Bill Jacobs wrote: > What do you consider the best book on carbon fiber in a how to book for dyi?
I don't think I have a book specific to carbon fiber...it's done the same way as fiberglass...mix up epoxy, wet out the carbon fiber, and apply. The biggest difference is that carbon fiber is stiffer and less likely to follow curves, and since it's black, it's more difficult to ascertain if it's completely wet out. Other than that, it's about the same as fiberglassing. There's a lot on fiberglassing shown in the links given at www.n56ml.com, particularly wings, vertical and horizontal stabs, control surfaces, fwd and aft decks, etc. One aid to all composite work is to use clear "builder's plastic" to define the exact shape you need (with a Sharpie), and then cut it out with a couple of inches extra around the edges, then wet out the cloth directly on the plastic. That way when you pick it up off the table to transfer it to the part, it will retain its shape and not change dimension or weave orientation. There are several examples of that on my web page also. The spinner page shows that pretty clearly, at http://www.n56ml.com/spinner/ . The KR builder's manual gives some good tips on how to do trailing edges and sharp corners. I'm sure there are also many others in the projects listed on www.krnet.org . If you're talking about actual design work with carbon fiber, it's not trivial...but I can think of nowhere on a KR where you'd need that, unless you're going to do something radical like carbon fiber spars. Mark Langford ML at N56ML.com http://www.n56ml.com
