I use my LR4 for building plugs and molds for my sailboat.
The parts are made of MDF, after sanding I put a coat of epoxy infusion resin (very liquid!) on the parts. After curing and fine sanding the mold is ready to use!
For the mast plug I put on additional coats of epoxy primer and I was sanding that down to 1000 grit.
Gives a better surface! Please ask - I am not good at writing novels…
Oh sorry, the pictures are random now - I uploaded them in the right order - upsie
The general idea looks like a skateboard mold. Really cool and kind of incredible what the LR can be used for. Thanks for showing us!
Fantastic. Thankyou so much for sharing.
It’s cool to imagine making the lowrider a long as you need it to be just by adding longer belts and rails.
Once you have the molds it looks like you are using fibreglass or carbon fibre weave to make the final parts, is that right? I’ e always wondered how you join the 2 halves together.
The two rudder halves were just glued together with epoxy (with thickener and cotton powder) and for joining the mast part I will use a flange on the inside and some carbon weave on the outside. Only the mold is made of fibreglass, the parts are 100% carbon. I will post more photos when I have done it!
The machine is only 2000 by 900 mm!
In “Milling Frames” you can see how I made 2D frames to creat a 3D plug!
congrats, some serious skills! whats your background in composites? how did you come up with the layup, since these are crucial parts, these shouldnt fail. whats the white powder on outside of the mast mould?
I can just wish Mast- und Ruderbruch, vg aus dem Allgäu
I am making composite parts for more than 40 years, beginning with windsurfboards in the 80´s and I 2003 I started building the trimaran. It is build to a plan from Ian Farrier and when you finish a project like this you are a boatbuilder! Most of the fibers are in longitudinal direction, the wall thickness is like the Aluminium section - thats it! And I spoke to other mast/boatbuilders! The white powder is cotton, it connects the first thickened layer of epoxy (wait until fully cured) with the laminate of the mold.
I haven’t heard of this dimensioning strategy, but it’s plausibel and seems very effective, learned something new, cool!
Keep us posted on your progress!
If you think you are finished, go for foils 
Err - I already have foils…
