[Ferro List] Formwork for one-off LFC

[colin]

Chris Glasspool mentioned the need for methods to make forms when using 
LFC.  The cost of forms is easy to justify when one is building several 
identical pieces.  The savings in time and the reduction in frustration 
make them very worthwhile.  But single units of complex shape can also 
be done in LFC.  Last summer at the introductory class we made thin 
elements, two layers of 2.5 lbs / square yard galvanized x-metal lath 
embedded in 1/4" cement mortar, that are quite flexible.  The piece that 
I have here at home flexes about 3/8" in twelve inches when I put my 175 
lbs on it.  Planks that are 8 feet in length should be quite bendable.  
(No I haven't made them yet but I don't forsee major complications.)  If 
thin planks were edge shaped as per the drawings that Lloyd Turner has 
on his web pages they would form a simple shape mold that would support 
more laminations and become part of the final product.  If the edges 
were shaped to the plank pattern of a lapstraked boat you would have a 
complex shaped one-off mold.  Colin