@ $15 a yard for kevlar/ e glass ( red and blue look cool, hopefully red won’t look pink from afar)
Also under the “carbon fiber hybrids” the carbon and white kevlar twill…$32 a yard isn’t too bad.
Lastly I found the 4.7oz and 6 oz. carbon fiber and e glass or s glass. the 6oz is $40 a yard, and the 4.7 is $48.
Id rather go 4.7 oz e glass and carbon but for the prices is this the best material to work with?
Last night when thinking about how much it will cost to buy vac bag equipment, it dawned on me. the fabric will be a deck patch cut to the rail line, so I thought what if I had an old water bed bladder, put it in top of the board and start filling it up. Just enough pressure to evenly press everything down. I could even get the water to 120 degrees or so and kick that skin off! like a vac bag, hotbox combo.
The obvious bladder bursting comments aside, do you think this would work?
I could even use an inflatable raft or an air mattress, cheap possibilities are endless.
"The obvious bladder bursting comments aside, do you think this would work?"
Hi pico -
Yes, the water bed bladder idea would work.
Ben Sparks has posted about using zip-lock bags filled with water to 'clamp' his composite skins to his blanks.
It has also been suggested that sand piled on would work to create a clamp for attaching a composite skin.
In all instances it would probably be a good idea to use a rocker bed. With the water bed bladder especially, there will be enough weight to distort the blank.
OK - HERE'S the link. I should get extra points for digging this mofo up!
A backyarder can do a functional no-brainer vaccum rig for pretty damn cheap.
$10 - nylon vaccum bag (gets replaced every 4-5 boards (ACP Composites)
$12 - nylon Quick-Lok bag clamps (ACP Composites)
$1 - bag connector using the top off a squeeze bottle for ketchup/mayo (nearby $99 Store)
$5 - 1/4" pvc tubing (Wal-Mart or Petco)
$50 - new aquarium pump, converted to vaccum pump by reversing the diaphragm(s). That’s a 1-time process that takes about 10 minutes. Mine will pull a steady 12"-13" of vacuum on a surfboard-sized bag, It’ll run all day long without a hitch and it’s quieter than my computer.
No wiring, no fabrication, no Easter Egg hunt on E-Bay for parts. Just plug-n-play - no talent required. The only reason to look for better pumps is if you’re working in a production environment. There are apparently a couple guys doing compsand type construction with this much vacuum and less. It’s obviously not a professional grade rig but I’m sure it’s fine for the average backyarder.
Test the setup for leaks prior to mixing any resin, but other than that you put the blank in, seal the bag and walk away. So to speak.
thanks for the reply. I guess my mind works better in pictures. The only thing i don’t grasp is how the ketchup bottle top will work.
My only hesitation with vac bagging is that Ive never done it or seen it done, so I have little to go with. I actually have a vacuum pump in my garage from the previous tenant. It says its for testing ac units, but I’m not sure about connections etc. or how to operate. I’ve down a few carbon kevlar patches with success by hand lam, but I really want to get the best out of the material which I believe will require the perforated release bag to wick the excess resin out of the fabric. From there I’m getting in over my head.
How many bag clamps are needed?
How much bigger than the board does the bag need to be ?
If using the quick lock bag clamps do you still need tape at the corners?
Which pump do you have? I had never heard thatone before–I just spent the last hour reading up on the RC sites that mention using a Tetra aquarium pump, but they seem too small for board applications.
Good info! And interesting link, pico. I would love to hear some feedback on those fabrics.
As a matter of fact I did get the Tetra Whisper AP150. It would probably even work with a smaller model but for the $10 dofference in price why bother? ACP sells a pump that’s apparently very similar in design and specs for $100 and that would work, too; but I don’t know that it would work better.
If you don’t already have one of these sitting around the house you can probably score one down at the dollar store. I sanded the bottom of the lid down with a belt sander so the sidewall is only 1/8" tall but that’s probably not necessary - it’s a one piece lid and it can’t leak.
Like I said - dirt simple. For veneer and cork clamping you just about can’t screw it up. Doing wet lams looks to be a whole 'nother level, though.
The term "cheapo skin" got me to look at this thread. $42 for a yard of something is not cheapo!
If I buy a roll of 6oz E it's about $2.25 - $2.50 a yard......If I wait around with some cash there's a good chance that someone on Swaylock's will find a deal on E-Bay and I can score cloth for less than $2.00 a yard...that's cheap.
Black paint / pigment is cheap...Let's do a faux carbon job? I wonder how many short boards with "rail patches" will be done with paint/pigment after this post......fun stuff.....Ray
On the cheap, get a real bag from ACP composits $12-15 no drama from home made bag. Hook up the sucking end up to a tube with a $1.5 fish take bleeder valve to control the pressure. Attach tube to bag with sealer puddy or tape. I use very little resin or a wet out table-put then wetted out glass+skin on board tape in place and wrap the board with costco saran wrap, throw it in the bag with a towel spread out under the tube-length of the board. Then you are good to go.
Let me know next time you are in the city or send me a PM if you want it sooner. I have to warn you it goes on-wraps the rail about as easy as fiberglass. It is hard to go back to wood after the first 10 minute prep job to in the bag. Might be the ticket for your ukulele too.
