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Carbon Fiber as an alternative to wood for cabs?

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  • #16
    I agree with the others who have said to stick to wood. A nice piece of well-figured hardwood can make a BEAUTIFUL cabinet... But, if you are really stuck on doing composites, read on:


    Others mentioned using a foam composite system. I think this would be the best approach and probably quite easy. I wouldn't suggest just using solid fiberglass or carbon fiber for the reasons others have suggested. A composite foam system sandwiches foam between two layers of fiberglass or carbon fiber. Here are some basic guidelines:

    Choosing the foam: Your choice of foam will boil down to cost and availability.
    Polystyrene
    Pros: Available everywhere, cheap and safe to hot-wire.

    Cons: Not a major contributor to structural integrity, must use more expensive epoxy resin to avoid dissolving the foam.

    Structural Urethane
    Pros: higher density products add strength, can be used with cheaper polyester resin without dissolving
    Cons: Cannot be cut with hot wire (releases poisonous gas), more expensive and harder to find

    If it were me I would use blue polystyrene insulation sheets from home depot/lowes and cut them into "boards" to make up the carcas of the cab.
    Hot glue will secure the corners well enough to work with it.

    Use fiberglass "tape" with epoxy on the inside and outside of all corners.

    Then just glass the inside with a layer of weave (maybe some mat if additional strength is required). Work your way around the inside of the box and trim the edges. Then you can start on the outisde. Use either fiberglass or carbon fiber and "dress" all the edges and corners using extra epoxy to bond them to the inside layer (kind of like doing tolex or tweed). A heavy dose of sanding and a thick clear outer coating will wrap things up. You will need to either glass-in the mounting points for the baffle and any back panels or install "hard points" to drill/screw into later. To create a hard point simply cut a length of dowel about to the same thickness as your foam. Then use a hole saw or forstner bit to create a cavity in the foam. Slip in the dowel and glass over it.

    Some warnings:
    Always do this in a well vented area.
    Some people are allergic to epoxy resin, always wear gloves!
    NEVER sand carbon fiber unless you know what you're doing. While you should always wear a mask when working with any composites CF is particularly nasty. If you breathe in fiberglass particles while sanding you will eventually cough them up (still not a good idea!) but carbon fiber stays in your lungs and over time can lead to a similar condition that old coal miners had called black lung.. not nice.

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    • #17
      And what about and cabinets?

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      • #18
        I know I mentioned cabinets in there once or twice

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        • #19
          I realize this thread is ancient, but I'm curious if anything was ever done. Also, it seems like honeycomb aluminum would be a better material for this.

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          • #20
            composite cab using foam panels coated with wither fibreglass, carbon fibre or just epoxy
            That's the way to go.
            Urethane foam is excellent and does *not* have to be cut at all, just molded to whatever dimensions and surface finish you need.
            Or you can cover the inside of a mold with a thin carbon fiber+binder layer , making some kind of fancy shaped "balloon", and fill the void with urethane foam.
            Cutting and finishing parts from a slab is pre-historic technology.
            Juan Manuel Fahey

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