Quite a while back I promised some pictures of what I was up to, well they can be found in my files now. I haven't figured out how to do the embedding with captions yet so I'll give a brief overview. I started out making nine forms with a 5' radius curve to their tops and a 2" dia. hole centered in each. All were then slid onto a piece of galv pipe. A base board was selected and stations established. Twist was determined and locked in place with 1x2 braces. 1/4x5/8 screen trim was used to define planform and strip plank the base mold. Fiberglass was applied, then Bondo, sanding, second layer of glass applied with epoxy & then epoxy fill. More sanding, then polishing, then mold release wax. White gelcoat went on then and two layers of glass cloth, after that the balsawood ribs were glued to the surface and then planked with 1/8x3/16 balsa strips. The mounting tongue was fabricated and superglued to the root rib. Bondo was used to fair the transition from blade root to mounting tongue after the diameter of the hub was traced onto the tongue. That is the extent of the work tonight. Tomorrow morning the top surface will receive a layer of fiberglass in preparation for sanding, bondo and a second layer of glass.
The spinner is a concession to vanity, I think they look nice even though I know the are un-necessary. This one is 2' dia. and 1'-11" high, made from 2 layers of 10oz. cloth. The mold was made from tapering white beadboard rings contact cemented together. The turntable was made from a couple sections of 3x3 angle, a piece of plywood and the motor, belt, hub & sprocket from a little kids electric motor cycle.
The turbine frame is made from 1x1x1/8" wall square tube and is almost finished.
The gear ratio is 1:2.33 for a regular 24mag/9 coil dual rotor alt using 1x2x1/2" neo's. Coils are 200 turns of 16ga. and are 3/4" thick. The stator will not be cast, but will be 1/4" thick fiberglass panel w/ cutouts for coils and 1/16" holes drilled around coil cutouts perimeters for carbon tow to lace coils onto the plate and then stabilized w/ a coat of epoxy. This method is used to aid in coil cooling, of which there has been much discussion of on this board lately.
-Wow, thats more than I've said all day... g'nite
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[EDITORS NOTE]Very Cool Project - I hope you don't mind that I put your pictures here in the story so folks can see them all in one place at one time. Thanks - danb
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