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Mini Shower

Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 8:23 pm
by Bob Hart
Hi all,

Finally used that mould I made and turned out my first Shower 'Tier' from Fibreglass.

I've made a second one as well, so I'll be able to work out how best to fit them together now. Will be experimenting a bit soon.

[img]http://www.koipix.com/gallery/albums/userpi ... CN3572.JPG[/img]

[img]http://www.koipix.com/gallery/albums/userpi ... CN3573.JPG[/img]

Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 8:43 pm
by kayoss
Hi Bob

Looks good mate.

Can't tell from the photos, but are the sides parallel or do they taper slightly?

If they're parallel, couldn't you just add another batten of wood to each side of the mould so that it forms an L shaped lip around the top edge of the finished tier? That way they would simply stack inside each other!

How much do you reckon each tier costs you in materials?

Look forward to seeing the solution to stacking them once you've got it sorted.

Cheers

Bob

Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 8:43 pm
by jason-m
Are you going to be using S/Steel grids on the base Bob...?

If so could you not use S/Steel rods on all four corners...?

Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 8:43 pm
by sharpy30
looks very good bob :lol:

you soon beable to go into mass production as we all will want them :lol:


cheers dave

Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 8:45 pm
by poey
Hi Bob
nice one,could you not just fibreglass over some 2"square batterns slightly longer than the short sides of your trays,fix them to the underside of the trays with stainless screws and stack them like that?
Dont know what media you will be useing but i always thought this stuff would be good in a shower unit,its called Glafoam,heres the link.
http://www.kitsukoi.co.uk/shopping.php?class_id=125
cheers Dave.

Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 8:50 pm
by gingeletiss
Hi Bob

They taper...looking at it. Bob,how about two stainless steel flat bars,that hook over each edge,but are sunken by an inch,then the next one will sit inside and down slightly. If you understand what I've just said,then you are a better man than me,I wrote it,and confussed myself :shock: :shock: :wink:

Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 8:55 pm
by Gazza
Don't they look good and soon to be running on a GOP near you soon :lol:

I also thought about having a battern inside and then glassing over it :idea:

They will have some filter grids in the bottom i think and will be filled with BHM,what do you reckon Bob :?:

Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 9:18 pm
by Bob Hart
Hi all,

There is a 10 degree taper on each of the 4 sides. It needs a taper or I'd never get it off the mould!

My thoughts were to have a higher tier sitting just inside the lip of the lower tier, therefore no splashes coming out.

Once each tier has BHM in it, each tier will weigh quite a bit. Just ask anyone using BHM, once saturated with water any 'box' with it in is quite heavy. Therefore whatever is the support will need to take the weight of that above it.

OK a couple of ideas I'm working on, see what you think.

1. I'll cut some pieces of wood and glass them onto the long sides near each end. So 4 pieces of wood, so that when put on top of a lower tier, the wood just 'fits' and holds the upper tier above the lower tier.

2. On the lower tier, drill a hole through the sides at each end and insert a piece of 10mm stainless bar through and out the other side. Then sit the upper tier onto the bar.

One thing I've got to work out is how to fit the lowest of the 3 tiers. I want a chute at the bottom, the width of the tier, with the shower sitting on the edge of the growing-on-pond (GOP). The width of the GOP is only 3.5", so there will be an overhang. I may make this chute with a very tall back to it, so that the 3-tiers are the same height, then any splashes at all will be retained and returned to the pond.

The great thing with fibreglass is that you can do anything with it.

I'll put some of those plastic grids in the bottom - nice and cheap.

Glafoam - I've actually got loads of that Dave. I've used it previously and it has loads of tiny holes in it, much smaller than BHM. It would therefore be OK in the lowest tier, where there would be no solids. But I also have a load of BHM, so I'll be putting BHM in all of my 3-tiers.

Cost of materials - each of these tiers if 2-foot long, and 9" wide at the top, 8" high. There are over 3 layers of 600 grade fibreglass put onto the mould, in 12" wide strips 1-metre long. These are bent over the top to get the inner lip and of course there is some waste. The whole tier will be covered in some tissue on the outside later and then a waxed final cost applied. Therefore each tier has approx 2 square metres of materials on each one, which I can get for about a tenner/metre.

Unfortunately there's no way I'm going into production of these. It was an idea of Gazza's originally, so just a set for myself and him. Glassing is really messy, although it doesnt take too long to make each tier. It's the cleaning up, of everything, the smell (luckily I've got a cold at the moment) and then the figuring out how to put it all together and of course the finishing up. It would be cheaper to buy them elsewhere, although I haven't seen 2-feet showers before.

Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 9:19 pm
by macaws fly
well you have been a busy little bee ...
looking good a very proffesional job Bob.

to stack them why not nock up a length of grp in an "L" shape then cut off 2" lenghts and glass a couple of them on each side of the trough.

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 7:30 pm
by James Pond
Looks good Bob, you are certainly handy at making your own bits and bobs! 1 Question though, what is this going to do that a few plastic stacking boxes wont? Or is it that you can't get boxes in these dimensions?

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 7:35 pm
by Bob Hart
Hi James,

In reality aboslutly the same as stacking boxes. I use boxes now, it's just getting them in the right place for the use I want them for.

This small shower will sit on the side wall once completed, the boxes I'm using now are supported on wooden struts going across the pond. The shower will be longer than boxes, and have less width.

So no real change in use, just it will look better and take up less space.

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:18 pm
by Bob Hart
Bob Kayoss emailed me this design of how to support the tiers above each other

[img]http://www.koipix.com/gallery/albums/userpi ... design.JPG[/img]

I've adapted Bob's great drawing to show what I was thinking about doing
[img]http://www.koipix.com/gallery/albums/userpi ... design.JPG[/img]

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:27 pm
by Gazza
Looks good to me Bob and have you finished em yet mate :lol: :wink:


Only joking i know how hard you work :wink:

Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 10:36 pm
by Bob Hart
Got to get the second one off of the mould yet and that means using the grinder to get the overhangs cut off first. Bit dark when I got home tonight and I have to do it outdoors as there is too much fibreglass dust.

Probably get done on Saurday

Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 6:28 pm
by dave a
never heard of green trimming then bob :D looks like you need to do a little more research over moulding :D