Who works with Carbon Fiber?

[shiftbmw]

Just looking for a little insight. I'm considering making a guitar pickguard out of carbon fiber.

I assume I can buy ready made sheets roughly 1/16" thick and cut to size. How workable is this stuff? What do the edges look like when you cut it(are they rough and ugly or do they look presentable)? Special tools/precautions required to cut it?

Also, how scratch resistant is it? My guitars see a lot of use...

Thanks.

[jflip2002]

No one, hes unemployed.... Oh wait.. CARBON FIBER! Not FARBIN KAIBER! N/M

[CorvallisBMW]

Just looking for a little insight. I'm considering making a guitar pickguard out of carbon fiber.

I assume I can buy ready made sheets roughly 1/16" thick and cut to size. How workable is this stuff? What do the edges look like when you cut it(are they rough and ugly or do they look presentable)? Special tools/precautions required to cut it?

Also, how scratch resistant is it? My guitars see a lot of use...

Thanks.

well, it usually comes in a cross-weave pattern 1-ply thick. 1/16" is pretty thick for CF, you'd have to lay down several layers to build up to that thickness. CF comes either dry (add your own resin) or pre-impregnated (prepreg). Prepreg needs to be vacuum bagged and heated to cure, dry will cure on it's own due to the chemical reaction taking place in the resins. To get a nice, clean surface finish, you'll have to lay up on a perfectly smooth and flat surface and vacuum bag it with an absorbent cloth to catch the excess resin. You can cut it easily with scissors, so no worries there. And if you coat it with a nice hard lacquer, it should be pretty scratch resistant.

Honestly it's much more complicated than it sounds. To do it right take a fair amount of knowledge and practice.

[shiftbmw]

Hmm, for some reason I envisioned buying a sheet of already "made" carbon fiber, cured and everything. I was hoping to cut with scissors or saw, sand the edges down with very fine grit paper, drill my holes and go.

Seems like I might have been dreaming. Obviously I'm a little new to the CF world...

[euroshark]

CF laminate is what you are thinking of. It's a pre-made sandwich with some other material in the center... Wood seems to be common. Browse ebay for sheets of this laminate, you can definitely find it in 1/32" or 1/16" for a reasonable price.

[RVAe30]

you can get it already "made". A friend of mine used some carbon fiber board that was lying around the shop he was working at to make air deflector thingys for his triumph spitfire. He just cut it out to the shape he needed and he was good to go. Wasn't very think either, about 1/8th of an inch. I dont know where you might find some, but its out there.

[s0urce]

I don't think Farbin has a job.

[AndrewBird]

You can buy carbon fiber in sheet form. Check out www.dragonplate.com. Thin stuff under 1/16" you should be able to cut with scissors, but anything 1/16" and above you will probably need some kind of saw. Jigsaws work great, just use a fine blade with no side rake. Nothing really to working with it, but you might want to wear a dust mask as breathing CF dust is BAD. Also, wear long sleeve clothes as the dust will make you itch just like fiberglass does.

[Danny]

No one, hes unemployed.... Oh wait.. CARBON FIBER! Not FARBIN KAIBER! N/M

This was not your best work.

[spooledtt]

Please, if you decide to lay your own experiment with FG first!!

[Jand3rson]

Jigsaws work great, just use a fine blade with no side rake. Nothing really to working with it, but you might want to wear a dust mask as breathing CF dust is BAD. Also, wear long sleeve clothes as the dust will make you itch just like fiberglass does.

Everything he said, + a billion.

If I were you, I would get 2 sheets, or at least a big enough one to have enough to practice with. Once you get your shape cut out, it should be pretty easy to sand the edges smooth, and I would also have it clearcoated when you're done, to seal any exposed edges and keep it looking pretty.

[CorvallisBMW]

I never thought about getting ready-made CF, I've never used it before. Good idea though.

[bejbis]

its real easy to work with, to find it just ebay 'carbon sheet'. I use a dremel to get a rough outline and then sand the edges with some sand paper to get it to final shape, throw some lacquer over it or clear coat and you will be good to go.

[HiTheNameIsBJ]

Pick up some lexan from hd, and some resin and cf fabric from www.Fibreglast.com . Score and snap the lexan, wax the face of each side, lay the matrial on one piece, apply resin lay down the other piece and clamp. Pm me if you want exact instructions, it can be some nasty stuff to work with.

[AndrewBird]

You really don't need to clear it afterwards unless you want the edges of it to be shiny. You only really need to worry about protecting it if it is going to be exposed to a lot of UV rays, like the sunroof of a car or hood for example. The resin that is used to actually make the sheet stiff is really all the protection it needs.