DIY Submarine http://diysubmarine.com Documenting the constuction of an RQ Riley Aquasub Snorkel Sub Fri, 08 May 2009 19:18:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Building the central body plug, part three http://diysubmarine.com/building-the-central-body-plug-part-three/ http://diysubmarine.com/building-the-central-body-plug-part-three/#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 19:18:55 +0000 Shannon http://diysubmarine.com/?p=30 It’s nice to see it taking solid form, but two things come to mind:

  1. This would be a lot easier with a hot wire to cut the foam. A razor is not very easy to get a nice cut with — if I use a hot wire I suspect there will be a lot less sanding and shaping work to do.
  2. It’s harder than it looks and I think it’ll be a little wonky… meaning I may have a fair amount of second-phase shaping using spray insulation or something like that!

submaring-looking-rough

]]> http://diysubmarine.com/building-the-central-body-plug-part-three/feed/ 1 Building the central body plug, part two http://diysubmarine.com/building-the-central-body-plug-part-two/ http://diysubmarine.com/building-the-central-body-plug-part-two/#comments Thu, 07 May 2009 19:29:44 +0000 Shannon http://diysubmarine.com/?p=22 I’ve finished assembling the bulkheads and mounted them on the central spar using shelf brackets, and am ready to skin the body with foam. I don’t think contact cement (the recommended method) is the best method — not that I’m an expert — so I think I’m going to use nails with oversized heads to tack the foam into place, at least to get started with the first few panels.

submarine-ready-for-foam-1 submarine-ready-for-foam-2

[Edit: In hindsight, the glue works fine, although I am using nails to temporarily hold the foam while it dries. I'm also a little worried about my selection of foam (polystyrene instead of urethane, mostly because of using what was easily available). I may need to paint it before fiberglassing lest the whole thing will dissolve like a wet witch?]

]]> http://diysubmarine.com/building-the-central-body-plug-part-two/feed/ 3 Building the central body plug, part one http://diysubmarine.com/building-the-central-body-plug-part-one/ http://diysubmarine.com/building-the-central-body-plug-part-one/#comments Wed, 06 May 2009 18:07:00 +0000 Shannon http://diysubmarine.com/?p=18 I drew the bulkheads for the central body plug on 1/4″ plywood and then cut it all out with a jigsaw. Very simple. Next I’ll mount them on the central 2×4 spar (I need to go pick up some screws at the hardware store first), and then the plywood gets skinned with 1″ urethane foam.

plug-building

]]> http://diysubmarine.com/building-the-central-body-plug-part-one/feed/ 0 A Package in the Mail http://diysubmarine.com/a-package-in-the-mail/ http://diysubmarine.com/a-package-in-the-mail/#comments Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:11:43 +0000 Shannon http://diysubmarine.com/?p=10 I got my package in the mail from RQ Riley just a few days after ordering it — nice fast service. Contained inside was a small photocopied instruction/assembly manual and a series of large technical drawings. At first read the instructions seem complete, if brief, and relatively self-explanatory and easy to follow. Will this be easier than I think to do? I’ll find out in a few weeks when the work starts.

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