Any suggestions would be great. Until now I have been doing the flanges by gluing playing cards to the edges of parts and then sealing them with aluminum tape. It was recommended by a member here and it’s worked great on smaller stuff, but I’d like a quicker method for this part.
Any ideas what to do?
it’s for a friends gsxr750 thanks.
is this going to be a one-off? if so I would do no flange. one way is to pre cure a flat sheet of fiberglass and hot glue it and bend it to shape. or, if you have time you can use mdf, requires more skill, but it is the way I make my flanges
I would like to keep the tool I pull off this.
How is it that you use mdf for flanges?
If I was you, I would probally make the mold without a flange, its easy and it saves alot of time. I only suggest using mdf if you want a nice hard flange to bag to if your making a epoxy mold, or if you enjoy taking your time on a mold
I would be infusing, so I need a 2-3 inch flange around the outside so I can work comfortably. How is this possible without making a flange before I make the glass mold?
some people use playing cards, poster board, cardboard…etc… just got to fool around with different stuff, find what you like best. I personaly perfer taking my time and use mdf for the majority of my molds, but it requires much more time and craftsmanship, but it is gratifying…
Thanks for your tips, I don’t think this deserves a mdf solution. I will try poaster board.
hmm Infusion HAS TO have flanges? what about just cushining the vacuum line and resin inlet line on top of the part/dry lay up using a small piece breather fabric doubled up under end of the lines? Then do an envelope style bag. I wonder if it would work:confused: probably not.
I’m kinda in the same boat RC51. You can buy this special wax that can bend and flex to shape… its about 1/2 inch thick and it’s used for flanging. Some people use sheet metal … Home Depot in the roofing dept has small rolls of thin aluminum flashing in 6 inch widths. Use a hand shear to cut it. Other options:
melamine sheet ( that cheap glossy stuff you see that laminates on top of kitchen counters) masonite ( 1/8" thick and has one smooth side comes in 4x8 ft sheets or half sheets or quarter sheets). plywood, poster board, foam core board, tiolet paper… just kidding about that one. A friend is sending me some CSM that is really thick - he says it’s like 6oz csm… maybe something like that would work. Just like Hojo said … wet it out and let it cure before you lay up your actuall mold, and surface coat it.
you can do a envelope bag with infusion, but it will make a nice mess on the back side of the mold, and you will have to trim the part to get it out, unless you have the excess material kept away from the back of the mold, sticking up in the bag, but it can be done
if i wasnt so lazy i would post some pics of my mdf flanges
well quit being lazy Mr.Hojo 
remind me tomorrow and ill post some shit. too tired now
I did the flange with a Bran flakes box cut into strips, didn’t take as long as individual cards… I still have to putty the edges between the part and the flange.
I wish I knew how to gel coat (I also wish I had the equip. and the place to do it all)…
hojo, that is one stunning mold, fantastic job. I too use a MDF for some of my plugs, then spray with Duratec. You are right it`s time consuming but does produce a much better more stable plug. Just curious how did you join the two halves of the spoiler?
Baz
Fantastic work. That mold better see some pulls to make it worth it.
Thanks, fortunately all the materials used were free except the hightemp epoxy gel and resin. The mold is built from solid carbon, about 5mm thick, with a carbon/balsa back-up structure.
I joined the halfs by buttering both halfs with a epoxy mixture of micro-balloons ,cabosil some small chopped fibers. then after I glassed the out side seam with a couple layers of 120 glass to keep any cracking from happening. Ideally it would be best if I made a tounge on one half of the mold that would create the over lap on the inside of the part, it would makee the part lighter and stronger, but I never got around to doing it. as you mentioned it is time consuming, but I enjoy taking my time on projects and making them perfect. MDF is the funnest material to work with in my opinion. its really amazing what you can do with this stuff
Very cool, I’m really liking the spoiler plug and mold. The finished product looks great. I like what you pro’s bring to the table, it helps step it up for the rest of us hobbyists and wanna be composite workers. I’ll still be using cheap materials for now, just due to my budget.
here are som of my other parts I have made
this was my first original part I made about 4 years ago, a lower carbon fiber lip:
