Making Fiberglass Molds

Check out my latest project: https://youtu.be/yXQnydST9fw

Check out the complete build video for the 3 kW Reaper turbine: https://youtu.be/EPmW-BjCiWI

Plans for the turbine are available here: https://www.resystech.com/3-kw-wind-turbine

Making Fiberglass Molds - part 5 of the Reaper wind turbine build. In this video I make the fiberglass molds that will be used to form the blades and nose cone in the next video.

For the back blade mold I used 4 layers of 7 oz (200g) fiberglass cloth with 1/4"x3/4" wide plywood strips laminated between the last two layers for rigidity (each layer of fiberglass was oriented with the weave at 45 degrees to the previous layer). This seemed like overkill for a mold, so I switched to just 3 layers and plywood strips for the front blade mold. It worked out just fine.
I couldn't use wood strips on the nose cone (for obvious reasons), so for the first layer I used 2 oz (57g) fiberglass matt to make the cone rigid, then followed it with a layer of 7 oz cloth for strength.
FYI - fiberglass matt isn't as strong as fiberglass cloth. Fiberglass matt consists of oriented strands of fiberglass (almost similar to fiberglass insulation) and is typically thicker than fiberglass cloth of the same weight. Fiberglass cloth consists of weaved fiberglass strains that essentially 'lock' together and can be harder to work with around contoured surfaces. For these reasons, fiberglass matt is usually used to provide thickness and rigidity where needed, and fiberglass cloth is used for strength and flexibility.

I don't have a lot of experience working with fiberglass, so if any experts out there have some tips they'd like to share, please feel free.

Reaper project details: https://www.renewablesystemstechnology.com/3-kw-axial-flux-hawt

Lathe build video:
http://bit.ly/DIYLathe

Download the lathe plans:
http://bit.ly/LathePlans

Master blade video:
http://bit.ly/BladeCarving

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