[DeTomaso] Balsa bumper front!!!

[hemipanter at hemipanter.se]

> As always, your craftsmanship is wonderful. But I hope those superlight
> bumpers can take the wind blast at high speeds. There are some interesting
> photos around of lightweight bumpers and hoods on drag racing cars that
> wrinkle
> and distort at speeds over 140 mph. Maybe the gauze and glue will
> reinforce
> the structure? Cheers- J DeRyke

Thanks!

I am not to worried about bumper damage due to foreign particles in the
air while driving. What interest me is to see if this way of doing a light
bumer works or not. Today there is an almost religious debate in the
materials carbon fiber, titanium and the like, while other simple
materials can be both cheaper, strong and light, and also less dangerous
to work with. This bumper is solid wood which makes it very stable form. A
well-stretched fabric on the surface firmly glued with wood glue ought to
reinforce balsa wood for a large strenght. The actual mounting screws are
anchorage in a bit harder pieces of wood glued into the balsa wood.
Goran