composite headlight bucket

doc_rot

Oh the usual... I bowl, I drive around...
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I was going through some older photos and came across these photos. I figure some folks will find this interesting.

I found a 74 harley sporter XLH headlight that I really liked the rings on, however the HID bulb i wanted to use stuck out much farther than the back of the bucket, and I wanted it to be side mounted. So i had to modify...

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first i cut the bucket down to the mounting ring.

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then i taped up the bottom rings, centered it on my potters wheel, and packed a bunch of clay into the inside

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then the profile was refined

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then i sculpted some raised parts on either side to have it mount to.

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This part was crucial, i cut some registration points into the plug, down to the top of the metal ring.

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prepped to pour the mold.

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I used hydrocal, its similar to plaster, but much stronger and not as porus.

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then I de-molded, and sanded with some 600grit to refine the surface further. here is the steel ring sitting in the mold. Those crucial registration points hold the ring in place.

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I waxed the mold and I sprayed two coats of PVA into the mold, laid in 3 layers of 1.5oz fiberglass mat, using vinyl ester resin. I focused on getting a good overlap on the ring, which i also had sandblasted to give it some tooth. I then vacuum bagged it, which maybe wasn't necessary, but i wanted to make sure it got a real good bond to the ring.

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And here is it with the crap trimmed off and the light in.
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I think it came out pretty good. It needed a little bondo-lovin to get it perfect. I think its better looking than the original stubby Harley one, and it fits the HID bulb
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What looks like a Shimpo potters wheel, jiggering skills, #1 pottery plaster mold... what the hell is your background Doc?
 
little bit of this, a little bit of that. In relation to this thread; I ran a small pottery for several years and produced all types of molds for artists and small businesses, but its been a while since that. I still make some pottery but its just for my own enjoyment these days. BTW i didn't use a jigger for this i just free handed it, but i have made my share of jigging molds.
 
I have used my wheel a couple times in relation to bikes, a bit unorthodox but it worked pretty good.

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That's cool Doc. I've been in Ceramics for the better part of 20 years- been teaching it at both university and high school for the last 10. I've converted a couple of wheels to vertical plaster lathes to make casts of. Works really well. Love what you did there. Really nice work.
 
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