Composite Guitar Cases
Not being a musician, I had not been familiar with instrument cases, specifically for guitars. Many of them are made of composite materials, both fiberglass and carbon fiber.
The advantages of composites align well with requirements for handling musical instruments. Composites are strong and lightweight, as well as impact resistant. Composites are also not affected by moisture.
I came across an interesting video by WallyUpdabungenstein who does a comparison of a Calton deluxe fiberglass guitar case as compared to a Hoffee carbon fiber guitar case.
He does a great job comparing the actual fit and handling of the guitar in the case. He does not discuss the construction materials of the cases, but does look at the important aspects of them. Any item that is intended for a primary purpose such as protecting musical instruments needs to do a good job at this primary purpose.
Moldless Car Body
Building a custom car body with fiberglass can be achieved without using a mold! This will be a truly custom, unique vehicle. It will take lots of planning and hands-on work, but is very possible as shown in these YouTube videos.
There of course are several ways to go about building a basic structure to use for the basic shape. This video gave lots of good ideas and examples of materials that are relatively inexpensive.
The second part of the video shows some of the actual fiberglass work. This video of less than eight minutes does not nearly do justice to the amount of work and effort that went into finishing this project! It was great that the author documented his work and shared with all. This was a major project that is not for the faint of heart.
He does a very good job explaining the process and materials used in this construction. Every project is unique, however. When discussing the thickness of the fiberglass skin, there are many variables that determine the finished strength. The number of layers to use is dependent on the amount of underlying support structures, part geometry, and required load bearing capacity of the structure. Some areas may need to be stronger for impact resistance and structural loads.
The video author discusses only using epoxy resin with Styrofoam as opposed to polyester resin which will react with the Styrofoam. Polyester resin can be used if separated from the Styrofoam with an additional layer. While I have only seen it advertised, there are new spray on primer materials available to cover the Styrofoam and allow polyester resins to be utilized afterward.
Necky Composites
A very basic and well-done video is from Necky Composites.
It demonstrates the toughness of epoxy laminates when he starts the video by beating the kayak with a hammer. He also does a good job of discussing the construction techniques of his kayaks and gives some good detail on materials and processes.
I have used the Soric and Divinycell, and the adhesive he discusses. They all have their places and special techniques for application. Many of these materials have been around a long time, and sometimes they have been misused in applications that they didn’t belong. I have personally witnessed some of these horror stories concerning delamination and improper adhesion.
The video quality and production is very rudimentary, but the content is very good. I am not a kayaker, but it makes me want to get one of these!
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