A Bit More Progress

[choppinczech]

I got started on this removable section by making this piece to separate the areas. It had built in shapes to interlock the parts and indicators where the magnets needed to mount.




Where the old met the new I tapered the edges of the fiberglass to a sharp point to try to eliminate bubbles.


The magnets would be really hard to glass around. So I made these fiberglass buttons that fit snug over the magnets.



And they stayed in place well enough to glass the upper and lower sections.





The buttons left a nice beefy surround for the magnets once glassed over.

 

[choppinczech]

It's still rough but aligns well and snaps right into place.

 

[Gerry]

Excellent.

 

[choppinczech]

Thanks Gerry. And thanks for the magnet suggestion. It works great.

 

[Gerry]

I would have just glued them to the part. Shows that a little bit more thought ends up with a much better and professional result.

 

[Hacker]

OK, I have been watching this build for far to long...you need to quit your job and get this burning gas!!!
I can't wait to see the final product!!

 

[choppinczech]

OK, I have been watching this build for far to long...you need to quit your job and get this burning gas!!!
I can't wait to see the final product!!

I hear'ya. And this thread doesn't even show the first four years. I've never been known for working fast.

I've moved on to the areas behind the seats. They'll curve around and blend into profiles at the tops of the doors. I'm doing them as mold plugs again because it gives me the best control of the shapes and thickness of the final parts. Also, I'll be able to bond the parts in place for now and glass over them some day when I have the body flipped over. Laying on glass upside down ain't fun.

I started out with lengths of this profile.



With my miter saw I pie cut and attach each piece.





Because of the plug's "C" shapes, each side needs to be made to come apart to get them out.

 

[Spanky]

The only down side is, this is a one-off. There will be many who will wish it could be duplicated, at any price!

 

[HenrysT]

The only down side is, this is a one-off. There will be many who will wish it could be duplicated, at any price!

Unless Choppinczech saved all the molds and plugs?!

 

[butch27]

Great as always

 

[choppinczech]

Here's another method of making a plug using plaster.

 

[AusBucket]

Your workmanship and attention to detail is supurb, I tips me Lid.

 

[rubicon]

That's an awesome video. Another talented craftsman. Thanks for sharing.

 

[PotvinGuy]

Choppin, I've been lurking and watching from the start. After 50 years of working on rods not much impresses me, but you have inspired me to try to build a console for my bucket. Thank you for giving me a reason to soldier on.

 

[choppinczech]

These last pieces got to be so difficult to get the angles correct that I just filled the spaces with body filler.





Made the bracing while still attached to the body so that they go back together once out.





I'll start molding them next weekend.

 

[Spanky]

Good ol' Bondo! Comes in handy when you need it.

 

[choppinczech]

Good ol' Bondo! Comes in handy when you need it.

It's a great thing. The adhesion and gap filling properties are second to none. I'm convinced that it's even better than epoxy for attaching fiberglass, wood or prepped metal. Epoxies can be too hard and brittle while polyurethane body fillers stay more flexible. I've had spills of both where it got on an area it shouldn't be. The epoxy will chisel off, body filler has to be ground off.

Something I do nearly every time I mix body filler is add polyurethane resin. It makes it spread like creamy butter and aids in even better adhesion. Sometimes I leave it thicker, sometimes super runny.

That purple liquid settled at the top of a new can of Bondo is simply polyurethane resin. And the tube of cream hardener is just a paste form of MEKP.



I keep a squeeze bottle with resin ready to go.

 

[old round fart]

When you add resin do you also add MEK or does the bindi activator kick the resin off?

 

[choppinczech]

Just the regular bondo hardener. It sets up the same.

Maybe a little more time before sanding so it doesn't load up the sandpaper. The combo just makes the filler smoother.

 

[old round fart]

Cool. I’ll try that next time I use bondo.