the jelly belly build

[del]

Doug

My skin on this build is 1/8 inch ply, so doubling it will make it 1/4 inch thick like the boat you mentioned (sorry not much boat experience out here in the middle of the dessert, one day I may learn how to swim). This double skin will be in the area of the door only, so i think weight will not be a huge deal. Yes the outside will be glassed.


Glassice

Thank you for the idea of a template, can use it for the inside, then again for the left side of the trailer (inside and out).

thanks
del

[doug hodder]

If you are going to double up around the door, why not make it like a door frame around the door and on the door itself, like 1.75" wide...if you went 1/4 on that material, that'd give you plenty of strength in total...you would have to do more detail sanding however to make it look really nice...I'm doing a similar treatment on the outer edges on the Rocketear, kinda gives the trailer a 3rd dimension detail on the flat sides..Doug

[glassice]

A better way to explain go look under your car hood

[angib]

Is knowing how long the sides will be enough info to determine axle placement, or do I have to know how long the nose and tail will be?

I think the nose and tail can make a difference, but not a lot.

The Roswell as I drew it is just a copy of the drawings that have been published, so I've never worked out its balance - a quick check suggests that it would put about 14% of its weight on the hitch, which is towards the top of the acceptable range.

That balance is achieved with the wheel centres 25% of the side wall length from the back. If you wanted the hitch weight a little lower, you might increase that to 30%, but somewhere around there should suit you. This assumes you aren't going to have a heavy galley at the back - if you are, you may want the wheels a bit further back.

Andrew

[del]

Andrew

Thank you.

Build progress.

Built a cute little harbor freight trailer. Good thing it is only 40" wide, with the bottom of the sides curving in, it just fits.
The body i got the lower front nose piece in..

Now i know how long the nose will be at the bottom.

Had a couple of wacky thoughts today. One would fiber glass work with pvc pipe? Used for frenching in the taillights. Two make fender skirts that look like a door for the landing gear on a plane.

so long for now
del

[glassice]

PVC will be great for the taillights .On the fender I.M O I just use 4 are 5 layers of glass and a lip they will last for 15 are more years PVC like to crack if it moves to much over the years ,are how about metal Elec .conduit?

[del]

Doug

If I just reinforce the 1/8" ply for the doors do you think that would be strong enough? The more I think about it, doubling the ply would be a lot of work.

Build progress.

Put the second door area skin on. This time i only put it on once. Made sure the bottom was lined up with the bottom of the frame work, and the front was lined up with yesterdays lower nose piece, then stapled. Note you should draw the staple here line that represents where the spar will be before putting it up.


Has anyone found any ufo looking door latches?

Note build progress will now take a break while i recover from tomorrows surgery. Will continue working through ideas, so if you have one please post.

Wolf.

hows the real roswell coming, I am waiting. You could post pictures here.

[doug hodder]

Del...I looked around for something "out of this world" for door handles on the Rocketear...no luck on them....might be a fun thing to play around and design and cast one...I've got a bunch of zinc I can melt down, maybe try that lost wax casting idea....Doug

[del]

Doug

Sounds cool, wish I had a clue how to cast something. But i still don't know exactly what I want.
What do you think about reinforcing the 1/8" ply without adding more ply?

thanks del

[doug hodder]

Del...I think you're going to have to support the door as close to the opening as you can both on the the body and the door itself...the extra 1/8" material will probably be fine to trim it out and provide some extra strength...but just as easily, it could be done with 1/4", it'll bend up with no problem...and will provide more thickness to help on any "bump" damage to the edge and also add to the 3rd dimension on the side...that's what I used on the Rocketear.

On the handles...I've cast trunk hinges for a 38 Dodge and they actually came out pretty good, with only 1 support. they always broke on 1 side...plating will kill you on price however...but I had a friend that worked for IBM and he got me the high temp silicone rubber material that I could pour melted zinc directly into..It was late 70's...probably something newer that will work now....lots of grinding and finish work on them...junk carbs broken up will work for casting material....Doug

[toypusher]

............

