Never molded anything.
Looking for equipment advice (parts would be for motorcycle no bigger than 20 sq feet), which pump for bagging would be good enough for the job? Not looking for anything special but dont want to buy something that wont last. Somebody on forum here said to buy used good quality pump vs cheap chinese.
What other websites other than acp and fiberglast are here in US worth checking out?
Also any other pointers to equipment.
I understand this information and questions are rather vague but im in a preparation stage as i will start worknig with it i guarantee that i will refine.
Thank You for anything.
Great forum:)
Welcome!
I bought my first pump on ebay. There are a lot of good priced used pumps available there. The one I bought was a small, low CFM, lab type pump. Its an old model and American made; so the quality is good. I think I paid $100 or so for it. If you want to spend more, I’m sure you could find something better. Or you can buy the harbor freight special for $89 or whatever it’s at now. I bought one and used it for a month. Seemed fine. I’ve known other folks that have used them for years and had no issues but, as you probably know, harbor freight chinese stuff can be a gamble.
You might also want to talk with composites one. Not sure if they will sell small quantities? But for my work supplies, we buy our bagging materials and dry fiber from from them. If you have enough to buy a roll of carbon, they have good pricing. Also if you’re doing room temp stuff, you can use poly film instead of high temp bagging material. You’ll still need sealant tape of course. You can also use plastic tubing for vac lines and for infusion.
Start small. Do some tests/experiments. It’s better not to spend a ton of time making a large mold only to find out it won’t work or doesn’t give you the results you want.
Feel free to ask questions but, do some searching first. If you have a question, it’s probably been answered in some detail already.
Good luck and welcome!
Hi there - Where in Illinois are you located? (I’m just South of Bloomington)
Regarding supplies, try contacting “Composites One” to create an account and request some samples of fabric, films and tapes. This will give you a little something to experiment with and decide what you’ll want while buying you some time and reducing your initial costs. Regarding pumps, personally I’d side with the folks recommending a good quality used pump over one of the cheap Chinese ones. Just try to make sure the one you choose to bid on has a picture of a vacuum gauge attached to the running pump showing the vacuum being pulled. Some of the better (more conscientious) eBay sellers will know to do that. If nothing else, you’ll have something worth selling later on while the Harbor Freight pump will still be worthless. Good luck and do post pictures! We all love to see what others are doing and learn what worked and what didn’t.
