Tonight i started the first part of making some carbon fiber plate for tail fins for a custom carbon fiber and aluminum tail boom for my rc helicopter for fun for about $80. So since we all lust for exotic materials i'll show how it works out for me. So the story of my need for graphite plate arose with making this tail boom for my little RC helicopter. The mount is machined from 6061 aluminum and the carbon fiber tube is what was once a tail boom for my friend's much more expensive and elaborate align t-rex 450 helicopter. The end cracked so i asked if i could have it since he can't fly with it, a new one is only $14 so it's actually not that bad for a nice graphite tube, but a broken one is free for me. So now it needs fins because just a stick looks odd. Naturally i wanted carbon fiber fins to go with the whole carbon tube deal so i needed carbon fiber plate. rather than ordering super overpriced sheets of carbon fiber plate i decided that i'd have a go at making plate myself. I remembered that on some TV show a while back some people put fibrous junk between two plates of glass with polyester resin to make composite plate for some kind of go kart thing. it was probably some show on TLC or the discovery channel but i always remembered it because of the smooth, glossy plates they made amazed me. So a trip to the local Tap Plastics yielded a foot by 48 inches of carbon fiber fabric for $20 (the smallest amount they would sell me) and a really expensive can of mold release spray for the unheard of price of $15. i already had some finishing epoxy from a project i never made so all i needed was a plate of glass which was around $2 which i then cut in half. as i read the instructions on the epoxy i quickly realized that i should probably look up something about this stuff first so i googled "diy carbon fiber plate" to make sure i am actually doing something the right way. news paper was splayed over the kitchen table since the garage is too cold and the process began. So in a few hours we shall see if this is a success or a failure. an expensive failure. btw this whole thing is just for anesthetic's so i don't actually need it to be super strong or light since it's for a toy. stronger than steel, lighter than aluminum

the helicopter



the stuff



3 layers between glass



close up of the small sheet of carbon fiber between glass slowly curing. the pattern is a little distorted but you wont be able to tell when it's fins on a little helicopter.

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