Having seen da man's video on using RR his self (how many boards has he made?), and my limited experience with mixing, even small amounts < 1 oz total, I'm just not really sure it's worth the extra effort and $. Maybe if I was building a star fighter, but I've got other things I'd rather throw some $ at. But it'd still mostly a free country and if that blows your kilt up, have at it. Are you vac bagging too?
IamSAW said:
Having seen da man's video on using RR his self (how many boards has he made?), and my limited experience with mixing, even small amounts < 1 oz total, I'm just not really sure it's worth the extra effort and $. Maybe if I was building a star fighter, but I've got other things I'd rather throw some $ at. But it'd still mostly a free country and if that blows your kilt up, have at it. Are you vac bagging too?
I agree completely that measuring by sight is passable…
Regarding $$$ I reuse all my buckets usually at least 6-8 times.
And I can mix small batches successfully…
Again, this thread is not for the argument that's been gone through over and 0ver and over.
do what works for you
rounding is a bit dodgy, should be as close as humanly possible. If you're you're going to produce a rounded table like this–from what I've heard over and over about mixing epoxy resins–is that you want to be slightly resin-rich instead of hardener-rich. Anyone agree with this?
Disagree.
Resin rich leaves it gooey. Keep it simple, buy a $30 electronic scale, put it in a ziplock bag to keep the spills off.
It's all good if it works.
Even Greg Loehr posted here that 2:1 by weight is probably close enough. For the sake of argument, I'd be happy to bring a scale to Big Sur and we can weigh a batch done in the calibrated mixing buckets. I'd guess that it might be off by a gram or two but based on Ray's results, close enough.
To tell the truth, I'd rather be checking the depth of whiskey in a shot glass. Things like PARALLAX EFFECT don't have to be considered…
We're talking about tenths/hundreths of grams. Not total idiot shoots or big mistakes. Other gurus/experts have leaned toward the resin side as opposed to the hardener side. At these levels, probably never noticeable, just iterating what the manufacturers' studies show. As a result the 2nd table I don't entirely agree with.
Too much hardener will make it gooey too.
Amen John…
Everyone, please, let's let this one rest.
The table is there for those who want it. If not, no biggie.
I always use the scale and don't make boards anywhere near as clean as Stingray.
So, there you go =P
This is stupid, volume, weight, eyeball…I got your balls right here. In my vast eknowledge of making boards, I was making them back in the late 60's. I know that when you need to give it a kick it meant to give it a little squirt of cat. I've been doing this new epoxy thing, and i have stellear results. All you got to do is eyeball your measurements out, then just top it off with about another squirt of hardner. Comes out goot results are great. I've only had a handfully of boards turn yellow in under 3 weeks, but in my vast expeieience is a completely akseptical number.
remember when in doubte just give it a little squirt
Sorry guys, the only mistakes I have seen with epoxy mixing in pro shops is with scales being used. Human error reading the charts. Just need to look in the racks with all the soft cured board boneyard.
I have 5 oz, 9 oz and 16 oz disposable cups. If I need 15 oz of resin I do two 5 oz resin, one 5 oz hardener, Meanwhile, the barely able to see through plastic laminated ratio chart in 6 font is being looked at by squinty the hung overed glasser. Accident wating to happen. If you use the same cup to measure the resin and hardener(no matter what the volume) it is very hard to screw it up. The hardest part to master is to know how much to mix up in the first place.
So the scale way is real cool, but time consuming with no appreciated benefit. IF you are looking for strength improvemnet, durability and quicker turn around times you might want to focus in on your post cure procedures and the brand of resin you use.
My method you will be finished glassing the board before you have your resin off the scale.
New Epoxy thing?
New for me 25 years ago.
I've done both with good results.
new epoxy? -this is it: http://www.solarez.com/productsnew/zerovocgall.html NO MIXING. Cures in 1 minute under direct sunlight.
Dodgy??? Are you kidding me? None of the ratios on my chart will yield gooey results. Try it and see for yourself. You are wasting time and mental effort trying to get your epoxy mix ratios exact to the nearest fraction of a gram. Stop reading the West systems product manuals and read some of Greg Loehr's posts. He is the authority on the proper mixing of RR epoxy – which is the topic of this thread. He recomends mixing by volume. I have mixed by volume many times and it works perfectly. As I said earlier, I am currently using cheap buckets with no volumetric markings, hence I need to measure by weight. Measuring by weight is just as easy as measuring by volume once you figure it out. It's even easier if you have a table. 
talking epoxy mixing in general. and every expert I've read lit by encourages hardener-lean. Your chart #2 encourages hardener-rich. So, agree to dissagree. Epoxy–in a perfect world–has equal opposing molecules to react with. Get it as close as possible, figure out how many drops equal 1 gram if you don't have tenth readings. --I do this, and it's not even perfect. Perfection is relative. A machine to disperse and mix is closer to perfect. And since humans aren't perfect, a lot of manufacturers keep resounding harnener-lean. Why: I don't know. Not a chemist. Never had a gooey shoot either, so we're both wasting time defending our approaches. Have fun bro.
