Fiberglass 101

I've seen alot of pics of tower box builds in progress, but is there a place where I can see a step by step process to building a fiberglass tower box?? From the forming all the way to the sanding and painting. I think it would be pretty cool to have a one-off on my tower.
Thanks for any info!

From when I used to build r/c gliders, my two favorite composites houses:

Composite Structures Technologies
http://www.cstsales.com/home.htm

and Aerospace Composites Products:
http://www.acp-composites.com/acp-cat.htm

ACP has a good how-to section that might help:
https://www.cstsales.com/How_to_Articles/index.htm

Also Aircraft Spruce and Specialty might be able to help you out with supplies and info on fabrics, resins, etc.:
http://www.aircraft-spruce.com/

If/when I do it, I'll try to boroow a vacuum pump and do it 'lost foam': shape the shape out of PVC foam (like insulation), then cover it with packing tape, then start laying fabric and resin over it. After all the fabric's in there, blot out excess resin and then bag is with this sheet latex stuff and suck down with the pump. Seamless and pimp. After it cures, cut a hole in it and pull out the foam and tape. Really a good way to build fuselages, and probably got good potential for speaker boxes. Especially easy is you're cool with the looks of carbon.

(Message edited by toyotafreak on August 11, 2004)

You can see the process at Alpine's website. They have tons of pictures of their builups like the Mini.

this is about the only one I know of...funny thing is, it's mine!
Tower Article
Buildup Picture
KG

KG, That's exactly what I was looking for!! Thanks for taking the time to document your project. Looks Great!

NP Pete.
Email me if you have any questions..I have answered about 15 emails regarding projects like this.

I know your not going to want to believe this, but chances are you can buy one cheaper than the cost of making one yourself. Many people do the same that you are thinking and it winds up costing them a lot time and close to the same amount of money. I learned this the hard way. Fortunately for me I liked it and was able to start selling boxes.

Don't let me discourage you. If you really want to do it yourself, have fun and ask as many questions as you want. There are plenty of people in here that know a lot about fiberglass. Make sure to let us know how its going.

A good place to find reading material is www.fiberglast.com. They have a lot of supplies too.

Paul,
Thanks for the heads up. I'm not worried about the man hours it will take, but are you telling me that the materials will end up costing the same as a pre built fiberglass box(ie Wetbox)??
If so, how are you making any profit from your boxes? Thanks again for the info.

Here's my buildup:
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/176616.html?1090120097
Here too:
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/105278.html?1080833096
The system updates should be here:
http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/180549.html?1090517054

but I have been lazy and havent taken any pics. It is all done and in. Maybe I will update the pics later today.

Looking forward to your update Jan. Where did you get the speaker cloth? And a question to all: Are you using a pro spray gun for the primer and paint??

You can get grill cloth at most fabric stores. I used an old style high pressure gun, it is something a guy that paints cars for a living uses.

Pete,

The problem many new people will encounter is that they dont get it right the first time. Either that or they use a lot of material and supplies to compensate for a mistake or lack of experience. If you figure in man hours, it can get expensive. Luckily for most of us we have more time than money.

As far as being profitable, thats debateable. I definitely make a profit if you only factor in materials, but the overhead to support a business cost more than the materials.

I'm the kind of guy that likes a challenge and the experience is worth paying for. You should make your own if you are so inclined. I just wanted to give you a heads up.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me and I will help you out as best I can. Also check out my webpage for ideas or if you decide you want to buy one. http://www.80feetout.com Definitely make one yourself if you want your own look and style and are up for the challenge.

Paul

One other thing I forgot to mention. Most people, including myself and every boat manufacturer, make their fiberglass products using a female mold. This cuts down on the time as well as the materials and weight of the product. If it weren't for molds, nobody would be profitable. Making a mold requires a major investment of time and material up front before you even see a finished product.

Chances are you will be making a box from hand-layed fiberglass over some fleece and wood which is considered a male mold. This will work, but it will take a lot of cleanup and will weigh a lot more than one strictly made of fiberglass.

Knowing this before hand is key to making a lighter box. If thats the route you take, I would tape your wood with aluminum tape so the fiberglass wont stick to it. Once the fiberglass hardens, you should be able to break apart the wood and remove most of it. This should help reduce the weight and prevent some cracking. I have seen a lot of boxes made like this and most of the time the wood cracks really bad and is very frustrating. This is a little trick I use on male molds.

Paul

HINT:

Use surfacing agent(an additive for resin) in your resin when making your 1 off speaker box. The agent make the resin A LOT easier to sand, and it will save you a butt load of time especially if you are a novice at this and will be doing a lot of correction work.

Chris brings up a good point. You can purchase resin that has a surfacing agent(wax) already in it. This is generally called finishing resin.

When you go the lost-foam route, most of your work (carving, sanding, etc) is done with foam. Easy to work with in getting the shape just how you like it. There are three drawbacks to this method: 1) the foam plug (and all your shaping) is good for only one shot - screw up and start over, and what's even more painful is when you get it so right that you want to make more and can't. 2) getting ahold of a vacuum pump may or may not be really easy for you, and 3) the finish will show the texture of the fabric - if you want to paint it, you'll probably want to fill and sand to smooth the texture.

Carbon looks awesome going this route when you bag with the sheet latex. Most of the benefits of hollow molding without having to go the full monte and making molds.

Paul, I'm with you on the manhours thing. My buddy and I got into making boxes and quickly found out that there is no money in it, especially if you have a full time job and the box biz is just part time.

I caution everyone on the use of resins containing surfacing agents to build your box. We have found that if you are not careful you can have delamination problems due to layers kicking off during the lamination process. This is particularly a problem in large molds. You also have to thoroughly sand any areas you intend to repair or else fiberglass and bondo will peel off over time.

(Message edited by whiteVLX on August 15, 2004)

YES, if you are doing anything in multiple layers only use the agent in the last layer. The agent leaves kind of a wax on top which will not let the other layer adhear. I have done a couple in one coat though. If possible one shot is the best...