Mark...I made a mold (plug?) to produce four canopies for the GEEBEE foamie. Not knowing what I was doing, I used 1/4"poplar and criss-crossed it so each arm would be a canopy when cut apart. I used the clear plastic and am pleased at how well they came out. I had one that was kind of puny, don't know why, but I feel experience and practice will prevent that. Anyhow, cut one away and glued it to a scrap piece of White Depron. It looks great so now I need to build another GEEBEE to put it on. I emailed you a photo of what I made. I have not figured out (yet) how to attach a photo on this forum. Overall, the photo is probably not worth sharing anyhow. Just wanted you to know your apparatus works great and I am looking forward to creating some neat things with it.
Oh, I did not spray the plug with PAM or anything similar. I had no real trouble getting the plastic separated. I was hesitant to use PAM for fear it would cloud the clear plastic or leave a film on it. Any danger of this happening? I was thinking a guy could easily spray paint inside the clear plastic part if he wanted to and that would look great and allow creation of parts in any color.
Thanks for your creation!

Chuck
...somewhere in Indiana...

 

Criss-crossing the plug to create a 4-up pattern eliminated the problem of keeping it straight. Before I did the criss=cross, I was pondering how to keep the profile canopy upright so I can see it being a problem. Now I need to make a pattern for a canopy for the profile F22 and the Funder n Lightning. As far as using foam for a plug...are you talking basic blue FFF or Depron or what? I considered that but was afraid the hot plastic would affect the foam. Man...if I could use foam it would be a lot easier to fabricate and modify. I might just try that tomorrow, thanks for the tip. If foam work for cowls, then all one needs to do it cut the front of an airplane off and use it. Oh...this Phlatformer would be perfect for creating air intake scoops for electric planes that have the electronics inside the fuselage.

Thanks Mark,

Chuck

 

E-T: Nothing wrong with that! Looks like a great job. I haven't decided how you made the almost vertical line in the canopy, but it is nice. I just finished one for the FunJet and man does it change the looks of that thing. I doubled the fuse, so made the plug from 1/2" poplar. It cut out easy and sanded easy. I used a length of 1/8" lite ply about 1/4" wide and glued it lengthwise and vertically to the bottom of my plug. I cut a notch and crossed it with another piece of 1/8" ply so it would fit, criss-crossed, in the cuts in the waffle board. It set right down in the grooves and remained upright. I made the plug 1/4" bigger on the sides that would glue to the fuse so I could cut those off later. I don't think my canopy looks as good as yours. Well...it does...but I don't have that fancy line. I now have plugs for the FunJet, the Funder n' Lightning, and the GeeBee. I am going to need a lot of clear plastic if I keep going like this. I do not forsee using as much of the white plastic, but I will wait and see. Good job E-T, it looks real, REAL nice!

Chuck
...somewhere in Indiana...

p.s., if you or someone will tell me how to post a photo here I will show you my FunJet canopy. Thanks.

 

Tomorrow will take some photos and try to get them sharp and try to get them posted here so I can receive constructive criticism. Great photos you posted. I find creating the form for a profile canopy can be tricky.

Thanks for the info on posting the photos. Tomorrow will tell!

Take care guy(s)

Chuck

 

Here are a few photos taken of the two plugs I made for the Phlatformer. One is for the FunJet canopy and the other is for the Funder n' Lightning canopy. Also are a couple of photos of the FunJet canopy glued in place. The plane is still in construction. I simply criss-crossed two pieces of 1/8 lite ply as a base. The pieces are about 1/4" high and glued to the bottom of the plug. This allows room for cutting away when finished. So far, it works great. There could be hundreds of reasons why this is NOT a good system and hopefully, if anyone knows any, they will let me know. Here are (I hope) the photos:

Attached files

 

Thank you Shaun. In real life, the canopy does look good. I screwed up, should have put a pilot on the fuse before attachin the canopy. That can wait until next time. Thanks for taking a look. If you have any suggestions, let me know. The plugs, by the way, are poplar. I imagine there is easier stuff to work with, but with a saw and a sander they took shape fast. I am going to need a lot of clear plastic for these projects!!!

Chuck
...somewhere in Indiana...

 

I did not have any problem getting the parts from the plugs, came out rather easily I thought. No need for pam or any other release agent, but I am still experimenting and have a lot to learn. I suppose the criss-cross idea has been used before and has its limitations, but for the two projects shown it works great. They don't topple over. I used 1/8 material for the criss-cross but you probably know better than anyone that is not the exact size of the cut in the waffle board. Material the exact size would be preferable. Using this system, however, quite a number of smaller projects could be done at one time and they can be moved around to where they fit best. For the moment, I will go this way until someone has a better way and then I will do it that way. Thanks! Oh...everyone who saw the canopy for the FunJet thought it was great., The adhesive I used to glue it on is available at Lowe's...it is LocTite All Purpose adhesive. It comes in a tube like toothpaste. It is water soluable. It is white but dries clear. If you apply it to two surface and let it dry awhile, it works like contact cement. If you apply it wet, it will dry clear and holds well. Gotta be careful though, Loctite has another similar adhesive that east foam.

Chuck

 

Just a note about the criss-cross platform for the plugs. On the larger part, the canopy for the Funder n' Lightning, the 1/8" material on the bottom that runs the length of the plug is not long enough as it is shown. The part tends to teeter when the plastic comes down on it so I figure the lengthwise piece on the bottom needs to be at least as long as the plug. I am going to fix it tomorrow and try again.

Chuck
...somewhere in Indiana...