Chart 1 is great BTW, nice work.
This is so funny…it remind me of a joke:
Q: How many Swaylockers does it take to change a light buld.
Answer: 0, it would never get done, because every body is bitching at the best way to do it. One guy would be looking at building a scafolding from recycled tooth picks to reach the light. Another guy would be looking for a way to make a light bulb from hemp fiber, another would be looking for a way to make a bulb that didn't run on electricity. While some other yohan would be telling how great the light bulbs were back in the day…"back in my day we never had to change light bulbs, todays bulbs are no good…you know they all come from China now"
While all along the simple answer is: all you needed to do was get a chair and change the light bulb.
Just mix the dam epoxy 2 to 1 and be done with it. It's not even 4 to 1 or 6 to 2, or 10 to 12…just get a cup and mix it up. put it on the fibermaglass nad make a fancy pool toy. Quit trying to make it difficult with scales and 55 to 45 weight ratios. Heck greg made it as easy as possible…2 to 1, just plane old 2 to 1…a monkey could do it. the only way to screw the pooch is to do it 1 to 2 (yes i have done that)
I'm with CMP, Ray, …err Greg… ahem…(The GODFATHER of surfboard epoxy) and anyone else who knows epoxy, and doesn't want to waste time.
So tell me scale guys. What happens when you want to make another batch of epoxy because you ran out. do you go through the scale, new cup, new gloves, new squeegee, scale in a ziplock bag BS?.. Or do you just wipe out the cup, and pour some more epoxy in at 2/1 and carry on?
Resinhead ponders this question…
"So tell me scale guys. What happens when you want to make another batch of epoxy because you ran out. do you go through the scale, new cup, new gloves, new squeegee, scale in a ziplock bag BS?.. Or do you just wipe out the cup, and pour some more epoxy in at 2/1 and carry on?"
Whats with the time stuff?
Just reset the scale, pour until you reach the desired weight, and stop pouring. Push "Tare" to reset the scale. Pour the hardener. Stop when you reach the right amount. Mix.
You run out? Why wipe out the cup? You ran out so the cup is empty, right? Put the cup on the scale, and pour some more epoxy. Push "tare" to zero out the scale, and pour some hardener.
But I like John's whisky measuring. See you all soon!
And why new gloves? The scale is still in the ziplock bag on the shelf where you left it…
What a bunch of tards.
zero the scale and mix more. I weigh it because the 2:1 volume mixing containers suck, they lack flat bottoms and corners. I guess personal preference, probably more important to mix it well than combining precise amounts of part A and part B. That said:
Just got an email back from Loeher about proximity, hardener-rich or harnener lean approaches:
"Since ours is a 2 to 1 mix, being a bit off is not as big a deal as if your using a 5 to 1 or even a 3 to 1. That said just get as close as possible, you have about 10% leeway."
10%, woah. So I guess the lean/rich argument is beating a dead horse after hearing this. Your chart #2 Swied is all good.
I automatically delete my Sways threads now whenever ghettorat comments. Everything is going to Instagram, mainly becuase Sway's is increasingly turning piss-poor with trolls. We're more stoked over there to see pics of our friends building boards instead of bashing them over simple questions, procedures, theories, approaches. Nice thing about Instagram: no haters, no trolls. Block them at will + follow those that influence & inspire you.
Nice work Swied and Chrisp for getting this table out, totally useful.**
Put the scale in a ziplock bag?
Hahaha… My scale has colorful drips all over it, except for on buttons and on the readout screen (I wipe off those areas). I like it that way. It looks like it has seen some action.
My iPhone screen even has a little epoxy residue on the screen from trying to take pictures with sticky fingers.
I see myself more as a madd scientist than as a perfectionist engineer.
An expert after 20 boards. "Guys like me are a dime a dozen," as you have said. Also you have called me "bitter" nonetheless you are wrong on both accounts. Instagram is a better place for you, and make sure to post up what you had for lunch.