Reinforcing the Dash

I accomplished a couple of small tasks today on the BatBerry.  First I finally cut my 2 x 2 box tubing into 10 foot lengths so that I can store them a lot easier and I also started to prep the dash.

The dash that comes with the kit is already pre-formed, but it’s just a flat sheet of fiberglass.  So I wanted to give it a bit more structure to make sure that it doesn’t lose its shape and also give it some areas for mounting points.

To do this I created some little “dams” out of cardboard around the edges of the dash.  The cardboard was first wrapped in aluminum foil and then taped in place.  The aluminium foil acts as a non-stick surface for when I lay down the fiberglass.

Sometime this week I’ll cut up some small pieces of fiberglass mat and lay them up with some resin.  After it cures, I’ll pull off my cardboard pieces and trim it into the shape I like.

This little bit of reinforcement will bring a ton of rigidity to the dash.  Then I’ll be able to start some of my gauge and switch layout.