Saw Dust Factory : Rudder page 4 The Fiberglass Jig Continued

Last pic was  one side of the rudder boards being in place in the jig for the first dry fit.   I need to mention that I used two pieces of paper on this to intentionally have a lot of over lap between the jig and the adhesive, as well as over lap on top.  Also note, I put the shiny side up.

  If you are using most types of polyester you HAVE TO BLOCK AIR  OR IT WILL NOT CURE!!!!!       

MAKE  ABSOLUTELY SURE YOU RESEARCH , READ AND UNDERSTAND THE INSTRUCTIONS WITH ANY PRODUCT YOU PURCHASE  BEFORE YOU START YOUR PROJECT.  Online tutorials, youtube how to videos,  any other how to video I could find online and calling the manufacturer of the product are how I learned what I needed to know.  Look at as many sources as you can find. You will get differing opinions and methods. That is  good thing. It will help you figure out  what will work best for you and what your comfortable with.  What one video don't cover many times is covered in a different one. 

When you can visualize  the steps involved of what your going to do and how you are going to do it, and don't have any worries of doing it the way you have in mind because you have done your  home work,  you are probably ready to make your materials list and start collecting what you need.

 
I have been doing my own honey do's for over 20 years. Even those of us who have experience can make mistakes that, if not corrected in time, can  waste materials.   Now I did not intentionally mess this up,  but its probably a good thing I did. It gives me a real good way to show how incredibly important dry fitting EVERY THING is. 

Ladies, I don't care what it is your working on. If  you are trying to put two or more pieces of ANY THING together permanently whether or not you think you may want the option to reuse those materials for something else later voluntarily DRY FIT IT before you add the adhesive!!!

This applies to any thing from wood, metal,  pipe, stone  etc.  Had I not dry fitted this gig to the rudder, the entire project would have become land fill material.

 I had to put a piece of the freezer paper, shiny side up,  under it to show the gap we had at the first fit.

As you can see, it was a significant gap that had the potential to  throw the alignment of the entire project off .

That one  gap spread several inches down the rudder.

  
Moral of this? NEVER , EVER,  NEGLECT THE DRY FIT STEP OF ANY PROJECT!!!!!!!





Now back to progress.



This is a dry run but the instructions are for what I will do after I apply the  polyester to the boards.  The reason for the paper is so it will NOT stick to the jig.  When I do it for real with the polyester in place I will use some cheap tape to tape the seams close.


 

Put a piece of your per SHINY SIDE DOWN on the area not already covered. Over lap is a GOOD THING!

 

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Take the  freezer paper or what ever you are using  from under neath and fold it  around the ends and  over  the top side of the boards.  Remember to use something that will NOT stick to the adhesive. Plain old fashioned wax paper is good.   Ladies this is one of those things where skills you know you have come in real handy.  Just do not waste time trying to get it picture perfect. You cannot reasonably expect it to look as nice as a regular box that you wrap. Your paper will have wrinkles from the jig you normally would not have to deal with.  Sloppy is not going to hurt it one bit, as long as you have the air blocked when using polyester. 

Make sure it covers the ends if you have any joints so air does not get in and prevent cure.

Finish it up like a present

I added another layer of paper on top  for extra security.  I don't want the paper under neath to slip.

Add the end piece to the jig and repeat on other end.

All boards ready to be screwed into place to let it cure. Remember if you use Polyester, it  needs to not have air on it to cure properly.