PVC for coring?

[silentneko]

I've seen people use PVC split as runners and skegs before so I know it has been used, but I also know it's still plastic and has adhesion issues. My question comes after reading more on the sleeves and making platforms, I see Shine used pool noodles, which obviously were there for shape and not support and added little if any.

So here is what I'm wanting to do, I am going to build a grab bar to fit over my tiller console. It needs to be a big U shape and then have a lean of about 30 degrees. My plan right now is to use PCV pipe to make the shape I want, rough it up well with 80 grit sand paper, and then spiral glass it with cloth strips I have left over. The pipe will be there more for shape, but will add some rigidity. I'll add a wood plate to the back of the pipes to bolt it onto the console and add a cushion to the front all glassed to the pipes as well.

Anyone see an issue here?

[shine]

in the case of my pool noodle form, it was not a core, just a form, it could have been made of anything.

If you rough the PVC pipe up with an aggressive paper like 60 grit, the epoxy will bond pretty well. Try to use a very light gauge pipe for your application or else the weight will be so much that you could have just as well made it of solid glass.

Divinycell foam core is a PVC, as are other structural composite cores. There are a lot of PVC's in different densities and types, some bond very well, others hardly at all.

[silentneko]

I'm finally getting started on this project and have heated and bent the grab bar to my liking:


Is it absolutely needed to use a sleeve or will wrapping it with FG cloth be ok? I'm not sure how much, if any, I will wrap it yet as it is pretty stiff now. I plan to foam fill it for added stiffness like I did with my tiller extension, then epoxying and filleting it to a backer board. Then I will drill through the pipe and board to mount it. Then some coxcoming to finish it off .

[shine]

Its not really a "core" in the technical use as part of a sandwich composite. It is more like a mandrel that you are leaving in and it will provide some stiffness by basically adding thickness. You will need a fair amount of glass to get stiffness. In the area of the bend, you should double up the thickness to avoid kinking