2002-04-07

My hovercraft lift duct has just been "finished." The epoxy is still wet, but I've finished the actual process of laying up.

This is a fiberglass mold process. You wax the mold (I used 4 layers) and then epoxy the surface. Then you put on two layers of lightweight glass and then two layers of heavy stuff. The first layer of heavy stuff has the threads going diagonally, and the second has threads going vertically and horizontally.

This whole process makes a duct with a smooth inside surface (the visible part of the duct, that will have the fan in it) and a very strong structure.

Turns out the finished duct weighs 12 pounds.

I used West Systems epoxy here. I like this stuff a lot.