Sunday, June 13, 2010

Rudder - preparations for the next step

Torkil is working on the foam blanks, shaping them using templates from the full size patterns.

As one of the important properties of epoxy is the ability to adhere strongly to other surfaces, I was getting anxious about de-moulding the skins if waiting too long, so I de-moulded this afternoon.  The downside is of course that we now probably must use a little spray glue or something to make sure the pieces do not move in the mould during the next steps.  I probably should not have worried as the skins let go of the mould without much trouble, and left the moulds in perfect condition.  The surface was better than expected, very close to perfect.  I cut the skins roughly with a scissors and put them together to get an idea, and if there is any truth in the saying that if it looks right it is right, this will be a hell of a rudder!  No way to capture the impression in a photo, but anyway:


Then I made the HD inserts, shaping them to the inside of the skins but leaving them high as the whole thing will be routed back to the centreline as soon as the foam is attached.  I also made the core for the central "strong box".


Then I made this jig for the router:


Torkil will return with the foam blanks Monday night.  Check back for the rest of the story...;-)

1 comment:

Silas said...

hey hey, it worked! super cool! glad the rudder seems to be coming together so well.

work should be easing up by next week so i'll give you a call sometime soon.