My glass dispenser is crude, cheap, and quick to build; it has proved adequate
for my needs. It was made from scraps left over from workbench construction.
The top and bottom are 48 by 14 by 1/2 inch pieces of ply. The ends are 14 by
15 inches. Two 10 inch long pieces of 2x4 split lengthwise were used at either
end to allow screwing the pieces together to form a rectangle -- the 2x4
pieces are outboard and the end pieces are 43.5 inches apart, interior
dimension. Two sections of broomstick are inserted through 1 inch holes
drilled in the ends to support the rolls of fiberglass, with nails inserted in
drilled holes near their ends to keep the broomsticks in place. A piece of 6
mil poly is secured by a lath along the top center; it hangs down to the
bottom on both sides to keep dust out -- flip one side up and over while
dispensing cloth. Sand the edges of the plywood smooth where it may contact
the glass cloth to avoid snags. Put screws in one end to hang scissors,
sharpener, and peel ply. The whole thing is reasonably portable but requires
help at the beginning when the rolls are full and heavy. Most of the time it
resides on one end of my workbench.
The side+end of the tailplane cardboard box was cut out and ruled with 1/4
inch wide lines a foot apart at 45 degrees as a cutting surface - no glass
snags with cardboard. Alignment marks at one end are used to set it up with
about 6 inches inserted under the cloth dispenser to anchor it when in use.
When not cutting, this cardboard is stored against the garage wall, out of the
way. The fold from the box corner allows the cutting surface to flip up out
of the way when frequent use is expected.
The 45 degree lines are used to align the straightedge used to mark the cloth
rather than pulling the cloth until one can cut along a line. And there's a
bit of a trick to pulling cloth off the roll without distorting it - watch the
threads which run parallel to the broomsticks and make sure they remain
straight. Pushing at the cloth where it comes off the roll to straighten the
threads prior to marking helps. BID distorts easily, so it's best to beat it
into shape with butterfly wings. UNI is different and I never really got the
hang of handling it -- I always put masking tape on the end and cut down the
middle of the tape, then kept the tape on until trimming after wet-out.
If you have the space and $ a dedicated cutting table would be nice, with
formica top, heater, etc. But this will do the job too.
John A044
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