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ComforTmax Tailbox Progress Photos
To save bandwidth, early progress photos (of building the plug) have moved here.
Now the fun starts… the left photo is the plug with the gel coat of the mould laid up on to it. The shocking orange colour is to provide a good contrast between the mould and a white gel coat of a part. The second photo shows the first layers of glass laminated. Sadly at this point I got engrossed in the work and forgot to photo the later stages! The completed mould, with balsa double-skinning to maintain its shape and framing to make it stand upright on its own, is shown in the right two photos.
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A couple of people have said they would prefer a tailbox without the tall head fairing (a "Barry"). As Arthur Middleton first asked for it, it is called an "Arthur". On the left is the start of moulding the mould and the finished mould is on the right.
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Finally, here is the mould for the lower section of the tailbox. As this tapers inwards at both the top and bottom, it is not possible to have a one-piece mould. Instead the mould will be split horizontally.
The left photo shows the plug just before making the lower part of the mould - this is upside-down and you are looking from the rear - the recess visible is that handhold that will be used to lift the tailbox to get at the fuel tank. The grey colour will be the finished surface of the tailbox, the central unpainted square will be a hole (to allow the moulder's hands inside!) and the flange around the outside is where the upper and lower parts of the mould will join - the 'blobs' on the flange are knibs that will lock the two halves of the mould together.
In the middle is the completed section of the mould - the lumps of MDF are legs for the mould to stand on. Turn all this lot over and remove the MDF that makes the flange: the result is shown on the right. The male knibs are now female recesses in which the other half of the mould will be formed.
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The second half of the mould has now also been laminated and the complete mould is shown on the left - the upper and lower parts are bolted together. There are holes in both the top and the bottom of the mould (see centre), as otherwise it would be nearly impossible to laminate parts. The two parts of the mould separated are shown on the right.
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