Rick, when I did my portlights I tried a bunch of different methods to
cut the openings. By far the best blade you can use to cut fiberglass
with a jigsaw is called Sterling - Glass-fab blades #87072 has the Bosch
shank & #82032 will fit the B&D. They cut clean and relatively quick and
hold up very well. I used 1 blade to cut all four portlights.
James
Delaney
1976 C&C 38
Oriental, NC
On 4/8/2017 11:58 PM, Rick Brass via CnC-List wrote:
As background, I installed an opening port on Imzadi to replace a
fixed aluminum framed portlight, and it didn’t go to my expectations.
I had to expand the existing opening by a small margin, and decided
that I could use my handy dandy Dremel tool to cut the fiberglass
laminate. But the cut I got was far from smooth and straight. So I
decided I’d put off installing the other three ports until I figured
out a better way of doing it.
I have three current projects that will require me to cut laminate:
additional opening ports, removing the inner skin on the cockpit
locker covers so I can replace rotted core, and making a propane
locker. So my question is: What would be the best tool for getting
smooth straight cuts in fiberglass laminate?
A friend in the boat repair business will loan me his Rotozip, but I’m
not confident that I would get better cuts that I did on the window
opening (operator error, I freely admit).
Dremel (among others) makes a mini circular saw that looks almost
ideal for making shallow, straight cuts. But corners might be a problem.
A vibrating multi-tool (I still think of it as a Fein tool) seems like
a real possibility, plus having a lot of uses on other projects. But
I’m not sure how well it will cut fiberglass.
You guys are the experts. What tool should I buy (or borrow)?
Rick Brass
*Imzadi *C&C 38 mk 2
*la Belle Aurore *C&C 25 mk1
Washington, NC
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make a contribution to offset our costs, please go to:
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All Contributions are greatly appreciated!
