Talk Composites - The Forum for Advanced Composites

Carbon Piano Hinges

http://www.talkcomposites.com/Topic31282.aspx

By J.Byl - 12/13/2018 10:33:48 PM

Hello, Looking for some advice on a project I'm working on. I just finished building a new flush mount bow hatch for an old 1/4 tonner, Carbon/Glass and plywood core. It's mostly just for fun and to try something new. I tried using a live kevlar hinge, but I'm not very happy/ having some trouble with it. So, I would like to build a carbon piano hinge for it. I have some smaller ones that were pulled of a Russel Brown build, and I found a nice picture of the concept in a google search so I think I have a pretty good idea of what to do. My plan is to lay up 6-7 layers of 0-90 carbon, set a waxed stainless rod in the middle of the layup, fold the layup in half with the rod in the middle, and compress the lay up between two pieces of plywood covered in masking tape with the rod end just sticking out the edge. Once its cured, remove the rod, set a masking tape template taken from another piano hinge on top of the laminate, cut it out with a dremel, cut the piece in half, reinsert the rod and I should have a hinge that works... right? Any advice is appreciated. The deck has a slight camber that I'm not sure how to deal with, other than using two or three smaller hinges.
Also, I understand I could just buy one for a lot less hassle, just trying to learn something new.
Thanks for the help, lots of info in these forums.