GRP nosecone recess

[alga]

I've decided to give a shot at making my own GRP parts. It might be a mistake, but I started with the nosecone. I plan to do the male-female-male process, starting with an EPS and taping compound buck. Now, do you have any ideas how should I go about the recess for the bonnet? If I just carve it into the buck it will make separation troublesome if at all possible, won't it? My current working idea is making the mould a bit longer, then sticking the recess in the mould out of plasticine, or some kind of adhesive plastic strip. Then it would be removed from the mold along withe the finished nosecone, and would have to be redone when making another part. Any better ideas? I'd really like to stick to a one part mould for my first GRP fabrication.

[spud69]

Originally Posted by alga

I've decided to give a shot at making my own GRP parts. It might be a mistake, but I started with the nosecone. I plan to do the male-female-male process, starting with an EPS and taping compound buck. Now, do you have any ideas how should I go about the recess for the bonnet? If I just carve it into the buck it will make separation troublesome if at all possible, won't it? My current working idea is making the mould a bit longer, then sticking the recess in the mould out of plasticine, or some kind of adhesive plastic strip. Then it would be removed from the mold along withe the finished nosecone, and would have to be redone when making another part. Any better ideas? I'd really like to stick to a one part mould for my first GRP fabrication.

The only way for the nose and recess for the Bonnet, including the returns at the rear of the nose, is to make a two piece which includes a flange all the way around the rear which can be removed after laying up to allow the mould to be removed. I have done a few others and made the mistake of not making enough of a flange and then the swearing started.

Good luck....AndyH

[mark]

Good luck! ive seen first hand the man hours that go into making a decent mould

I had ideas of making my own when i started my build but the time involved for an amateur to achieve good results made the full kit seem a cheap option

Will be nice to see the results if it goes well though