Carbon tube for 10" OO mirror

[Robert72]

Well, here it is, after allowing the part to stabilise for a couple of weeks the lid is finally off. The surface finish is superb, you can see that I have used a mix of standard carbon and carbon/kevlar. For several reasons however the tube will be getting skinned with a single layer of carbon. Here's the pics:

[Robert72]

Modified the moulding frame into a tube chop saw. This gives a nice square cut:

[Rusted]

If you skin the outside of the tube with CF you will lose your superb finish.

Won't you?

[Robert72]

Good question. When I said the finish is superb, it is mostly, but there are several flaws, uneven cloth, bubbles etc. Also the tube is a touch small for my tube rings, a slight blunder on my part. And the ends where you can see the foam core are a bit rough in my eyes. Having said that all these things do give it character, along with the hybrid cloth arrangement. However, I am quite keen on skinning as it will solve a lot of these slight deficiencies. I know, the whole point of making a mould is such that I shouldn't have to do this, but it is what it is. I will write a post at some point about my findings from the whole project, and give anyone advice if they are thinking of doing the same. For me this is only the first tube, I am keen on doing more, perhaps a large truss would be nice. Everything I have learned from this should make subsequent versions better/easier.