Material Research

I have done some thinking and have sided that building with plywood will be more cost effective and yield quicker results. I would love to use a foam technique but the cost of the epoxy would be too costly. Even a honeycomb material would be nice to try and save weight, but that is also more expensive. The local supply of luan (lauan)plywood is horrible with two thin plys on the exterior and one large ply in the middle. The middle ply does not look like a solid ply but some other filler material. However, the birch plywood seems to have even plys throughout the plywood.

Looking at my design, it looks like a slight bend to the panels would add strength and stiffness. Flat panels are easy to join, but are flimsy without any additional stiffing of some sort. After reading more on the stitch and glue technique, it seems feasible. The technique doesn't require any molds or special techniques. It is very reproducible by anyone, as long as the panels are cut correctly. A simple epoxy filler and fiberglass work is needed to cover all the joints for strength.

Velomobile frame drawing

This is what my main frame idea will consist of for the velomobile. Two pieces of plywood that run parallel to one another. Then bulk heads made from 1/4 inch plywood and about two inches thick will be made to construct the shape of the sides. The front will most likely by formed in foam to allow for more curvature. I plan to router 3/4 inch groves out of the plywood bulk heads to run more thin strips of clear pine. The thin strips will be flexible enough to blend around the bulkheads.

After the strips of pine are attached an 1/8 inch thick strips of plywood will fill the void between strips of pine. This will give the final outline of the velomobile. Epoxy and a filler material will be filleted along the bulk heads and finished with a layer of fiberglass.

I am looking for a way to draw to scale on the computer. I am researching google sketchup because it is free. I hope to find something more suitable soon, then paint for the velomobile project.