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Wind Turbine Diary
4th May
Today, not much could be done, but i got the blades sanded down to look pretty and then gave them their first coat of varnish! Things are coming together...
Weather permitting, my dad'll give me a hand getting the back magnet rotor plate cast in resin tomorrow night.
5th May
The weather has permitted, as it is wont to do, and we managed to get the first magnet rotor cast:
In the left picture, the mould is sitting on the work bench whilst my dad mixes up a batch of polyester resin. Note the stella stubby on the swinging seat, crucial for success. It was a beautiful day today, excellent for working outside. On the right, the mould is mostly full, in time for a fibreglass cloth ring to be laid on top of the magnets to improve the rigidity of the rotor.
Below, the mould is full and ready for the lid. There are rings of silicon sealant around the rim of the mould to stop (in theory) the resin leaking out the sides. It didn't work.
Instead of screwing down the lid this time, it was laid over the mould and clamped down by placing steel objects on top, which the magnets grabbed tightly and squashed the mould down to it's minimum thickness. My hand is trying to scrape away some of the excess resin which has spilled out the side in defiance of the silicon walls... But not to worry. It has to be left until tomorrow to set, then the lengthy process of trying to prise the rotor out of the mould will start. The mould has to used again, so i can't just hack it to pieces to get the plate out!
I also covered the blades in varnish for the second time of three or four. They look pretty much the same as before...
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