Have you built your own custom sink out of plywood and epoxy?

Discussion in 'Materials' started by magentawave, Jan 20, 2014.

  1. magentawave
    Joined: Jul 2013
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    magentawave Senior Member

    I can't find the right size for a double sink so I think I'm going to build my own sink. I'm going to build it out of doug fir 5/8" thick exterior grade plywood (because I already have some), and then glass it with epoxy and maybe two layers of 6 oz E cloth. I was thinking I want it to be white with some kind of finish that will hold up well.

    So here are my questions please...

    1) Have you ever built your own sink?

    2) How many layers of cloth and what kind of cloth did you use?

    3) What did you paint or finish it with?

    4) Has the finish held up over time? (You know, isn't all scratched, chipped and funky looking even though you've really used it!)

    Thanks very much. :)
     
  2. gonzo
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    gonzo Senior Member

    I have built them with teak, but it should be the same. If you use one layer of 6oz cloth the wood grain will show through.
     
  3. bregalad
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    bregalad Senior Member

    No sinks, but several ice boxes of varying sizes. Usually one layer of glass on the sides and two on the bottom where it might have to withstand a block of ice falling a short distance. The one in my own live aboard boat had been in service for ~8 years and in fine shape when I sold the boat.
     
  4. magentawave
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    magentawave Senior Member

    Do you guys remember the kind of cloth and weight that you used?

     
  5. bregalad
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    bregalad Senior Member

    In my case it varied widely as the size of the ice boxes varied tremendously. The one on my boat which could accommodate a 25# block of ice plus a roughly equal amount of groceries had 1 layer of 6oz. on the sides and 2 layers on the bottom.

    I, and the guys who worked for me, built some for commercial fishing boats that were ver large. You could almost stand up in them. IIRC we used mat and roving on the sides and 2 mat + 2 roving on the bottom. Then coated with white tinted epoxy.

    The smallest ones had 4" of rigid urethane foam. Mine had 6". The biggest had 12". Plus a radiant barrier.
     
  6. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    I've built a few, some strip planked, others "lift" style from slabs. White and live oak mostly, though did teak and one mahogany. Used 3.8 ounce 'glass. The oldest is about 15 years now, has a few scratches, but mostly from dropping hair driers in it. The slab style was "spun" like a wooden bowl would be. The strip planked where built over a jig. One of the strip planked sinks was bonded from below to a Douglas fir (edge glued 1x6's) counter top and looked especially nice, so much so nice the other half made me do one in our master bath, though I dropped in porcelain bowls from above.
     
  7. magentawave
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    magentawave Senior Member

    Was it white pigment/opaque or white tint? Do you remember how many coats of white you applied? How well is the white holding up after having food and blocks of ice sliding against it?



    How come you covered the nice wood with porcelain?

     
  8. bregalad
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    bregalad Senior Member

    For those that were tinted I mixed white pigment with the (West) epoxy. One coat would be yellowish and more translucent than opaque. Usually three coats. My own was also painted with a white 2 part epoxy paint that I used to get from Rustoleum's commercial division.

    I probably did 6 or 8 over a period of years. The only one I had any real feedback on was my own. I lived aboard and it was in continuous service for the last ~8 years I owned the boat. I think I gave it a fresh coat of white epoxy after 3 or 4 years. With 6" of insulation and a radiant barrier it was a huge improvement over the poorly insulated factory installed ice box.
     
  9. SamSam
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    SamSam Senior Member

    There's no need for a double sink. A counter is much more useful than another sink, unless you're going to be canning or some sort of surgery or something.

    You can find a sink of the right size and it will be much cheaper, much quicker and much better than one you might make.
     
  10. goodwilltoall
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    goodwilltoall Senior Member

    Double sink keeps things more sanitary and allows dish washing just like at home & saving precious water.
     
  11. Westfield 11
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    Westfield 11 Senior Member

    Probably to be able to scrub the sink clean. A few years of cleansers will wear off any shine to an epoxy sink and it will look dull. It sure looks good at first though.
     
  12. boatbuilder41
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    boatbuilder41 Senior Member

    I have built many, never out of wood. Anne many odd shapes also. just a tip here to help you out a little. after deciding what shape and size you want, find a cardboard box slightly larger. then mix two part foam and pour in box. after it is asset, peel away the box and shape to your design. this saves a lot of sanding the foam iss much easier to shape . you can actually make your radius by just hand rubbing the foam. after design is achieved, cover with cheap filler and ssand smooth. wax surface, apply gel coat, then three layers of 1708 stitch mat, after it fully set, remove foam block, now you don't have to worry about the wood rotting. just remember that an outside radius is much easier to achieve than an inside radius. so make all your sanding easier by finishing your mold properly. it sounds like a lot, but try sanding on the wood and epoxy for a while, and pulling and hand sanding the inside radius
     
  13. boatbuilder41
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    boatbuilder41 Senior Member

    I use the foam a lot to build my molds. when building custom boats, you very rarely built the same exact thing more than once. therefore I don't spend much time to perfect a mold, most of my molds are sacrificed at the end of project.........time = money, and it don't make "cents " to perfect a mold for a one time build,
     
  14. magentawave
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    magentawave Senior Member

    So the cardboard box is used as a female mold for the foam? You don't fill the entire box with foam, just build up the sides and bottom of the box, right?

     

  15. boatbuilder41
    Joined: Feb 2013
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    boatbuilder41 Senior Member

    I usually fill the box, in your case it may be a waste of foam. myself being a builder I keep it on hand, you could also insert two smaller boxes inside and leave them empty.I realize that its not as simple when you don't have such materials on hand. you could also make it from wood and drywall mud. anything that will hold its shape long enough for the gel coat and resin to harden. it wouldn't be sufficient for more than one . but you have to keep in mind that I'm talking about sacrificial molds. , you may also look at your local hardware and find a sink that would be efficient for your boat at about half the cost of building your own. I would suggest making a material list for your mold and for your sink materials, be sure to include your brushes , rollers, and clean up materials, also the wax and tooling that you will need, all of these are reasonably cheap items but when all added up can b costly. and just remember.... unless you are retired and just bored looking for something to do...TIME = MONEY...also check out your local mobile home or camper supply stores, they usually offer several fiberglass sinks of many shapes and sizes. I'm not trying to drag this out, but its a lot more time and materials than you would think. it sounds like a 2 hour job, and for someone that has the materials on hand ... . figure all materials and multiply x 1.5 and add time involved plus your tooling and its often about 3 to 5 times what you could by a sink for................but its just not CUSTOM BUILT
     

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