Rick,
I made an Escape rod. (Would buy one next time). It has two holes. I had
the polished rods 1" longer than the finished carbon rod and waxed them
really well. I vacuum formed a mold from a wood plug the width and height
of the wing rod I wanted so I wouldn't have too much sanding. It was the
length of the aluminum rods. I poured in some epoxy and laid in a layer of
carbon tow a bit thicker than what the finished thickness would be to make
up for the epoxy , put in the rods, forced in the tow around the sides and
middle and put a wet layer on top. I used West System epoxy. It takes some
time to get the tow pressed in. I cut a piece of plastic slightly smaller
than the mold opening and clamped everything to squish out as much epoxy as
I could. Once cured, I cut back the carbon ends on my bandsaw to about the
length I needed and put the rod in a vise and took a punch and pounded out
the aluminum rods. Once they came loose they slipped out okay. Really
dusty sanding until I got smart and wet sanded it with my palm sander in the
sink. It finished nicely with 600 grit.
I think combining glass and carbon might not be good or necessary. You
don't want to have something weaker in spots. Just use the carbon tow.
I also found out why they charge $40+ for one. You'll have to figure what
10+ hours of your time is worth (if you go to as much trouble as I did.)
Solid rods, like tip rods on the Extreme and the ones for my SBXC, are much
easier since you don't have to mess with an aluminum core. Just lay in the
mold and squish.... About a half hour per rod.
T
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard L Bothell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "RCSE" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, June 16, 2005 12:34 AM
Subject: [RCSE] help on CF Wing rod carrier.
Please help. I want to make a rectangular wing rod and wing rod carrier for
a new 130 inch wing. I have a piece of aluminum the exact size for my wing
rod and I want to lay up layers of epoxie, glass, and carbon fiber around
the aluminum. Then let it cure and take out the aluminum rectangular rod.
I will wax the rod and most likely spray PVA on it before the layup. I will
then use an Arizona hot box to cure it. For non-Arizonans, just put it in
a garage and turn on the air conditioning to regulate the temperature. How
do I remove the rectangular rod after the part has cured. I know people
wrap thin mylar around tapered rods but I have never heard about rectangular
rods. Thanks in Advance.
Rick Bothell, Prescott Valley, AZ
www.handsfreeretriever.com
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