Materials, plastic, metal, etc.

[adric22]

I am currently working on a project that has required me to learn a lot about methods of building things.

(this website hasn't been updated in nearly a year but I've still been working awat at the project)

http://galaxy22.dyndns.org/shuttlecraft/

I had to learn how to cut, shape and weld metal. I sure wish I could start the whole project over with what I've learned in the process because I could make it much better. So if anyone has any metal working questions, I can help. I can also help on where to get raw metal cheaply. that was one of the biggest problems I had getting started.

Next I've been doing experiments with plastic. Because once I'm done with the metal, I intend the interior to look very nice and plasticy everywhere. I want the walls and consoles to be made of plastic and house all of my electronic gadgest and stuff. However, this has proven more difficult than I imagined. I have discovered that glue and epoxy are basically useless for most anything that will be expected to hold more than a paperclip in place. Sure, J.B. Weld seems to have a good hold at first, but after a few weeks, it cracks. At first I thought it would essentially make a great moldable plasitc, however I have tried it in so many different ways and found it to be uesless for my projects. Most epoxy won't even properly adhere to smooth plastic at all. I mean, you think it does, but at the first accidently application of force, it pops off. So I'm still trying to figure out how to mold plastic for my uses on the consoles. I've been experimenting with plexiglass some, heating it, bending it, etc.

So.. In the end, I may end up building parts of the interior out of metal or wood, and painting it to look like I want rather than mess with plastic. With raw metal, and welder, a dremel, and paint I can create just about anything with enough patience.

A new thing I'm going to try. I noticed in the paint section of the hardware store they are selling a spray-on rubber and the same company sells a plastic product that you can dip objects in to coat them in rubber. The picture on the front of the can depicts a pair of metal pliers being dipped into this solution, adding rubber grips to the bare metal. I'm obviously interested in experimenting with this, but I am not holding up any hope if it working very well.

I have found "great stuff" spray foam to be an excellent filling material to fill any space and use for insulating and sound-proofing. It sticks to ANYTHING. In fact, it is so sticky that if you get it on your hands even for a second, you cannot get it off. You have to wait for the skin to die and new skin to replace before it will go. Just like superglue. Unfortunatly, it doesn't hold up to heat because when I weld anywhere near where spray-foam has been used, it liquifies, or sometimes ignites. So I can't use any more of that stuff until I'm completely done welding in the area it is to be used. When I'm done, I am going to fill all of the walls with the stuff so that the interior and exterior walls of my spaceship will be filled with foam. That will not only prevent future leaks, but add insulation.

Anyway, so if anyone has any suggestions for me on a cheap, easy way to make things out of plastic, send me an email. If anyone has any questions how to make things out of metal, I can probably help! I've been learning a lot in the last two years of this process.

[Indigno]

That thing will be awesome. It reminds me of the Meet the Focker's RV. But since you are going to be doing a lot of work, it may be a good idea to invest in a large vacuum forming table. They're still pretty cheap, and you can always build two tables and use the same shop vac so that you can form the large interior panels and the smaller, more detailed stuff. Other than that, I really can't think of anything that is cost and time effective for something as large as this.