We Recently had the Triathlon Word Championship here on Oahu.
A South African competitor had his brand new unridden Carbon Fiber Kestrel Tri Bike crunched by the airlines.
I gave it a quick Carbon Fiber and Resin Research patch and sent him on his way.
Thank you JTroy for the RR resin, very nice.
Oh!.. I see… you guys were thinking that I was now making Styropoxy Surfboards.
haha !
next the vacuum bagged epoxy , styro, carbon fibre board …please , Bill ?
cheers !
ben
Interesting, as I run across similar stuff with paddles, outriggers, that sort of thing - is that polyethylene sheet in #3?
Thanks
doc…
Aloha Doc
Yup! That is the “mold release”. Works great for small projects.
On the shaft of a paddle for example I would cut a long strip a couple inches wide and tape it on an angle well below the break and then wrap it in a spiral up and over the resin and fibers. Then I would follow up with tape, compressing the whole thing as tight as possible. Of course on flat surfaces where you can’t wrap to get a tight compression and therefore lamination you gotta drag out the vacuum pump.
I only use the plastic when I can’t be sanding too deep. Otherwise I would just wrap it with the tape and sand the tape off without the advantage of the release. But this only works on jobs were you have room to sacrifice the materials in the process of getting all the tape scraps sanded out and gone.
Aloha Ben
haha !next the vacuum bagged epoxy , styro, carbon fibre board …please , Bill ?
cheers !
ben
What, and wreck my (false) reputation on Swaylocks for being anti Styropoxy!
Besides, omeone’s got to stay on the dark side, if for no other reason then to just needle the Epoxy cult and keep them defensive. Ha!
Ha ha, looks just like the work I’d used to do for HarryHunt, TeamYamaha in the mid '70’s with DonGreene as the TZ-250 rider. Made some plugs for the watercoolers with flat sides ala KawasakiH1R’s, but they decided to stick with DonVesco’s fiberglasser using the rounded sides.
Bill,
You will make em … sooner than you think I’d bet. To think, I hear Parmenter is making EPS blanks!
Glad you liked the resin. You gotten to check out the sanding yet? Like Buttah …
Aloha Greg
I have the tools and materials on hand to make Styropoxy boards. I don’t NOT make them, because I am on the “other side” of the issue, argument or belief. I don’t have a side. It is all good, just different. It will be interesting to see how this develops for me and my customers. If they request them, I will likely provide them. On the other hand, I may not…! I barely have time to do the orders I have for Pu/Pe. If I run out of Pu/Pe blanks then I may have the time to do something different. Or I might just take a long vacation! With my luck more blanks will be here by then.
I am looking forward to trying your resin on a bigger project, just gotta find the time.
Photos of my shop below…
12’ Block of EPS. Note the Roll of Tubular Plastic for Vacuum Bags above the Glassing room door.
Scraps of Divinycell and other secret foams from previous projects
Pnuematic Vacuum Pump and heavy guage vacuum bag
a] make a styro-epoxy board .
b] And a polyu-polyester board .
c] have a LONG holiday .
d] surf the world.
e] have fun , Bill ! [which I’m sure you already do !]
f] any or all of the above options …as you say , " it’s all good !"
cheers !
ben
Hi Bill
Right, I see what you mean - and probably you’d pick masking tape width to go with how paralell the sides of the tube or other project were - the more paralell, the wider the tape. As you’re sanding after, how nice a surface it leaves really doesn’t matter, long as there’s no sags or ripples/folds in the lamination. And much easier than, say, setting up a vaccum arrangement on a cylinder, especially if you couldn’t slip something over the end of said cylinder, as in that frame tube.
Like the vaccum pump, by the way, is that an ex-medical item?
Also like your workshop - isn’t it a bear finding storage for everything, though. That over-the-door roller for tubular plastic just gave me an idea for how to deal with a number of rolls of canvas and sailcloth and Sunbrella, along with some broken Sunfish booms I just happened to have kicking around that ( run outside, snag one, check it against the cardboard tube they ship the stuff on and it’s just the right size ) and now I just may have a little project for this afternoon.
thanks again
doc…
Or, build a styro-epox bike. Better yet a compsand-bike. They’re indestructable, I hear. Mike
Wait a second, epoxy is the dark side , I thought. I think we need clarification here.
One of these days I’ll get over there and show you how easy this all is. Not a big deal at all.
Turns out Surf Expo is going to be a showcase of what the FL builders can do with a new (old) medium. I’m hearing that this is going to be revolutionary. Full on epoxy complete with full blown color work and fine finishing. FL guys are taking this oppritunity seriously I think. Their appearently hopeing many others will go on vacation while waiting around for promised conatainers.
Bert and Nev will be showing there stuff there too. Sounds all very interesting.
I think Bill [just quietly] may have been doing epoxy for a LONG time …
as well as polyurethane and polyester for long term , contented customers .
Some people do both . Happily. Co-existence.
"…it’s all good " , indeed !
ben
Chip … nothin wrong with doing both. Doing only one is what has brought so many to the brink of bankrupcy. Clark was the one who made everyone decide whether you were with him or against him. Ran all competitors and alternatives out of the biz. Then he pulled the rug. See it for what it is. Many will starve for being loyal. My point has been for the last month, don’t believe anyone. Save yourself. DO BOTH!
The cult leader (Clark Foam Inc) is dead and some people are still ordering coolaid?
I guess Parmenter sent his coolaid back and ordered the crow instead.
Good for him. I always knew he was smarter than your average bear.
Aloha Doc, rooster, Greg
Doc
The pump is a commercial one. Don’t know if it is also sold for the medical industry. This one is made for the kind of stuff we do. It is capable of doing large boats etc. The vacuum is produced by a siphon. Airflow across an orfice from an air compressor. It has an electric pressure switch that turns on and off the air flow relative to any vaucuum pressure you set. Super silent and simple and since no moto is used it can be used in hazardous environments.
rooster
Composite bikes are made. Some extremely light road bikes. I ride mountain bikes. Mostly on the more extreme end of the spectrum. Composite frames haven’t held up well to that kind of punnishment. But the idea has crossed my mind a bunch of times. I have even done sketches but never got around to doing one.
Greg
Dark side, Light side… it is all really all grey to me. As long as everyone accepts the reality of all materials and techniques as valid and no one tries to wear the white hat, then no one else is forced to be wearing the black hat. Lets shelf the hats and go grey.
It has crossed my mind more than a few times to create a Swaylocks event at my shop here in Hawaii. But I don’t know how we could control all the people that would want to come.
I hope you get a surf soon Greg .
Wait a second, epoxy is the dark side , I thought. I think we need clarification here. …
Notwithstanding Bill’s later post, I wonder if he is hinting that the worm has turned and now pu/pe is the dark side? …scary.
Can someone please make a “swaylocks community” styrofoam core epoxy resin vacuum bagged [whatever] board to send around the world , so we can ALL get a chance to surf it , please ?
ben
Turns out Surf Expo is going to be a showcase of what the FL builders can do with a new (old) medium. I’m hearing that this is going to be revolutionary. Full on epoxy complete with full blown color work and fine finishing. FL guys are taking this oppritunity seriously I think. Their appearently hopeing many others will go on vacation while waiting around for promised conatainers.
Bert and Nev will be showing there stuff there too. Sounds all very interesting.
WOW… I can’t wait!!! Friday can’t come soon enough.