Has anyone found any ufo looking door latches?

.............

You could look for some kind of recessed or even better - hiden. Maybe the locks they use on some hotrods that only work with a remote and there is no door handle.

[del]

Hi all.

Laying on the couch today thinking about fiberglass. Many years ago I had a fiberglass doonbuggy that I had to fix a lot of cracks on, just bought a fiberglass kit from a local auto parts store. Now looking at the jelly belly build and seeing that won't cut it. So I search on sdtripper2's index, then a couple of companys web cites. So many choices, I am now confused (or maybe it is the pain meds). Epoxy is more flexible, polyester more rigid (my door i believe I want rigid). More people here talk about epoxy, so I am thinking it is better in some way. My next question is cloth, it was so much easier when the box came with one kind, how heavy? And finally do i want the filler on all the coats or just the top coat (I figure the one easy to sand).

thanks in advance
del

[madjack]

del, you can getta lotta info right here...or, goto www.raka.com or http://www.westsystem.com/ and read up on everything you could want to know(and more) about epoxy and fiberglass....
madjack

[Juneaudave]

Hi all.

Laying on the couch today thinking about fiberglass. Many years ago I had a fiberglass doonbuggy that I had to fix a lot of cracks on, just bought a fiberglass kit from a local auto parts store. Now looking at the jelly belly build and seeing that won't cut it. So I search on sdtripper2's index, then a couple of companys web cites. So many choices, I am now confused (or maybe it is the pain meds). Epoxy is more flexible, polyester more rigid (my door i believe I want rigid). More people here talk about epoxy, so I am thinking it is better in some way. My next question is cloth, it was so much easier when the box came with one kind, how heavy? And finally do i want the filler on all the coats or just the top coat (I figure the one easy to sand).

thanks in advance
del

The JellyBean is looking really good there...I am amazed by what you and others are doing!!!!

In regard to fiberglass, your in new territory for me, but that has never stopped me from throwing out some thoughts...I'm a thinking that maybe things would come into focus if you answered a couple of fundamental questions...

1. Is the fiberglass going to act as a structural member? If that is so, think about a stripper canoe. They are glassed both inside and out. The wood core serves only to separate layers of glass that sandwiches the thin core. The fiberglass skins (inside and out) act like a beam and carry the load. The wood serves a very minimal part structurally. The curvature enhances the effect!!!

2. On the other end, fiberglass on the outside only of a thin ply is usually used for abrasion protection, to prevent checking, or serve as a base for some sort of top coat. Structurally...on a big sheet of thin ply...I'm thinking you will need some framing to make it work!!!

On the other hand...you've got a different and interesting build going on here. If you are worried about someone pushing in the sides (without framing)...maybe putting a single layer of glass on the inside is a better idea than putting it outside??? I have no clue!!!

3. There are a number of composite cored construction techniques that get the best of both. Gaston's Purple PT creation is an amazing piece of work and way beyond my comprehension.



I'm not sure if you can get to polyester vs. epoxy...or 4, 6 or 9 oz woven glass as opposed to something else... unless you know what you want it to do!!!! In a positive and supportive note...I'm also pretty sure that there is a solution for what you are trying to do. Congrats on the great work!!!

[angib]

Epoxy is better in pretty much every way to polyester, except in cost. Polyester is not more rigid than epoxy - but it is more brittle.

I would use glass/resin to do those difficult joints where the curved pieces (front, side, back) meet each other. You can work our the (constant) angle to chamfer the top and bottom, but the angle between the curved pieces varies all the way along the joint.

The technique to use is borrowed from boatbuilding, where it is called 'stitch and tape' (or 'stitch and glue') and here are some web pages showing its use:
http://www.selway-fisher.com/Stitch%20and%20Tape.htm
http://www.epoxy-resins.co.uk/Gallery/Morgan2.htm
http://bateau2.com/content/view/46/28/

Andrew