The Gleda Project

Cabin Top Mould Framework

Today I’ve been working on the mould that will be used to manufacture the curved cabin tops. These tops are made up in similar fashion to the cabin roof/deck sections i.e. A layer of 4mm ply, 25mm of polystyrene and another layer of 4mm ply, all bonded together with plenty of epoxy. The mould needs to be constructed so that it’s rigid and firmly fixed down so I’ve epoxied mine to the concrete barn floor. The mould supports need to be curved to a radius of 2 metres (6′ 6″). The mould I made for the cabin roof sections caused me a few problems because I didn’t put enough supports in place and although this one is narrower I didn’t want to make the same mistake again particularly as the cabin tops will obviously be very visible and any irregularities in the curved lines would be obvious. Although it took me 3 hours to do the work I think it’s a worthwhile investment to get a good result. It was quite satisfying as well, cutting up sizeable chunks of timber with my big circular saw!