Building is starting. Several questions in here. Answer any you like! :)

Good points, all. Thanks. I would likely hire someone for laminating. I could afford a couple weeks help in the project, especially if it goes more smoothly (pun intended!)

 

I have this one and it works 15, almost 20 hours in one shot with no overheating
http://compare.ebay.com/like/300289...e27359b&itemid=300289657019&ff4=263602_304662

consumables from Airtech and Aerovac
hth

 

Update:

I am getting ready to build the mold now. I have said "to hell with the finances" and will just concentrate on getting the project done. (rookie error - i know!)


Whoops! I'm screwing up by editing things in the past. Sorry!

I'll keep the discussion on male vs female mold in this thread, even though there was some in the thread where I was looking for some real life help (and got it). Sorry for the confusion.. I'll keep my questions in this thread.


Which method looks easier to for a single builder to build with no help and why?


Method A

..... OR


Method B

My concerns with Method A are:
*Foam/hull supposedly doesn't come out very fair
*Still have to build a deck
*Larger, more complicated mold
*Laminating on vertical surfaces
*Walking on foam to laminate inside hull

My concerns with Method B are:
*How to move half hulls around by myself
*Still have to laminate outside of hulls, but have to move them many times to get them back in mold for horizontal lamination
*Getting the half hulls to line up properly and perfectly for joining
*Building in the chamfer panel on a female mold looks quite complicated compared to male
*Need to build things other than the mold to move the hulls around - I am working in a tent so very complicated structures would be made. The tent roof does not support weight.

 

If you build a female mold, are you going to fair it?

 

Are you going to build a male mold then pop a female mold from it?
No, I would be building a male mold and doing the actual layup right on the male mold. There are now pictures above of both techniques. Sorry, I was editing still while you replied.
Build scaffoldings like we all do. Even if you have female mold, you will need hanging scaffoldings to reach the bottom part.
Actually, with the female mold, you do not have to use scaffoldings to get into the mold. You have to use cranes to move the mold. Similar problem, I suppose.
If you build a female mold, are you going to fair it?
I will fair the outside and any part of the inside that will show. I won't fair hidden parts.

BTW: This is a foam layup female mold, not a professional, mirror like production mold. I am sensing some confusion there.

 

I meant the mold. Are you building a female mold straight without building a male mold first?

 

Yes. The female mold is as pictured above. It is built the same way as the male mold. It is *not* a production mold, but a one off, wooden mold. See picture above for "Method B"

 

Ok. Got it

 

So... male or female mold? Anyone have an opinion which one will be easiest?

 

Little bit of confusion here Cat, wouldn't it be called a "jig" or "form"? As opposed to a mold which produces a part finished on one side?

 

I don't know. In my literatures I've read of plywood things put together to build boats on as called "molds" from time to time. I've definitely seen them called jigs too.

Maybe it's called a jig or a form. Which would you use if you were a 1 man team? Jig or form?

 

I call them batten molds but form may be more correct.
From your list of concerns the only one that you will be deciding on is the need for lifting equipment and the increased handling with the half hull approach.

If you build the mold/form accurately the alignment is perfect, my stations were laser cut.
You do not move the hulls in and out of the mold, once the hull is removed it is only supported on pads from then on.

 

Andrew,

Here is something I am up against with the female batten mold. (thank you for the other responses, too).

I cannot figure how I would ever get the hull up out of the mold and then over to the other side of the building like in the picture above.

If I use a set of "gantry lifts" ($1200), I'd have to roll it out of my building to get it past the mold, and the lift would need a span of greater than about 3 meters (9ft):



I can't roll anything on my floor easily because the concrete is from World War II. It's all broken up and has large, open drainage ditches.

Also, I cannot roll anything outside of my 60' x 30' building. I have more bad concrete, dirt and many areas wheels will not roll over.

Are there other ways to get these hulls off the mold and move them over to the other side of the building in a lateral fashion that anyone knows of?

Inability to move hulls is part of what made my last project fail. I'm trying to avoid that this time, or have a perfect way to move them by myself. I am building in a tent and there are no structures to attach to above.

(light bulb goes off): Does the mold have to be broken down between each hull layup? OR....

Maybe one of these could be slipped under the mold. Hmmm... 1 vote for female batten mold, 0 for male batten mold.

 

*Walking on foam to laminate inside hull

Put 1x10x20 padded boards down where you want to step or stand. instead of your weight resting on a 30 sq in area, the force will be spread across 200 sq in, much diminishing any impression. You can even put ski-board-type straps on them to help you move them around on the foam without bending over to pick them up.


I can't roll anything on my floor easily because the concrete is from World War II. It's all broken up and has large, open drainage ditches.

Cut scrap lumber to fill the open drainage ditches so you can roll stuff. Use leveling concrete elsewhere. Place the mold on wheels so you can roll it out from under the cranes, then roll the cranes sideways and roll the mold back in. Think of the hoochie koochie dance and choreograph the whole thing.

 

something like this could be easily made

put down plywood and cover it with a plastic sheet

very heavy loads can be moved with your fingers

http://www.hovair.com/products/air-bearing-caster-modules/air-bearings-and-caster-modules.htm