[aerohead]

My trailer project requires a fairing for the square-tubing axle.I've had a section of aluminum aircraft strut from an amphibious ultralight which augered into Lake Dallas during takeoff which is of perfect size and proportion but short on length.-----------I did an experiment to see if I could create a dirt simple mold from the strut,to layup enough fiberglass from it in sections to cover the axle.--------------- What I did,was cut the footprint of the strut into 3/4-inch foamboard so only half of it protruded above the surface of the foam.I built a dam of scrap wood and clamped that around with bar-clamps.---------- Aluminum tape was used to seal the gaps around the strut.The whole inside was coated with petroleum jelly as a release agent as you would with architectural plaster work.------------------- I mixed up 20-pounds of sand-mix concrete mix,poured half of it in,placed a pre-cut section of 3/8-inch steel hardware-cloth in for structural reinforcement,then placed the remainder of the mud into the setup,tapped on it to agitate,and left it to go off overnight.--------------------- Next day I de-clamped it,pulled the dams,inverted it onto a piece of foam rubber,and with little separated the "buck" from the "mold".------------- As you might expect she was a little rough,so after degreasing with Orange Go-Jo,a good rinse and a solar dry,I covered the working part of the mold with aluminum tape and with 3-coats of Meguire's #16 100% carnuba wax,buffed in between applications,she's producing pretty decent wet layup parts now,@ 45-minutes /part, and overnight cure.