Tag Archives: Epoxyworks #23

The planter box later that summer, with flowers in full bloom.

Building a Planter Box

by Brian Knight—GBI Technical Advisor

My wife gave me the basic guidelines for a planter box she wanted me to build. First, keep it cheap. Second, she wanted an “L” shape. Third, she provided some rough dimensions. The design was up to me. Logic seems to abandon me when I design something, and this project was no exception. A nice, straightforward box with square corners should have been the default. But after some doodling on paper, I decided to build a planter with flared sides and rounded corners. Continue reading →

3 8" plywood supports isolate the mold from the strongback

Improved Mold Strongbacks

by Tom Pawlak — GBI Technical Advisor

Above: Three 8″ plywood supports isolate the mold from the mold strongback.

Back in the 1980s, Gougeon Brothers, Inc. was one of the largest producers of wind turbine blades in the US. The blades were built of wood veneer and epoxy, and varied in length from 10′ to 70′. They were built in halves and vacuum laminated in female molds built with WEST SYSTEM® Brand Epoxy. Tolerances were tight, and every aspect of the tooling was critical, from molding to assembly. If something wasn’t right when the two halves were glued together, there wasn’t much you could do to make it right later. Continue reading →

1—This strongback table is used to assemble airplane wings. It must not twist or sag. The table was originally 32' long, but has been shortened to 20'. Four rubber casters, one at each corner, support it. Built as a strongback, it spans 20' (previously 32') without sagging.

Staudacher’s Strongback Table

by Brian Knight—GBI Technical Advisor

Above: This strongback table is used to assemble airplane wings in John Staudacher’s shop. It must not twist or sag. 

Jon Staudacher, of Staudacher Hydroplanes and Aircraft, has been using a long, very flat, work table/strongback that is mounted on casters. The table was originally 32′ long, but because of space considerations, Jon has since shortened it to 20′ (Photo 1, at top). Four rubber casters support it, one at each corner (Photo 2, below). Continue reading →

Big Bicuspid

Signmaker Bill Boudreau of Maria, Quebec, uses WEST SYSTEM® epoxy to build conventional laminated cedar signs, as well as rather unconventional signs like the big bicuspid. He also uses epoxy for projects that go beyond conventional signmaking—like this 15 ½’ guitar and an 8′ tall tooth.

The monster molar was built of wood, chicken wire, insulating foam, fiberglass, and epoxy. It’s finished with polyurethane paint and has held up very well under conditions of extreme cold and a salty environment.

Continue reading →