.

Use the acetone sparingly. Like from a squeeze bottle.

bottle.jpeg

A little goes a long way to restore an old can of Bondo or to thin it for better spreading.
 
Draftsight is the go for A/ Cad friendly Cad programs. Uses the same commands as A/Cad and you can work with A/Cad files with it. Was free up until last year, now something like $97 AUD / year, which is miniscule compared to an A/Cad seat.


AusBucket, You are right about using Draftsight. I used it up until they turnd the free switch off. I had been using it for tears on a daily basis. Liked it much better then Autocad. The one feature I really liked was you could save your drawings as PDFs. All the others use smoke and mirrors to get it done. If you get a step up in Draftsight it has the ability to convert PDF drawings into dwg files with very good precision. That would be a big help to me. I'm now back to a earlier version of Autocad but limited to opening only that yer and earlier drawings but there are ways to get around that. I did run across a free cad program called Nano. It is totally free and almost a exact copy of the big A. It also opens pretty much any version of earlier or later drawings you might run into and allows you to open them at will. That's really about the only way I use it as I've gotten back into the A cad frame of mine. My son and another friend are playing with Fusion 3360 but not sure where either of them are with that yet. I took a Solidworks course at the Fort Worth community collage in 2004 and used it some but got side tracked when I moved to Arkansas in 2006. Did go back and design some suspension pieces for a company I was contracting to but it was a struggle. Really need to set back down and just go through all the lesson plans I got from the community college course. Also laptops and small screens are my enemy these days. I squired a Dell 64 bit tower that has a very good processor, lots of ram, high end graphic card with Windows 7 Pro. Since I am back home for good and stay in the shop for 4-5 days a week I plan on bring it up on the mountain and add a couple of big monitors. Up until 2-3 am most every morning I can think of no better way to night cruze!
I have posted a link below that will list a number of free cad downloads for those that might be interested.
Have Fun!
George

Best free CAD software to download in 2021

Best free CAD software to download in 2021: Our selection
 
G'Day Floyd,
Thanks for those links to Cad programs. I run a Mac so not all are able to be used, but some good choices there to follow up on. I have just received the renewal for the Draftsight, and it, $159.00 Aus now for 12 months. Amazing once they realize annual charges work the renewal is always more expensive!! The little amount I do with Cad now almost makes it not worthwhile.
Regards,
 
Choppin, do you use a vacuum pump for your big molded fiberglass work? Also, what do you use for your prototype to build the molds off of? For example, your rear end bodywork I think is totally custom design but how did you shape it?
 
Choppin, do you use a vacuum pump for your big molded fiberglass work? Also, what do you use for your prototype to build the molds off of? For example, your rear end bodywork I think is totally custom design but how did you shape it?

It's all hand laid glass.

The plug for the rear was made up of different things. I like to use OEM plastic parts.

Rear plug.jpeg

One of the main things was a Honda S2000 rear bumper from a scrap yard. Cut up and sectioned. But the actual plastic bumper cover is in there and built on in this photo. I liked the exhaust recesses.

rear bumper.jpeg

The tail lights in the plug where the actual Toyota Solara tail lights I'm using. In the photo they're just covered with masking tape and had to be carefully excavated later. The radiused outline around the taillights was some hot glued 1/4" round rubber that I acquired somewhere.

tail light.jpeg

The license plate holder came from something. I can't remember what.

And months and months of work trying to keep it all symmetrical. Carving, shaping, building up and taking away.

Gallons of Bondo, expansion foam, MDF and anything that would work.

So what you're seeing in this photo of the plug is a real hodge-podge of all kinds of stuff. There was no real plan. I just kept going until it felt right to me.

I think the mold was maybe six or eight sections.
 
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Thats brilliant! Thank you.
 
I just came across this.

There's some UV activated fiberglass resins out there. No catalyst needed and long working times. When you're done with your layup, just take it out into the sun or UV lights. It sets up in minutes.

Not cheap but for speed and cold climates it could be a good product.

sun.jpeg

 
I was impressed by the large area that was laid up. WOW !! It sat up in less than 5 minutes !! After it was placed in direct sunlight.
 
I was impressed by the large area that was laid up. WOW !! It sat up in less than 5 minutes !! After it was placed in direct sunlight.

And that there's no waste. This can go right back into the container.
 

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