? - How to laminate a fin with CF ?

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? - How to laminate a fin with CF ?

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Woody	Woody posted 12 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 5, Visits: 48	I am doing some remodeling on my RC sailboat, the images are shaped Balsawood cores for the Rudder and Keel Fin, which, I will be laminating with a Plain weave 5.8oz Carbon fiber cloth. I plan on putting 3 layers on both sides of the fin and 1 layer on both sides of the rudder. I don't have any sophisticated tools like vac bagging etc, I would like to be able to do the job with just basic hand tools - paint brush, squeegee, scissors, I also have a little multi-wheel gadget for rolling out air bubbles. My quandary is: Do I try to do the skinning one side at a time? or Can I do both sides at the same time? I am guessing it would be the same as laminating a wooden paddle which has similar sharp edges like these fins! Any comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated Attachments SL555260.jpg (301 views, 94.00 KB)
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Woody	Woody posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 5, Visits: 48	Baja patient, thank you for the reply! It's interesting that your method is very similar to the one suggested by someone else who used to race surfboard and did his own board building and repairing. I may have to rig up a special stand for it, should be easy enough with cardboard and hot glue. If I am lucky, maybe I will hear from someone that has actually worked with such a small piece or has actually made a few fins already
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Woody	Woody posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 5, Visits: 48	For anyone that's interested; I found a way to do the entire layup on both sides at one shot The key ingredient "Peel Ply" ..... I simply set the fin down flat on newspapers, placed the first strip of CF cloth over it, dry. Next, I poured on epoxy and did the wet out and gentle squeegee out with a rubber squeegee. I then did the same thing with the next 2 sheets. I then laid the peel ply on and smoothed it out with the rubber squeegee. It now became possible to flip the fin over on to a fresh piece of newspaper with the confidence that even if the newspaper got stuck to the peel ply, I would be able to simply peel the peel ply off of the work with any newspaper that was stuck to it. I then flipped it over and did the same thing on the other side. After about 12 hours, I grabbed on to the peel ply and peeled it off. It did offer a bit of resistance but came away easy enough and in one piece .... and there was my beautiful clean, triple laminated fin. Is that cool or is that cool?
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