Re: Sows Ear Chassis
Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 1:03 pm
Hi Ray
Thanks for the tips and support. the inspiring bit is to get all of those folks that are reading this out in the garage and doing it. There is not rocket science or brain surgeon stuff here. its the will to get something done every day possible. Thats how things get done in my world. I don't have the financial resources to tell someone to make it pretty and make it right. I like to show folks how I do things, if you want to "learn" or just read along for the laugh thats fine too. I have done a couple and I seem to remember where the stumbling blocks lay. Body work is certainly one of them. Body work is best accomplished a bit at a time but if you do have some it goes by and its done without to much drama. I started out with about 20 ounces of resin, I still have about 5 ounces left. wet layups are fine but on the heavy side. I worked at Boston Whaler when I was 19 and learned a bit, my techniques were poor and my quality sucked. I know some great folks that do it for a living and my hat is off to them for the quality that they do on a daily basis. I get out and do this when I have to or when I want to play Elan builder. I help others that want to know or learn when they ask. Warm weather is great for glass work as its real time, not waiting for things to happen, maybe it will be ready to work with tomorrow type of thing. This morning I went out to spread some bondo in some of the areas that I had ground away, when I am done with this post I will be out sanding it and getting ready to fine tune those areas. There seems to be a lot of talk about dolly's and rotisseries at times and I though I would share my "rotisserie" method. I don't have any but I wanted to get the Elan up on it side to work this morning, I can hang fiberglass upside down but its tough to sand that way so I got a couple of milk crates (4 x 4 cut offs work too) and a couple of hunks of 4 inch foam rubber. I placed them next to the body and withing 5 or 8 minutes I had it ready to use with great access. this is a by yourself thing as at 7:00am I am not going to be calling anyone for help and its already 80 degrees so when I want something it's usually a "right now" decision thing and so was this.
As usual pictures are better than words so here they are!
The set up
The bare shell weighs about 185 lbs, I tip the scale at 130 most days. I grab the seat rail mounting recess on the underside and lift to the balance point and hold it there while I get around to the other side
Foam is compressed and no damage occurs, if it does, so what - it not a finished and painted shell its a work in progress.
took about 5 minutes to get it vertical and ready to use.
good access to just about the complete underside of the Elan - Sweet!
Back to sanding the bondo and polyester glazing putty I spread earlier this morning,
Well the milk crates didn't work out, it kept sliding around on them so I lowered it to the ground and tied off the bottom so it was more stable. I keep learning (maybe re-learning) all the time on what you can get away with and what doesn't work...
Gary
Thanks for the tips and support. the inspiring bit is to get all of those folks that are reading this out in the garage and doing it. There is not rocket science or brain surgeon stuff here. its the will to get something done every day possible. Thats how things get done in my world. I don't have the financial resources to tell someone to make it pretty and make it right. I like to show folks how I do things, if you want to "learn" or just read along for the laugh thats fine too. I have done a couple and I seem to remember where the stumbling blocks lay. Body work is certainly one of them. Body work is best accomplished a bit at a time but if you do have some it goes by and its done without to much drama. I started out with about 20 ounces of resin, I still have about 5 ounces left. wet layups are fine but on the heavy side. I worked at Boston Whaler when I was 19 and learned a bit, my techniques were poor and my quality sucked. I know some great folks that do it for a living and my hat is off to them for the quality that they do on a daily basis. I get out and do this when I have to or when I want to play Elan builder. I help others that want to know or learn when they ask. Warm weather is great for glass work as its real time, not waiting for things to happen, maybe it will be ready to work with tomorrow type of thing. This morning I went out to spread some bondo in some of the areas that I had ground away, when I am done with this post I will be out sanding it and getting ready to fine tune those areas. There seems to be a lot of talk about dolly's and rotisseries at times and I though I would share my "rotisserie" method. I don't have any but I wanted to get the Elan up on it side to work this morning, I can hang fiberglass upside down but its tough to sand that way so I got a couple of milk crates (4 x 4 cut offs work too) and a couple of hunks of 4 inch foam rubber. I placed them next to the body and withing 5 or 8 minutes I had it ready to use with great access. this is a by yourself thing as at 7:00am I am not going to be calling anyone for help and its already 80 degrees so when I want something it's usually a "right now" decision thing and so was this.
As usual pictures are better than words so here they are!
The set up
The bare shell weighs about 185 lbs, I tip the scale at 130 most days. I grab the seat rail mounting recess on the underside and lift to the balance point and hold it there while I get around to the other side
Foam is compressed and no damage occurs, if it does, so what - it not a finished and painted shell its a work in progress.
took about 5 minutes to get it vertical and ready to use.
good access to just about the complete underside of the Elan - Sweet!
Back to sanding the bondo and polyester glazing putty I spread earlier this morning,
Well the milk crates didn't work out, it kept sliding around on them so I lowered it to the ground and tied off the bottom so it was more stable. I keep learning (maybe re-learning) all the time on what you can get away with and what doesn't work...
Gary