Hey ladies and gents!
I have been browsing around the forums trying to pick up as much information as possible for a while now, and I’ve finally decided to start my own basic project.
I believe I have much of the terminology down, but I am a little hazy on what to use for different applications. I could really use a little advice based on your experience.
I am trying to make a dual monitor stand out of a 2" thick cross section of Black Walnut. I am almost done with it but I don’t have any legs to raise it off the surface! That’s where the carbon fiber will hopefully come in.
I would like to make two “arches” around 18" in length, 2 1/2" - 3" wide that will bolt to the bottom of the wood and give me a height of 5". I’d like them to be no wider than 2 1/2" - 3". All said, they would be supporting around 60lbs on the high side. Being a rookie to this, I don’t have access to the equipment needed to do an infusion process, or any vacuuming. I’d like to keep the budget as low as I can as well.
My questions to you guys are: Can I get away with making load bearing supports for this amount of weight from “wet-lay” carbon fiber? Will 2x2 3K twill do the job or will I need to go with a different weave? What epoxy/resin/hardener would you recommend?
Any other tips or tricks for a noob are greatly appreciated! Like I said, I have a number of hours in this project and have come up with dozens of ideas for the legs, but carbon fiber keeps coming to the top. I have wanted to start working with it for years and would love to make this work! Thanks
That’s good news. I called a composite company and spoke with a salesman yesterday. He said I would have to go with the carbon fiber tape in a few layers and proceeded to write up a quote. Total came to $371.00 with all materials. Granted I need most of what he listed, but the tape was almost $100.00 alone. I like your thought a lot better! Haha.
He did mention I would have to go with vinyl ester instead of polyester. Is that true, or can I go with the cheaper polyester and still have the stability and load bearing capability I need?
I got the feeling they saw an opportunity to make a buck off of a clueless novice, so I am having a hard time accepting I need everything they listed.
370 bux??? Holy cow. Just use west systems resin and buy a yard or two on eBay or from one of the guys on here. Wet lay over a foam or wooded form and call it a day.
You may consider using a balsa core and wrap it.
Balsa with one layer of of 2x2 woven sock would hold as well. Check soller paddles online store.
I would like to see a sketch first. If I understand what you are after, you need considerable material (can be cheaper stuff also) to get the required stiffness.
eBay was a good call. Definitely better prices! But, when it comes to carbon fiber is there a discernible difference in the quality? I mean, do you get what you pay for or is the cheaper 2x2 3k twill material close enough to more expensive stuff to not make a difference?
I took a couple pictures of a mock-up I quickly put together. Should be up today.
There will be two carbon fiber legs or “arches” under the main section abound 3 inches from the edge on each side. Nothing will be under the platforms the monitors sit on, they will be anchored by three bolts going down through them to the main section with 1inch metal spacers in between the two.
The arches are definitely going to need to be stable. Thanks guys!
Wet laying the carbon up should be pretty straight forward, right now you need to think about how you’re going to make the mold for it - what are your current thoughts on that?
I think the easiest and cheapest way to do it would be to run out to home depot, get a big sheet of pink foam insulation and then draw your pattern out over it (a print out of a nice arch would help). You can stack and glue multiple layers of the foam together to achieve the 2-3 inch thickness that you’re looking for. Keep in mind that with wet laying you’re going to have to make the mold and carbon part oversized and then trim it down to the dimensions that you want - these long strips will have quite a bit of fraying at their borders so a mold size of 5 inches thick wouldn’t be overkill. Once you have it built up you can sand the top surface down to be flush with each board and then you’re going to have to find some way to seal it - heavy plastic sheeting with a release agent would work for this one-off project.
Once you have that doing a wet lay should be pretty straight forward. I’d imagine that you’re going to need more than 2 layers of a light (6 oz/yd is what you’re going to find on ebay) fabric to get the required stiffness. To make life easier you could go ahead and use the carbon tape (less fraying, which means if you want a 2 inch wide trimmed part you’d just need to buy the 2 inch tape) but you’re going to want a visual layer of ‘regular’ 2x2 carbon on the outside surfaces. Try www.sollercomposites.com for the best prices and selection.
That stand looks really nice! With the money you save by not having to pay 400 dollars for materials you should go grab another widescreen monitor to replace that 4:3 you got on the right
OK, if I see it right, you want a flattish sheet of carbon, U shaped, which holds 2 monitors on the ends.
In that case you need a considerable amount of carbon, to get the thickness. A core of some sort will help, but you can also make the part out of 1 layer of visual carbon (6 oz), then some heavier stuff (can be UD), then a couple of layers of glass, to act as a core (can be impregnated with black pigmented resin), then again UD and woven carbon, to finish the layup.
Another option would be the use of Coremat or Soric.
A mould can be wood, taped with packing tape (part will need some rework), aluminium sheet, melamine board.
Actually I like the slices of wood idea as well. nicely laquered, mounted on stainless posts.
From what I have seen Sollercomposites is definitely the place to go and I don’t know if I would have paid much attention to them if it wasn’t for these forums!
I may end up having to use the tape because I would like to have the edges come out nice and clean. Are you saying I would end up using the tape as a “core”, essentially? The pink foam insulation is a great idea to use a form!
I wish I could get rid of this 4:3! But it was provided by work and free, so I can’t complain too much. Haha.
That’s exactly what I am after, Herman. As for the glass… are you talking about a fiberglass type material, or something more along the lines of Lexan? I haven’t read up on Coremat or Soric so I’m not sure how easy it would be to work with and get the curved form I am looking for.
Thank you very much for the tips and advice guys! I am starting to get a really good view of the big picture for what I am going to need to do. I am still curious about a few things though…
Obviously each arch is going to need to be anchored to the bottom of the main base. Is it best to create the part and then drill it, or try and do the wetlay around pre-existing holes? Will I hurt the structural integrity of the arch too much by drilling it?
Is vinyl ester still my best bet for this project, or can I get away with using the cheaper polyester? Based on your experience, and knowing what I am trying to accomplish, will 1 quart be enough to see me through? I may have to get a gallon anyway since I plan on making a couple other pieces for this project, but I’d like to know how much I will use up on the arches alone, first. Whatever resin I end up using I’d like to make sure it won’t yellow over time. Even though this will be in an office environment, I believe a poor quality resin can still yellow over time?
I’d like to have a matte or satin finish on the pieces. I think it looks good, and the wood is supposed to be the biggest focal point. Not sure if that impacts any of the above.
Thanks again! If I hadn’t found these forums I would be staring at a couple poorly made $400 parts that weren’t what I was after.
