Minor Emergency, little help please ;D

[Pyrofan]

Ok, built this box for a guy who has a client that needs it. The deadline for this box was last Thursday but it got delayed by 2 days of HEAVY thunderstorms. ( Which is apparently my fault...). So I went to fiberglass this back piece and once I finished, it was very weak. All it had was resin and fleece so, I did a little research and read that fleece and resin isnt strong. I added 3 layers of fiberglass chop mat to the box and its still very weak. I need someway of supporting the fiberglass. I was thinking dowels running to bottom of the box. The box back shakes like crazy from the one 10. What do yall say? Gotta fix it soon. Photos should show the box.

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[BoomTaco64]

reinforce the inside of the fleeced area with fiberglass mat. if done correctly then the fiberglass should setup just fine and be strong. i have used resin and fleece for a better part of a decade and have no issues with strength. pics of your work inside the box available?

 

[Pyrofan]

reinforce the inside of the fleeced area with fiberglass mat. if done correctly then the fiberglass should setup just fine and be strong. i have used resin and fleece for a better part of a decade and have no issues with strength. pics of your work inside the box available?

I did that and it still isnt strong. I have some more mat left but dont wanna spend the time to do it if its not a guarantee.

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

There is a material that mixes with water that can be poured inside the box to create density andake the box stronger. If done right it's very plyable until it hardens comes in a powder form

 

[Pyrofan]

There is a material that mixes with water that can be poured inside the box to create density andake the box stronger. If done right it's very plyable until it hardens comes in a powder form

Sounds alot like Quickcrete concrete. Haha. Im not sure what this powder your talking about it called. Would the dowels work in this case? I really just want to spend as little money as possible on this and get this box out of my hands. I was getting paid $200 for this box but, i cut that down to $100 since the box is late.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Sounds alot like Quickcrete concrete. Haha. Im not sure what this powder your talking about it called. Would the dowels work in this case? I really just want to spend as little money as possible on this and get this box out of my hands. I was getting paid $200 for this box but, i cut that down to $100 since the box is late.

next time, dont cut down on the price and the materials for the box, just promise they would get a nice box and use the proper amount of materials to make the box. If they can't grasp a simple concept that wood and water does not work well its their fault being dumb. Delays happen especially if its due to weather.

 

[Pyrofan]

next time, dont cut down on the price and the materials for the box, just promise they would get a nice box and use the proper amount of materials to make the box. If they can't grasp a simple concept that wood and water does not work well its their fault being dumb. Delays happen especially if its due to weather.

Yea, I work in a all metal barn and didnt feel like getting zapped. I messed up by committing to the $100 2 days ago when I thought I was supposed to be finished with this box. Now it keeps coming back to me.... Done with this customer.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

tried some internal bracing with wood?

 

[Pyrofan]

tried some internal bracing with wood?

The problem is, I can only fit a piece small enough to go in sub hole. I havent tried anything yet cause I got the box back today and went on here to make sure its done right.

 

[BoomTaco64]

get pics of the internal work you did. if you actually did fiberglass with mat and resin and it is still weak then your fiberglassing work is **** poor. just one layer of resin and the mat will be strong but two will be like 1/2" mdf. 3 would be almost like 3/4" mdf.

 

[Pyrofan]

Ok, Little back story. Im serving as this guys builder. He is a friend of mine and he is doing the electrical of these installs. I opened up the box for the first time since I dropped it off and its FILLED to brim with Polyfill. The sub wants a 2 cube box and this is right at 2 cubes. Once I got all that stuff out, its now stuck to fiberglass on the inside. It seems like the fiberglass didnt stick to the cloth and some of it is still wet. I mixed the resin very thoroughly and applied the right amount of hardener. Its been hot here the past 2 days but shouldnt the resin have cured in the past 24 hours? Pics should explain more. I was in a rush when the did the inside so I know it looks like $hit.

 

[BoomTaco64]

if your resin is still tacky then you did not use enough hardner. use a heat gun to try to heat up the resin for the reaction. the bad mixture of resin and hardner is the reason your glass job is soft. mix more hardner the next time and work faster so it will harden up.

 

[Pyrofan]

if your resin is still tacky then you did not use enough hardner. use a heat gun to try to heat up the resin for the reaction. the bad mixture of resin and hardner is the reason your glass job is soft. mix more hardner the next time and work faster so it will harden up.

So a heat gun will harden it? I used 12 drops per ounce of resin. The bottle said 10 so.... IDK maybe i cant count to 30 XD

EDIT: So should I go and add more fiberglass to bond the resin to the fabric.

 

[brian84corvette 10+ year member]

put on a rubber glove - apply a drop of resin hardner to your finger tip - and get inside that box and rub it all around.. repeat with 3 or 4 drops or until you can get the hardner to apply to all over the areas that did not cure - then apply hot air - heat gun or regular hair dryer blowing at the inside of the box to make hot and finish the cure...

its probably flexible because your glass inside is not cured. once that sets up - another 2 or 3 layers should be nice and strong. - if your scared it will flex still - then add a few small pieces of wood or a paint stirrer stick in there and glass over that to the inside to trap it between layers and be a support beam.

actually im suprised - as i did a layer of heavy fleece and resin and it cured hard as a rock with just the 1 layer of fleece.

 

[BoomTaco64]

The fiberglass should cover the entire mat you put down. Make sure it soaked in very well...make sure there are no air bubbles as well...from the pics there seems to be dry areas.. Heat helps. When the resin starts to cure it gets hot because of the chemical reaction between the resin and hardner....time as well...I usually double what the recommendations say. Just work fast as it will harden quickly.