Hey Scoops wow that's a big effort this thread is long and derails regularlyScoops wrote:Lots. Wow!
I have spent this am reading this entire thread.
Would you PM all the details about cost and option please.
The past 6 months I have been trying to build from scratch a suit and so wished I could have followed this thread earlier.
I am keen on buying a suit and also continuing with my build fro fun.
I have made moulds from plaster, what did you use to seal and harden for vacuum forming, as also struggling to find info and products in NZ.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
I'll pm you with the details but that's awesome that you're making you're own suit I reckon keep going! Getting decent dimensions is the tricky bit and paying attention to curvature is the other thing.
I made my forms from a bunch of different things as I was experimenting with materials while I was fabricating the forms. I pretty much managed to get most of the forms wrong or less accurate than I wanted so there's been a lot of remaking
Plaster is a good material to use for vac forming, it relatively cheap and handles heat easily. The only bummer is repairing and modifying forms in plaster can be tricky. If you let the form dry out properly (like it takes 6 weeks or so) you won't need to harden it with anything. I used a lot of builders bog and automotive paints to finish up my forms but there no need to do this it's just what I'm used to.
If you go to Mitre 10 they sell fast set casting plaster I think for about 10 or 15 bucks per bag its a easy material to work with. You can add cement into the mix as well if you want it a bit harder.
Ok good luck with your build you should start a thread so we can watch your progress