Fibreglassing??

[Wood Butcher]

Just wondering if anyone here has ever tried fibreglassing?
I hace just bought a pottery wheel for my wife and the bowl on top needs replacing . I have seen other pottery wheels that have the bowl on top made out of fibreglass. Making a pattern is not a problem, but I was wondering how hard is it to use fibreglass??
Any thoughts??

Thanks

[Bodgy]

Piece of psss, mate. You should be able to Google up an instruction sheet.

Only things to watch out for; the resin when mixed will dry quicker than you expect, it is a filthy business - gloves and old clothes, make sure your mould releases, expect to be ripped off on materials if you are only buying a small quantity from Bunnies etc., get creative and put some colour in the resin - I'm assuming you won't finish with a gel coat on this item.

Good luck

[bitingmidge]

Dead Easy as Bodgy says, don't go to a hardware store for supplies, go to a fibreglass supplier near you. FGI or someone of that ilk. They will have a book that you can read, and give you all the advice you need.

Start small with a few tests then go for it.

Oh, and no naked flames or heater elements please, I've lost a couple of mates in surfboard manufacturing accidents, and it's not a nice thing to have your shed explode with you in it.

cheers,

P

[Iain]

I used to run a few boat repairs (bloody rocks and reefs) and would visit a local FG place with two dozen stubbies, get you more glass and resin than you could poke a stick at.
You will need to gel coat when finished or water will get into the substrate, if you are not looking for pretty but just functional just slap it on with a cheap brush, because you are going to throw it away when finished.
I also used a cheap brush for stippling, with a bit of a crewcut, worked well for me but you only get to use the brush once.

[savage]

Mould release agent, brush/pour on a coat of resin,work 1st mat into resin with brush, then several more layers of chopped strand mat to "bulk-out" to desired thickness, sand, brush on another coat of resin, finish with the mesh mat and use a rubber spreader like the ones you use for panel-beating bog and don't play with the finish coat to much, thats how I've done it and comes out fairly reasonable, gel coat to seal and your done!..As said already above, watch working time!..

savage(Eric)