Danny's Plane Day

Mine.

My inventory so far:

140 yds of bid
30 yds of uni
1 gal mgs 285 resin
2 quarts fast cure
1 .75x32x48 h45 foam
AS&S composite practice pack
1 4'x12' flat bench, minus the top!
5 lbs microspheres
1 lb flocked cotton

Shopping list:
Sharp scissors
Razor knifes
Scale
Epoxy Pump (later)
4'x8' sheets of mdf
Peel Ply
Squeege
Swift kick to MT's rear

Tomorrow I'll be at AS&S again to get my peel ply. Any suggestions?

-Danny

[crrobinson14]

Originally Posted by dgeronimos

Tomorrow I'll be at AS&S again to get my peel ply. Any suggestions?

-Danny

Yeah. Don't buy it from AS&S. =) Try www.fiberglasssupply.com or www.airtechonline.com. Both carry "Econo Ply J", which is equivalent to the 1.6oz stuff AS&S sells, but it comes on 60" wide rolls. You can cut your own tapes off of it, and it's a LOT cheaper. The thinner stuff peels off just as well as the 2.7oz, but it goes around curves better.

FiberglassSupply has it for 2.72 a yard if you buy at least 16 yards. AirTech is cheaper (2.32/yd), but only sells 25 yard rolls. I believe both also sell Econo Ply E, the heavier weight, if you want it.

I'll check 'em out. Gotta see what the unit price is with shipping.

[neverquit]

@#$^@^^@!!!!! I just ordered some from AS&S. 1.8oz 30 yds. @3.20/yd!!!

crrobinson is correct about the heavy stuff. I've tried both. I notice the heavier stuff also leave a thread or three from the edge buried in the epozy which is a pain to remove. The heavier stuff shrinks more when you heat it.



Tip: Get more epoxy! Nothing worse than being in the middle of a layup and running out. Anther good reason is they charge you "hazardous material" tax for each shipment.

[mplafleur]

I had Airtech send me a sample of their Econ Ply J. I used it on one side of my IP layup. Even thoug it was shipped folded, it layed out nicely with no problems or wrinkles. I'll buy a roll of it when I have some money for building again.

Originally Posted by neverquit

Tip: Get more epoxy! Nothing worse than being in the middle of a layup and running out. Anther good reason is they charge you "hazardous material" tax for each shipment.

AS&S doesn't ship to me. I live an hour from their place. When your employer pays for the gas........

Today I built an epoxy ratio balance. I'll never use it. Not very accurate and too hard to use. It was fun to try anyways.

MT: Have you finished your bench yet?

[Scott Edlund]

Today, you can get a very accurate digital scale for around $30 - internet/shipped. It's a great way to go and some prefer them over the sticky stuff pump. Definitley cover it with saran/pallet wrap.

I have the Michaels pump. The hardener spigot grows crusty even after the 1 week I spend between major layups with the eletrical twist cap which does improve it. It stays constantly hot at 105degF - I like 110 best by infrared thermometer. If the light goes out the hardener will crystalize and has to be reheated and stired. I'll stick a length of clothes hanger in the spigot to clean it out the hardener spigot before each use, at which point it will leak all over the place.

It's nice... But honestly I've spent maybe a total of 60 minutes in front of it and 20 of it was cleaning it, measuring outputs to make sure it was clean and flowing right. Then theres remembering how much fast or slow hardener you have in the hopper for that next layup. When it's clean and you know its pumping accurately it's great. Personally, I think if you have a lot of time to work with it (no day2day job) it's a great way to go.

If I were me, and I am, I would have a printed up ratio table by weight near a digital scale (MGS 285 is easy 2:1 resin:hardener by weight. But a printed table is fine).

Here's my point. You should have a digital scale anyway, whether it be for plane building or weighing out hamburger. Buy one, try it out. If if ain't your game, spend the $250 extra to get pump, and you'll have a great weigh to make hamburgers.

Originally Posted by Scott Edlund

Today, you can get a very accurate digital scale for around $30 - internet/shipped. It's a great way to go and some prefer them over the sticky stuff pump. Definitley cover it with saran/pallet wrap.

I've been to staples and office depot, but they wanted $100 for their postal scales. I'll try out pricegrabber.

[quote=Scott Edlund]
If I were me, and I am, I would have a printed up ratio table by weight near a digital scale (MGS 285 is easy 2:1 resin:hardener by weight. But a printed table is fine).
[quote]

I just checked my bottles. It's 100:40 by weight, 100:50 by volume.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Scott Edlund

Today, you can get a very accurate digital scale for around $30 - internet/shipped. It's a great way to go and some prefer them over the sticky stuff pump. Definitley cover it with saran/pallet wrap.

I've been to staples and office depot, but they wanted $100 for their postal scales. I'll try out pricegrabber.

Originally Posted by Scott Edlund

If I were me, and I am, I would have a printed up ratio table by weight near a digital scale (MGS 285 is easy 2:1 resin:hardener by weight. But a printed table is fine).

I just checked my bottles. It's 100:40 by weight, 100:50 by volume.

Thanks!

[Dust]

Cap the pump - find something to cap the pump or the hardener will crud up and is a pain to clean.

we us a screw for the hardener and a plastic thingy we found for the resin

[Waiter]

I used the balance beam that I built per the Practice plans.

My entire airplane at one time or another was contained in that little 2 oz Dixie cup.

Waiter

[Spodman]

I just picked up a cheap set of electronic scales for $20-odd on an online auction. Guess the missus will wear it out in the kitchen before I get to play.

[neverquit]

Wait till' you do big layups or a lot of little one. I'll take the sticky stuff pump hands down. I walk to the box with a dixie cup, pump the thing, walk away. Love that pump - no problems. Used it for a year so far with no cleaning and it's right on the money.

Scott, cap em' like dust says. You're in FL which is why you get that crud. I get it in the Summer and never see it in the Winter. Also, I keep my epoxy about 85-90 and work in a 70 deg. shop in the Winter. I use a 25w bulb which kicks it up 10-15 deg. A 60w bulb will do 20-25 deg.

Picked up 2 49"x97" pieces of MDF today. Apparently MDF is an inch bigger than plywood sizes (Just cuz we grow them bigger down here). Ditto for some tempered hardboard. Cut the MDF to size and layed it down to check for flatness. Much better than last time, not perfect, but workable, imo.

Agenda for tomorrow: Making fiberglass "stuff"????

Contact has been made with Bob. Bob knows everyone.

Stay tuned!

Didn't make fiberglass "things" today. The weather has suddenly turned cold. Finished the bench, with the exception of my "removable" hardboard. Any suggestions on attaching it to the underlying (and flat!) MDF? Glue? Bondo? A few small screws?

I'm also thinking of a foam hat for the bench. I have a small ceramic heater that could heat and keep items on the bench hot, if the bench had a hat.

Danny the "Mad Hatter"