Started the table

[Peterj]

Anywho, this weekend i started the rocker table.

Here are a couple of pics of the progression.

Here i am setting up the side rails.

Side rails are screwed on.

Laying out the cross bars.

Two bars set up on their supports.

Up to now i have almost completed the bars, i ran out of all thread and bolts.

I will Finnish it next weekend and then pull it apart for finishing and painting.

Peter

[SoutherlyBuster]

Hmm interesting. Have you planned in concave as well?

Keep the pics coming.

Regards,

Norman.

[Peterj]

It will have a concave setup, its almost a direct copy of a table i saw on the net.

Wish i hadn't run out of stuff, no wind to go play with my little kite tonight down at the beach.

[downunder]

Nice.

I was thinking the build the same. It takes time tho.

Much faster was to make the plaster mold off my production board. Takes 2 hrs max, using 10kg plaster and some fiberglass.

With the mold you can vacuum everything inside the bag.

Dean

[SoutherlyBuster]

Plaster mould is ok if you have a board to copy from, but if you want to start off with your own design a table or frame work (the way I did it) is quicker for one off jobs.

Reminds me of the days when canoe clubs would make their own moulds --- tons of work and hours -- but here it payed off because they then ran off many canoes from the one mould.

[Peterj]

It's interesting, so many ways of achieving the same result.

Plaster is a great way to make molds. I made a hell of a lot of plaster soft plastic lure molds over the years, 2 and 1 piece. problem i found with plaster was that it is very porous (air bubbles galore) even when using a vibrating tool to take the air out.

Then you had to surface the mold to get a slick finish which was a dead set pain on a small scale, hate to know what it would be like on a big one. But it did work, the plaster mold is a valid idea.

I guess im making the bench like this because i know it works, yes a lot of work but not a huge amount.

The process is repeatable on every item you make like a mold but easily changeable unlike a mold.

Plus i like tinkering.

[Kozzie]

okay so the device your building basicly lets you put pressure on a home made board at set places till it cures? sets? thus creating the rocker? ive never done any board building or boat building so youll have to excuse me

[SoutherlyBuster]

okay so the device your building basicly lets you put pressure on a home made board at set places till it cures? sets? thus creating the rocker? ive never done any board building or boat building so youll have to excuse me

Spot on Kozzie. I used form work but same difference. Some use vacuum bags, I use sand bags to apply the pressure. It's amazing what simple tools you can come up with from around your workshop to build them.

[Kozzie]

G Do you steam it like they do when crafting boats? And mimicing a mass produced board is so you can save yourself the.hassle of researching the desired pop etc required in a board. But with most mass produced items there done down to a cost so you know how "audiofiles" for example will drop half a million dollers on a speaker amp set up is there some crazy board out there thats just a concept board (kinda like some of those cars that will never be made but everyone wants) shouldnt you copy these crazy concept boards instead? There probably isnt any last i checked hydrofoils wernt that practicle i dont really know what else you coul do. I still want to kite from inside a zorbing ball or ontop an enourmous tractor tire hahahaha okay bit off topic ill stop now. Im happy i figured it out as i was confused for ahwhile. How does the vacuum work is this done more with fibreglass then ply?

[Peterj]

Kozzie , the vac works by compressing all the layers together and taking out (squeezing) some resin. Exactly the same way as those space saver vac bags you see on TV.

I have only just gotten my head around how it works but the result is a stronger bond usually between the glass and the core.

Even if you use SB's method with getting the board made out of ply and using weight to hold down the laminates a vac can still get a final glass outer skin with a near perfect amount of resin per glass amount.

Right now lessons for me are out of the question, i have access to be able to get most the gear needed for a vac table so that's why i've decided to make one. Yes laminating a few ply sheets together would be easier but i've got time on my side

[Kozzie]

ahhhh I see I see

so my kiteboard is basicly ply with a thin layer of fibreglass all around it.

there was talk of molds am I wrong in thinking you could just pour a mixture into a mold and out.pop your new.board. couldnt you then make seethru boards ala flexideck skateboards circa 98. I imagine theyd ride poorly but would be intresting to see what cost is . allso seeing as theres rugs made out of spidersilk in this crazy world there must be a.few carbon fibre.boards out there.

[Peterj]

They actually do use a mold of sorts.

Some boards have the tunnel type forms under them plus a concave. There is no way you can get that unless it been laid up in a two pice mold and thrown into a press. There is a flysurfer video around here somewhere that shaows just that i think.

[SoutherlyBuster]

G Do you steam it like they do when crafting boats?

How does the vacuum work is this done more with fibreglass then ply?

I have not ventured into glassing yet, just the wooden ply varient, hence sandbags are good enough for that, but admit vacuum bags if you have the gear would be better.

shouldnt you copy these crazy concept boards instead?

Or design your own and dream up your own crazy ideas (one is in the pipe line).

Regards,

Norman.

[Peterj]

Well , still going on this thing, I have the pump wired and running and have tested the shutoff mechanism, it seems to work fine.

Its a matter now of getting the table on its feet and finding a decent table top. Went into Bunnings and saw some 5mm coreflute panel. I guess it wont matter to have a small rib pattern on the bottom, might actually look ok.

[downunder]

Q: how do you regulate a vac pressure? I think the 25-29 vacuum is just to much and got better results with around 15'' .

Would suggest some kind of regulator, like instead of this (is it a bolt?) touching the micro switch maybe a real bolt and nut which you can move slightly left or right?

30inHg over 24hrs might pull the mdf apart near your vac advance device:)

Just my 2 cents...

PS

Forgotten to add, got the timer switch from D.Smith to use with my pump. If I get something like a check valve ( aquarium shops, used for water?), might have a vac bag evacuated and run a vac pump with the timer every 10-20mins or so.

Source: http://www.badger.rchomepage.com/vacbag.html

"Check Valve - $2.00 from ACP and helps to hold vacuum when your pump can leak air backwards into the suction side"

[Peterj]

Thanks for those suggestions.

I actually had a check valve on the list but forgot. I also have to get the vac gauge and do a final set up of the system.

Its more a test/mockup to see if it all works and if the rebuilt vac advance worked. Im more worried about the rubber in it letting go rather than the board ( old kitchen bench) so i hopefully will do a small test on it over the weekend.

If the rubber lets go i will replace it with one double the thickness.

Hey if it all dont work i'll just buy a real vacuum pump for it.