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...
first i cut the bucket down to the mounting ring.
then i taped up the bottom rings, centered it on my potters wheel, and packed a bunch of clay into the inside
then the profile was refined
then i sculpted some raised parts on either side to have it mount to.
This part was crucial, i cut some registration points into the plug, down to the top of the metal ring.
prepped to pour the mold.
I used hydrocal, its similar to plaster, but much stronger and not as porus.
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.
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.
And here is it with the crap trimmed off and the light in.
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...
first i cut the bucket down to the mounting ring.
then i taped up the bottom rings, centered it on my potters wheel, and packed a bunch of clay into the inside
then the profile was refined
then i sculpted some raised parts on either side to have it mount to.
This part was crucial, i cut some registration points into the plug, down to the top of the metal ring.
prepped to pour the mold.
I used hydrocal, its similar to plaster, but much stronger and not as porus.
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.
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.
And here is it with the crap trimmed off and the light in.