Hey all,
Does anyone know where to order H-glass? So far all I’ve turned up is a non-working link to a German supplier.
I’d like to get a sample to make some test panels with, but can’t find anything.
Thanks.
Drew
Anyone?
It’s been talked about before. Witchcraft uses it in their sailboards.
Someone’s gotta know something.
Allegedly up to 40% lighter than E-glass, better elongation, stress, and strain properties. Sounds like the stuff.
Why haven’t we heard more about it?
If it’s a closely guarded secret, say the word and I’ll shut up.
P.S. (Off topic): A big thank you to ProBox Larry for the fins. These are gonna keep me playing with different combos for a loooong time.
I’ve not heard of it. I’ll bump it - maybe someone will see this.
This is the German supplier, the link works for me.
You can order a free catalogue from them which is quite nice to browse through. I think the H-glass is sort of opaque which might be a downside.
Thanks guys. Got the link.
If you do a search on H-glass or basalt fiber the old thread should pop right up.
Has anyone here actually tried it? Or basalt for that matter? Oneula?
I’ve tried H Glass from that R&G german supplier a few month ago. My project was a 9’7" stringerless longboard with a flexible nose rocker. Blank was 43kg/m3 EPS from Atua Cores. I used 5oz H-glass in three layers on each side gradually changing to a single layer toward the nose area. I’m very satisfied with the board as the flex on the nose works amazingly well.
I’ve had a lot of difficulties laminating the H-glass, and I sware I won’t do it again. I believe H-glass is truly a very good fiber : lighter and stronger than glass and it costs about the same price. The problem is that the producer only makes it in one type of fabric, satin weave, because they firmly believe this fabric is ideal for any type of usage (high drapability). This satin weave is very tight and , with regular hand laminate techniques, I had a very hard time with hundreds of air bubbles getting trapped underneath the cloth (nearly impossible to squeegee or roller out trapped air througout the wet cloth).
Here are some pics of the finished board :
thanks Pierre, that’s excellent feedback on the product.
Any weight difference with the hand lamination?
There’s a whole world of fabrics and weaves out there that aren’t useable with hand lamination
techniques. That’s because almost all modern composite products are not built using hand lam,
so it’s not even a consideration for the manufacturers of the fibers.
Thank you Pierre for your response. That’s the kind of info I was needing to hear, as I’m looking at hand lamination as well. Cool board, by the way.
Out of curiosity, did the issue with the bubbles occur even where there was only one layer of H-glass? Did you lam multiple layers at once or only do one layer at once? How is the dent resistence in the different areas, say in the single-layered nose versus in the middle, where you have three layers?
Pierre
I truly love that board, classic.
do you have close up pictures, or a link to high res ones?
Did you spackle the blank with Axton? it looks really white. [and black]
Did you do the 3 layers all at once, or 1 by one?
Wouter
Quote:
Out of curiosity, did the issue with the bubbles occur even where there was only one layer of H-glass?
Yes
Quote:
Did you lam multiple layers at once or only do one layer at once?
I tried both and had problems with both.
Quote:
How is the dent resistence in the different areas, say in the single-layered nose versus in the middle, where you have three layers?
I don’t know yet about the dent resistence, time will tell. So far, it seems very strong and I can’t press it down with my thumbs even in the one layer area.
Quote:
Pierre
I truly love that board, classic.
do you have close up pictures, or a link to high res ones?
Did you spackle the blank with Axton? it looks really white. [and black]
Did you do the 3 layers all at once, or 1 by one?
Wouter
Blank came fom a special batch that was denser than usual (>40kg/m3). No spackling.
Laminating was done all at once for the bottom and in three steps for the top.
Bubble trouble with either one of theses methods.
Regarding the colors, the H-glass provides a nearly opaque white finish.
Top is hotcoated and gloss coated with epoxy + white pigment.
Bottom is glosscoated with an innovative heat reflective black pigment.
Ideally, I should have done it the way Noll used to do on his Da Cats : hot coat +
opaque coat + gloss coat.
However, because of the great flex in the nose I wanted to keep a very
thin coat of resin in order to avoid potential stress
cracks.
So I chose to color a thin gloss coat and therefore had to stop sanding
early before I sand through the black tint. Therefore, finish is not showroom
perfect, but it’s more than enough for me.
I’ll try to get more pics whenever it stops raining …
Just for the record, having shared a couple of waves on Pierre’s board the other day, it’s a blast.
This is the first step-deck design that I’ve ridden where the flattening of the noserocker is refelected in a tangible and immediate way, not just a nuance by any means. The board’s weight is remarkable for it’s size, just heavy enough to get you through the chop without vibrating, but light enough to make a 9’8" fun and functional (by my own subjective standards, of course) in less than perfect beachbreak.
Shoot, it had me thinking of building one for myself for this summer…
Yep these fabrics are more suited to vacuum applications. Been giving this some thought lately. I figure an elastic vac bag and the whole bleeder-breather-peelply show would be necessary to get a nice laminate but it may well be worth it. I have seen some stuff done this way and if done correctly only minor filling and fairing is required post bag. Of course esthetics are a different show, it needs to be opaque, the result if done transparent is… oddball at best.
Wouter, with your new PUR vac bag it should be doable…
And i will!!
Lets make us a fun 8 footer. Say 22,5 wide, nose rider?
Jeffrey, any blank ideas for a mike daniels style board? This is becoming a european thread now.
Quote:
mike daniels style board
Eric and Kirk Brasington are the ones who get the credit, not me. They’re the industry leaders in
vac-lamming single skins, they’re the ones with 15 years and thousands of boards worth of experience
and R&D, they’re the ones who tested myriad lam schedule combos to arrive at the (present) Coil
formula. I’m just a shaper who understands what they’re doing (well, almost. these guys are so far
out on the edges of what’s possible they may be the only ones who really understand)
I appreciate the thought, nonetheless.
Mike
thumbs for eric and kirk !!!
so weird, that something so simple takes so much R&D. or maybe it isnt simple. but the same greg loehr said about burger boards: something you can cook at home easily.
you mentioned that your boards have resin research resin. i guess as a topcoat. you are trying to divert us eh? but hey, that is all the fun for backyard kooks like myself, gives me something to think of.
but i will try vac bagging a board, i thought of this:
lam as usual, add dry weave on top,
flip board
lam as usual, add dry weave on top.
bag on rocker bed with jigs/foamy supports
i think i will just use perforated plastic, and add a bit of paper to soak up any resin escaping. still a bit unsure about that.
trying to find a dealer for Diolen too. their head quarters are in the netherlands, so that should be ok.
what other fibres are we looking at here?
wouter