Homemade fender extender

[bicyclist]

My latest project is a homemade fender extender. I've played around with using a shop vac do do vacuum molding, so I had everything I needed. It didn't take long to make a form out of scrap MDF. I heated a leftover piece of high density polyethylene (Rubbermade trash can) in the oven at 350? degrees for 5 minutes and then sucked it over the form with the shop vac. A little trimming and voila. It ain't beautiful, but it ain't forty bucks either.

 

[Laserdot]

Beauty is in th eye of the beholder, and this is a good job! A nice project (if you have the equipment), and really shows off your craftsmanship. Let us know how it holds up.

 

[Builtdesign]

Hmmm...could this be done with a soft rubber?

 

[Phil Tarman]

You could start making these and selling them and pay for all your farkles. How much do you want for replicas?

 

[elizilla]

My latest project is a homemade fender extender. I've played around with using a shop vac do do vacuum molding, so I had everything I needed. It didn't take long to make a form out of scrap MDF.

Outstanding! I might have to steal this technique. What is "MDF"?

 

[bicyclist]

You could start making these and selling them and pay for all your farkles. How much do you want for replicas?

Well, Mike nailed it. We'll have to see how it holds up. I know the perfect place to test it, the potholed Interstate through Oklahoma City.

Katherine, MDF is medium density fiberboard. Higher quality pressed sawdust board. It's easy to shape with a 4" grinder with coarse sandpaper (outside on a windy day:wink

Builtdesign, I don't know how soft rubber would keep its shape after molding (if you could even get it to mold).

 

[elizilla]

Katherine, MDF is medium density fiberboard. Higher quality pressed sawdust board. It's easy to shape with a 4" grinder with coarse sandpaper (outside on a windy day:wink

And you vacuum mold it by putting it in a bag of some sort, and sucking the air out with your shop vac? I'm very interested in this process because I can think of other things to make, as well.

 

[MAC]

George, that looks very nice, good job.

 

[bicyclist]

And you vacuum mold it by putting it in a bag of some sort, and sucking the air out with your shop vac? I'm very interested in this process because I can think of other things to make, as well.

Well, that's a different process that I don't think would work with a heated part. I use a vacuum bag for veneering, but it uses a vacuum pump.

What I did was make an airtight box with a hole in it to accept the shop vac hose. The form is placed on the box and the perimeter marked, then a series of ?⁄₈" holes are drilled just outside the mark. A 2" frame the same size as the vacuum box is made and the plastic stapled to one side of it. The frame is stuck in the oven plastic side up and heated until the plastic becomes...um...plastic.... When it's ready, the vac is started and the frame is flipped over and pressed over the form until it seals against the box. The vac sucks the air out from under the plastic through the holes and molds it to the form. That's the quick and dirty.

 

[bicyclist]

John, if this thing doesn't survive, I'm glad to know about the Riva mud flap.

MAC, thanks, we'll see how it works out.