Cozy F1 Tunnel houtbouw

Thanks Jan. It is not an easy task. Good luck with yours but I am pretty sure it will be perfect. You have both the skills and the experience.

 

Making the cowl indeed is a small challenge. But the reward is big if you succeed Patience is key and if you find some imperfections on the cowl, you can still repair it afterwards after the laminate has dried.

 

I also found very interesting the discussion on the T800 post about the GPS and the carbon fiber. I was also planning to use carbon fiber for the cowl.

 

After hours of sanding the mould is ready for waxing... (or I think so...)

 

I tried my best but it wasn t easy. I found difficult to apply the carbon at the curvature at the front of the cowl. I used 200gr/m2 carbon and two sheets of 50 gr/m2 fiberglass on the top. I also left a hole with no carbon (just 4 sheets of fiberglass) for the GPS signal. Tomorrow I ll try to pull out the cowl. A lot of sanding is needed to make the surface smooth.

 

Hi Dim put the epoxy on your cowl leave it to dry and when it is stiky put the Carbon on it and let it dry then put the epoxy on it and let it dry then Mayby put the epoxy on it a few time then jou get the form and Finish
You want

 

Thanks a lot for the advice. Yes it makes sense to proceed in several steps. If this cowl does t come out well I try this technique.

 

You can also use a glass 80 grams or so for the last later then you can sand it for a good finisch good luck

 

For good curveture of the carbon-cloth, apply a little warmth (from hairdryer) and press gently. Do this at the end of the curing process for lasting results.

 

Yes you are right CarboHans. I used to layers of 50 gr/m2!

 

Very good idea. Thank you Eric.
Thank you all guys I really appreciate your interest.
Your advices are priceless!!!!

 

Today early in the morning I pulled out the cowl... not very easily though...
I am not satisfied with the result at all....
My problem is that the cowl it is too soft ... it bends quite easily.
I think that the epoxy resign is not fully cured but this cannot be the only reason.
I decided to apply another thick layer of epoxy on the top of the cowl.

 

Just wait a few more days; I had the same. Finally, the cowl will be quite stiff. Also, after gluing the nose bottom (plywood) it wil strengthen the cowl.

 

Min 3 days at 20C. Then it is for 90% cured for standard epoxy. If the cowl is bend in one direction you need some 45/45 Degrees layers. 1 layer of 200g/m is not enough you need at least 2 x 200 and 160gr glas or 3 x200 and 50g glas or so. You can also laminate on the inside of the cowl if the dimensons on the outside are gertting to bulky. Do not let it cure in sunlicht because the uv break down the resin its not gettting its Max strenght . If the cowl is on the inside very smoot you can use That for a counter mold then you get direct a Nice finish good luck

 

See also my post #221. I made a carbon cowl with one layer of 200gr/m2 twill weave and on top one layer of 110gr/m2 twill weave glass.

Twill weave laminates more easily over curves and gives strength in different directions.
This cowl was thin, but quite strong. I sold it to forum member Appie, who used it for his Cozy F1.

 

Twill Weave is thikker than plane weave and holds more epoxy thats why you did it with one layer and glass . 2 x plane cf and glass is stronger and is olmost the same Thiknes. Somithemes they selll 200gr and it is 230gr or you think it is 200gr and it is 160 gr You can Made it how you want one layer is 35 grams or so. Not all carbonfiber has the same strenght
Real strong stiffer Carbon fiber is 4 times the price you pay at the epoxy store. But for us it is good enough to make Nice things

 

This is not needed and be sure if you decide on doing it anyway, to do it well within the curing time of the epoxy. Reason: you don’t want seperate layers (not visible with naked eye). What you want is applying the socalled wet-in-wet-technique.

Maybe at first glance the result feels flimsy, but wait a good 72-hours and you will be, as already mentioned by others, positively surprised by the result. Less resin (epoxy) is better results in the end.

Only one layer 180gr/m2 carbon-fabric, enclosed by two layers 50gr/m2 glass-fabric appeared more than enough. As little epoxy-resin as possible and good 72-hours of curing in warm conditions.

 

Jan I followed this post to make my own with one layer of 200 carbon and 2 layers of 50 gr glass fiber. After 24 hours the cowl seems to be stiffer already. Let's wait and see what happens.

Thk you all for all these helpful suggestions... I appreciate

 

Thanks Eric for the suggestions!! Nice work by the way.

 

Indeed... You were right... The cowl is getting stiffer and stiffer.
I think that it is not that bad... Still tons of sanding to be smooth.


Sorry for the mess on my working table. I tried sanding but I think is too early... The resign is not ready yet.

Bytheway I started a new project trying to replicate a rib namefd P1 Puma racing rib:









And these are the first pictures from the construction :





If you guys are interested I can make a different topic.