Fiberglass splice of LB22 Panels

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Dougster
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Fiberglass splice of LB22 Panels

Post by Dougster »

I've got the jig finished and the panels cut. Now it's time to fiberglass splice the panels together and I am not clear on the details. Unless I'm missing something, there are no specifics in the tutorials I can find. There is this sentence: "Our plans specify the size of the butt block or the type and size of the fiberglass." However, I can find no such specifics in my plans. If I am missing something in the plans I guess that's a question for Jacques. Otherwise, I bet many of you folks can walk me through it. Here's my questions:

1) Use the woven fabric, not the biaxial tape, right?

2) How big a piece? Just one or laminate two or more?

3) Prep the parts with brushed on resin first, then work wet on wet, right?


Nervous doing this the first time Dougster

UncleRalph
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Post by UncleRalph »

Dougster,

1. Use biaxial.

2. One layer each side of the 6" biaxial tape.

3. Yes.

Other things I do:

1. Put a little thickened epoxy in the joint in case it isn't perfectly tight.

2. Temorarilly nail down the planks so they don't move.

3. Make sure you have plastic on both sides.

4. Put a scrap piece of wood over plastic and apply weights to keep it flat.

Ralph

Dougster
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Post by Dougster »

Hey thanks a lot UncleRalph. Ole "UncleDougster" needs help from his friends, and your post is so well detailed it may be that even I can follow it. I'm shocked at using the tape. My cloth is biaxial, and the tutorial shows what looks like a foot square or so of cloth, but I'm going your way unless someones got good reason otherwise. And, funny thing. Last night, after posting, I didn't sleep well. A nice thing about boat building is those three a.m. things give you time to think. I thought "I wonder if I could nail down the panel sections to secure things?" Well your advice answers that one before I can ask :) Thanks a big bunch.

Gonna give it a first try tomorrow Dougster

Spokaloo
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Post by Spokaloo »

Sage advice!

SUPPORT YOUR WORK!!!!! Make sure its supported (and protected with plastic so you dont glue your work to the bench) underneath to make the joint tight, flat, and smooth. It will bring you much joy later on.

I personally work all my glass in the dry method (just wet the joint out with thickened epoxy, stick it together, then lay the glass on). I like the ease of placing the glass first without the hazard of laying it on a wet surface and having bunching/wrinkles.

Wet out the joint with UNTHICKENED epoxy

Put a small amount of thickened epoxy in the joint for filling and adhesive.

Butt ends together, scrape off excess glue.

Lay out 'glass

Pour UNTHICKENED epoxy over glass and gently work into glass with soft plastic blade/credit card/putty knife.

Wet out well past edges, look for dry (whitish) spots and wet out more.

Then look for wet areas (shiny) and work the epoxy out with tool of choice.

Keep it warm.

Oh, and slow down. If you get done before I do Im gonna be pissed.

Waiting for ONE SHEET OF PLY.

E

Dougster
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Post by Dougster »

Thanks Eric, I'm gonna try and do a splice today, but gotta shuffle things around in the shop first. Sure am glad I put the strongback on castors, that's helped a lot. It's me and the resin, the 'glass and the bottom panel, eight to the bar :) And don't worry about me getting the build done first. You'll probably be finishing up your next one before I'm done.

Pre turkey day Dougster

UncleRalph
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Post by UncleRalph »

One other piece of advice - after you have taped one side, be very careful turning the panel over to do the other side. If the panel bends the wrong way when it is spliced only on one side it can break the splice. This was one of the few times that I asked my wife to give me a hand.

A final thought - if some how a splice gets messed up, it is an easy job to take out the sander and sand it off and start over. I speak from experience here.

Ralph

Dougster
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Post by Dougster »

Whew, I'm beat. Spent the day and last minute run to HD getting things set up for the first bottom panel, which has two splices. Laid it all out, looking good. Gooped up the edges, butted together, and screwed down. Feeling a bit pleased with myself. Picked up the first pre-cut piece of tape and....oops! The screws holding the panels down were going to be COVERED by the tape :oops: Uh... Bit of a fire drill from there but it's done. I laid two by six pieces across the splices (everything protected by plastic from HD) and weighted them down. Hope I used enough weight. Now I gotta cook my contribution for turkey day tomorrow.

Thankin' you Uncle, I would've tried turning it by myself but now I think better of it. I'll go the wife route too :)

Feet hurtin' Dougster

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Post by Spokaloo »

Doug, cheaters method for moving panels when alone:

Take some healthy pieces of 2x2 stock (4' is perfect). Drywall screw one to top and bottom, crossing over the joint. Locate the screws outside the taped area. This will hold it somewhat safely if you turn it without malice. Piece of cake to fill the holes later, and well worth the extra security.

I work alone always, can you tell?

E

Dougster
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Post by Dougster »

Good tip, and I love the part..."if you turn it without malice" :D
I'll let you know how it goes.

No malice Dougster

Dougster
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Post by Dougster »

Well, no problem. I used your tip Eric, except I just clamped the support boards and got my wife to lend a hand too (without malice). Easy. Then I put the tape on the other side, laid down the plastic, and the weights. It's curing now. I used a hard, grooved roller from West Marine for the first side and liked it. So of course I set it down on plastic, and resin I didn't realize was there pooled, set, and ruined it :oops: I'll clean with vinegar next time! Since I'm an hour from West Marine, I just used a chip brush today to wet out the tape on the second side. Didn't like it a bit. This wetting out is tough for me. I had a bad time with that on the one intro build I've done (Devlin Dinghy) and had bubbles and waves (didn't have that hard roller though). Tough not to worry about doing a 22' hull.

Whistling in the dark Dougster

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