Building a case out of fiberglass

M

MPython8118

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 25, 2004
Messages
65
If you used something else, like steel or aluminum, for the frame, would it be possible to make a case out of fiberglass? I'd imagine it would be easier to use for making curves and so forth. Has anybody ever done this, or tried to?
 
You can buy fiber glass panels and stuff to build anything. you should check out Fibreglast.com for their instruction and forming manuals. they are worth the money in saved materials and frustration when building anything with glass. or carbon fiber, or kevlar.

check them out, it will save you money in the long run.

and glass is easy to work with you just can not rush it. if it says mix it to dry in two hours then it will take two hours to dry and if you mix it soit cooks off faster you will have problems with it.

DO NOT TAKE A HOT SHOWER AFTER WORKING WITH GLASS.

you will know the meaning of the seven year itch:D :D
 
I know what you mean about fiberglass being itchy, although I haven't taken a shower, so I haven't felt that. I helped my dad fix his boat with some fiberglass, and some of it got into my arms. God damn did that stuff hurt.
 
Carbon fiber is better, but more expensive. Fiberglass is quite flimsy for your purposes.
 
Originally posted by M4d-K10wN
Carbon fiber is better, but more expensive. Fiberglass is quite flimsy for your purposes.
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dont know what kind you used, but when i made my sub box for the spare wheel well of my car that stuff was dam strong. put on like 4 layers, but there was no bending it at all. was slightly off in my dimensions, so i had to jump on the box to get it to fit in the well, and it would not budge.
 
When I was working for a car-audio installer when I was at school. We used fiberglass on all the custom enclosures. Lay the fabric down correctly, and it'll be DAMN strong. I did an air-tight enclosure for two 15" subs with 1500 watts on them. He never had a problem with it.
 
Some of the misinformation in this thread is so wrong it's just sad. :(
Let me guess, you geniuses handing out advice when you know absolutely nothing about the subject (You know who you are) must have stayed in a Holiday Inn last night, right? :rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by IYIENACE
Some of the misinformation in this thread is so wrong it's just sad. :(
Let me guess, you geniuses handing out advice when you know absolutely nothing about the subject (You know who you are) must have stayed in a Holiday Inn last night, right? :rolleyes:
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What's the point in flaming unless you actually care to enlighten us? At least the folks who have already posted have given their opinions on the matter.
 
The three layer glass nose of my race car sits on an aluminium pan and is held on at the back of the fenders with one 3/8" pit pin per side. it is 65" across and 36 1/2" from front to back. it is angled to produce an down pressure of 2700 pounds at 75 miles an hour, middle of third gear, I did not bother to check to see what the down force is at the top of fifth because I don't want to know how fast that really is. but the glass has NO cracks in it from stress. moving a case made of fibre glass should not harm it in any way if the glass is laid out correctly and the resin applied correctly.

as i said in the first post go to FibreGlast and get their manuals, you will learn alot and the price is made upin saved materials.
 
Originally posted by IYIENACE
Some of the misinformation in this thread is so wrong it's just sad. :(
Let me guess, you geniuses handing out advice when you know absolutely nothing about the subject (You know who you are) must have stayed in a Holiday Inn last night, right? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...


hand out advice or STFU.....nobody needs your noob shit here.
 
This made me laugh I love this comment.
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Some of the misinformation in this thread is so wrong it's just sad. Let me guess, you geniuses handing out advice when you know absolutely nothing about the subject (You know who you are) must have stayed in a Holiday Inn last night, right?
Click to expand...


fiberglass is used to make car bodies, like the corvette and many kit cars like cobra replicas. Moving it around will do nothing to it if it is made correctly. A car body endures a beating just driving it around and it will outlast the metal the car is made from. Boats are often fiberglass and sit in salty water, the hull slaming into waves at 40 mph and it does not crack or wearout easily. Surfboards are foam covered in fiberglass, a printed circuit board is made of fiberglass. The rear cross mounted leaf spring on a c5 corvette is made out of a 1" thick piece of fiberglass. So I don't think a fiberglass pc case is going to tax the material to the breaking point very easily. Some fiberglass structures have metal supports bonded into the glass mat so it may be mounted, old corvette bodies are this way. The New corvettes are also made of fiberglass but there are other layers of material unknown to me that are compositied in with the glass. The door skins are a type of plastic similar to tupperware material so it wont ding. The Saturn line of cars made that material popular. As mentioned in the first post, glass is good for making curves. That is why it was used on the vette, making a sheetmetal panel shaped like the fender on a 68 corvette would thin the metal down so much it would not be durable. Fiberglass comes in many forms, loose strand which is "thrown" into a mold with a spray guy type of appliance, sheets and rolls of fiberglass cloth and rolls of narrow fiebrglass cloth called glass tape. When fiberglass cloth is dry it soft and flexible like any kind of cloth, when it is wet with polyester resin is remains soft for a while and can be formed over just about any shape when the cloth or loose strand is applied in criss crossing layers and dries it becomes incredibly strong, the same idea applies to making plywood, turning each layer so the grain runs in all directions. The cobra i have been working on has the hood fiberglassed onto the aluminum case, you can pick the whole case up by the hood.
 
Does anyone have the link to that place that sells discarded aerospace fiber? It was mentioned in another carbon fiber thread some time ago. It may have even been the thread for mashie's Oenone.
 
bump thats a good idea i think ill take it to :D with your permission of corse
 
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