General Composite Questions

[FunkMetalBass]

I have a few questions some of the knowledgable may be able to answer:

Where can I find them?
How expensive are they?
Are they easy to work with?

[LewsTherin]

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

I have a few questions some of the knowledgable may be able to answer:

Where can I find them?
How expensive are they?
Are they easy to work with?

1) Jamestown Distributors ([URL="http://www.jamestowndistributors.com"]http://www.jamestowndistributors.com[/url]), a boatbuilding supplier carries carbon fibre and several different kinds of resins (epoxy, polyester, maybe one or two more)

2) Theyre a bit on the pricey side.

3) Eh, not really. For the most part, moulds are used when working with composites. This is because until the resin sets, the reinforcing material (ie, carbon fibre) is a cloth, and the resin in a liquid.

Basic composite construction is fairly easy, however. All it involves is saturating the reinforcing cloth with resin (mixed with hardener), and waiting for it to set. (The easiest way to do this is with a foam paintbrush and a plastic squegee)Its getting it to end up in the shape you want thats the hard part.

For this, two types of moulds can be used; male and female.

With a male mould, cloth is draped over a form, then saturated with resin. With a female mould, cloth is placed inside a form, then saturated (sometimes, a "plug" is used to keep the material against the outside of the form. It sandwiches the cloth/resin between the mould and itself). If you were moulding a neck, a male mould would go on the inside of the neck, and a female mould around the outside.