i need to know how to make a fiberglass or composite plug or mould need help badly

[Islandboy]

can somebody with experience or knowledge help me please

[hansp77]

Hello Islandboy
Just a not of advice, I am no expert, and come to this forum to recieve knowledge, generally not give it, but,
If you expect to get a reply, you will definately have to provide more information.
Be specifice.
I don't even know what you mean, but like I said, I don't know much.
What do mean by a plug or mould?
What size?
For what purpose?
give all info you can.
From experience it is better to put the time in and provide too much, rather than say something so brief and then wait around for a reply that may never come.
Also, make sure you have read through through the other threads.
If this info you require is somewhere else obvious, then there is a reason you are not getting replies.
One newbie to another.
Good luck.
Hans.

[Islandboy]

is that more specific to understand im new to this

[frosh]

Hi Islandboy, you do realise that it is not very practical to make a plug, then make a mold, and then take one hull from that mold. Having said that I have just built a female mold to make 2 small hulls only. I avoided the plug stage because the mold was very simple in shape.
Assuming that you want to make a female mold where the boat is made inside the mold you normally make a replica of the boat in wood (" The Plug")but using the cheapest material you can get. Then the next stage is to laminate quite a lot of layers of fibreglass around the outside of the plug using correct plug surface preparation to allow the mold to release from the plug later. Then the mold needs to be framed so it does not bend, twist or distort.
The boat is then laminated inside the mold after correct surface preparation to allow release of the boat from the mold.
This is the outline only of the process and you need more detailed info. than this short description to do it successfully. However to build one hull it is like building three hulls if you think about it. The advantage of molding only happens when you are taking several or many hulls from one mold.

[CDBarry]

There is an article on direct female molding of fiberglass hulls on this site under boatbuilding articles.

Note also that plugs can be made of plaster of paris and chicken wire. This used to be traditional, especially for aircraft. Now a lot of plugs are made of airex or polyurethane foam (just not polystyrene foams - they are attacked by resin) and Bondo, or other fairing compounds. You can also make the plug (or the boat itself) with C-Flex.

[JEM]

http://sweetcomposites.com/Mold.html

[buckknekkid]

what size do you want to build and how many? we built a female although the lines are restricted a bit. Saved money and time on a one off deck mold. where in the Bahamas are you, giiven the right timing I'll come and teach you personally