Need help with cutting fibreglass cowling!

[todhog]

What's the baby powder do?

Todd

[Bob S]

	Quote: Originally Posted by todhog
	What's the baby powder do? Todd

Load your exposed arms etc up with it and it helps keep the fiberglass dust out of your skin a bit.

[sweetpea]

or long sleeves work also

[Highlights]

Baby powder is ok , but for a few bucks you can rub in a little barrier cream from any body shop supply.

Dremel and the drum sanding fittings. Round corners for sure! Less prone to cracking. Screen spline looks great as well . Take your time. Not difficult to make it look factory. Just a little practise I guess.


Yes from a true carpenter.

I beleive you guys call it the yankee screw driver.(rubber mallot)

[Scat-R-D]

The best cutoff wheels are sold by House of Balsa.
They are sold by most hobby shops and go by the name "Tuf-Grind".
They are reinforced and don't shatter like the cheap ones that Dremel sells.

You can get the 2inch and 1 inch ones. Personally I like the 2 inch as it's a lot easier to get nice straight lines.
As said before make sure you leave the corners rounded. Sharp angles cause high stress zones and will lead to cracking.

Tuf-Grind cutoff wheels

[pitviper51]

resurrectign the old thread hahah, im tryign to cut my qq yaks cowl and the gel coat around the pilot hole i put in the middle of the part to be cut out is cracking off, so looks like dremel will get some use tomarrow.. my question is, do i want to cut from the finished side or the inside??weew this is fun
mike

[ShortBus]

I cut from the outside.

[rede2fly]

	Quote: Originally Posted by pitviper51
	resurrectign the old thread hahah, im tryign to cut my qq yaks cowl and the gel coat around the pilot hole i put in the middle of the part to be cut out is cracking off, so looks like dremel will get some use tomarrow.. my question is, do i want to cut from the finished side or the inside??weew this is fun mike

cut from the gelcoat side mike. or painted side

[eagle1]

trace the outline with an xacto knife, this will help with the coating not chipping much cleaner edge, I have an assortment of the mill bits I use to cut holes in heavy glass, but as stated, be careful of not letting the cutting head skip across the finish!! nasty little scare it will leave,and as an added safety tip do not I repeat DO NOT plug it in when it is setting in your lap!!!
Ever seen a pissed off squirrel with an attitude problem and has had a little tooo much tequila woohoo. thought I would never get than tool off me fast enough started at the bottom of my shirt and by the time my brain said Hello!! it was up around my neck.
GOT TO BE MORE CAREFUL!
Just a reminder to all those complacent builders out there...your day will come if it hasn't already.....
Like the infamous #11 blade.. Oh now you know what I mean...one day it just gets ya..lol

[en1]

I put masking tape ... mark it off and use the dremel with a sanding drum ... goes through it like butter and no chipped gelcoat.....

[pitviper51]

	Quote: Originally Posted by eagle1
	trace the outline with an xacto knife, this will help with the coating not chipping much cleaner edge, I have an assortment of the mill bits I use to cut holes in heavy glass, but as stated, be careful of not letting the cutting head skip across the finish!! nasty little scare it will leave,and as an added safety tip do not I repeat DO NOT plug it in when it is setting in your lap!!! Ever seen a pissed off squirrel with an attitude problem and has had a little tooo much tequila woohoo. thought I would never get than tool off me fast enough started at the bottom of my shirt and by the time my brain said Hello!! it was up around my neck. GOT TO BE MORE CAREFUL! Just a reminder to all those complacent builders out there...your day will come if it hasn't already..... Like the infamous #11 blade.. Oh now you know what I mean...one day it just gets ya..lol

ouch!!! those #11's do suck , and they go through shoes .. how do i know.. ill give it a try tomarrow
mike

[Al Lewis]

You can lay out your cut-outs with a Sharpie or other dry erase marker and then use a Dremel as described. To start the hole simply leave the sanding drum sticking out proud of the front of the rubber mandrel by about 1/3 of its length. You can then use it as a hole saw drilling right through the middle of your layout and then move the drum around the edges. You will find that if you conventional cut, move the Dremel clockwise around the cutout, it will move steadier and cut a little more accurately then climb cutting. When you get your Dremel be sure and get all of the different sizes of drum mandrels and a lot of sanding drums. Fiberglass eats them up quickly. When you are done finish the edges with a piece of sandpaper and then brush the edge lightly with some thinned epoxy to seal them. As mentioned earlier, be sure to wear a dust mask or respirator, safety glasses or goggles, and long sleeves or barrier cream. This stuff is NOT friendly to living things. Works good!