TECH #HOTBIKESNAPFAB
WORDS AND PHOTOS: BIG JOE
SKILL LEVEL // EXPERT
FINISHING A BUCK
L
ast issue we covered a simple method to rough in a plywood buck for shaping a fuel tank using some 3/8-inch plywood. This issue I will take that same buck and finish it off so it is suitable for making patterns for the fabrication process.
1 p The first step is to smooth out the transitions where all of the
plywood ribs/structure intersects one another. I’ll use these smooth transitions to finish the buck.
2 some 1-inch-thick closed-cell insulation board. Here I have some scraps left over from a construction project.
4 you don’t have a saw available. I repeat the process of cutting pieces of foam stacked alongside each other to fill the voids of the buck.
p After several voids have been filled, I start the process of smoothing out the surface using the ribs of the buck to dictate the shape.
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p In this process I will use the structure itself as a pattern to size
the foam pieces to be cut out.
5
p I use a band saw to cut the foam board. It can be cut with a scroll saw, jigsaw, or even a utility knife if
6
2 3
p What I’m going to do is fill all of the voids in the structure with
p I use hot glue from a hot-glue gun to secure the foam in place.
7 p Any method of sanding can be used here. I use a pneumatic angle grinder with a Roloc sanding disk to rough in the shape and then did my final finishing with sandpaper on a sanding block.
