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Smurf Extract

Posted on October 18, 2011July 8, 2012 by Jared Yates

The fiberglass from yesterday was cured well, so I used the belt sander to trim the outer edge further.

Polyfiber Superfil
Doesn’t it look nice now? Don’t look too close- it’s full of pinholes and other imperfections.

Ok, so here's a closer look.
Ok, so here’s a closer look.

To fix those problems I mixed up a batch of superfil, aka smurf extract. To spread the filler evenly in the corner, I used another hotel key. These have turned out to be quite handy and useful for this kind of work.
Rounded Corner on the Key Card
Rounded Corner on the Key Card

That rounded corner gave me a nice filet of filler.
Smurf Extract
Smurf Extract

While that cured I spent more time on the headrest structure. I found a good deal on a set of electrical knock-out punches on ebay, and it turns out that they make great lightening holes in aluminum. I sharpened the old tools on the belt sander and made a few test holes. These are some of my favorite new tools, because they are so simple to use and maintain, and because they make such nice holes.
Electrical Conduit Punch
You can see how the punch works in this view

Knockout Punch Aluminum
Here’s the end result in some scrap aluminum.

Lightening Hole
This lightening hole took only a few minutes to make and debur.

While I was working on that Tabitha did more planning for the new window frames.

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