Flotoma Snowboards

nistler · Post by **nistler** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 12:49 pm

I went to joann fabrics today and got my graphics and a breather sheet for the vacuum bag. Together they cost $28 but I saved $18 so it was only $10.

Breather (batting for quilts)

The fabric

Do you think I would need to wash the fabric first? It's 100% cotton

pmg · Post by **pmg** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 2:55 pm

I didn't wash my fabric before using and had no issues so far. But washing won't hurt. Depending on what the fabric was treated with, it might influence the bonding. Washing it brings you on the save side.

gav wa · Post by **gav wa** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 8:31 pm

Sorry I meant to say flame treat your base not heat treat. Some folks don't bother and don't have too many issues but it is a process which makes the ptex bond better, polyethylene is one of the hardest materials to bond.

nistler · Post by **nistler** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 7:45 am

gav wa wrote:Sorry I meant to say flame treat your base not heat treat. Some folks don't bother and don't have too many issues but it is a process which makes the ptex bond better, polyethylene is one of the hardest materials to bond.

I remember watching a ski factory video they had a huge flame with rollers on both sides and would slide the base through that. I probably won't, sounds pretty dangerous.

twizzstyle · Post by **twizzstyle** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 8:53 am

Flame all plastics prior to layup. It's not dangerous, and it's a good deterrent against delam/poor bonding.

nistler · Post by **nistler** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 4:05 pm

I actually have one of those in my garage, I'm assuming you treat it before putting the edges on, how long do I have to treat it for? Like do I just run the flame over the base quickly or am I trying to get the plastic warm?

MadRussian · Post by **MadRussian** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 5:34 pm

did you read anything on this website? Subject the flame treatment discussed to death around here. It has been discussed recently with a linked article from Crown with all info you ever need

gav wa · Post by **gav wa** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 6:19 pm

There are quite a few good videos on YouTube which show you exactly how to do it and how to check it worked. Just search for flame treating plastic.

vinman · Post by **vinman** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 6:21 pm

I posted this just a week or two ago in another thread.

Flaming all plastics is essential to preventing delams.

Read this article for details on flaming process.

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/gluing-pla ... lex-epoxy/

direct quote from the article
"To flame treat a plastic surface, hold a propane torch so the flame just touches the surface and move it across the surface at a rate of 12 or 16 inches per second. Keep the torch moving and overlap the previous pass slightly. When done correctly, the surface will not discolor or burn in any obvious way. This technique oxidizes the surface and improves adhesion. For best adhesion, bond to the surface within 30 minutes of treatment."

what you want to see is this when you drop a water drop onto your plastics.
high edge angles are bad, low edge angles are good and indicate a better surface for bonding.

nistler · Post by **nistler** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 7:55 pm

Got the pump today.

My dad's job is to fix coffee/juice machines so he has a lot of the connection and hose so he brought home some stuff. I showed him the capacitor thing and he said it normally comes with a cover because otherwise if you touch it while its on it will shock you, I dont know if thats true or not but I'm not going to take any chances so I electrical taped that sucker up. I also put a new nipple thing on it and it connects to my hose. Havent been able to test it out yet because I thought it would come with a power cord but it didnt so my dad also brought home a heavy duty cord he cut from a machine but he only brought the female connectors home and I needed male so I'm going to connect it all up tomorrow.

Also, RIP my core. I was profiling it and was really close to finished and my router depth guide thing slipped because I accidently left it too loose so my router cut through it. I was cutting the core at 3mm when it happened. Next core will be made of laminated wood.

I ordered materials, basic stuff. 16 inserts, I was going to down only 8 but I wanted to do it right. Also I wasnt going to get a topsheet, but after some thinking and a post by someone on this thread (cant remember who) said that going too cheap isnt going to get good results. $20 is a small price anyway.
Also Im need to get some epoxy, hows this stuff?
http://www.tapplastics.com/product/fibe ... e_epoxy/28. Is it that important to get marine epoxy or will this work?

knightsofnii · Post by **knightsofnii** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 8:40 pm

check qcm/forrest paints epoxy. that TAP stuff seems more expensive.
I can't remember if you can get less than 5gal from forrest. Ask for samples!!!

regarding flame treating bases. I've never done it. Only had one base delam in close to 100 boards. They're flamed from crown, I just keep them as clean as possible.

gav wa · Post by **gav wa** » Mon Nov 03, 2014 8:48 pm

That sux about your core dude, does your router not have a lock so it can be locked at a height regardless of where the height stop is?
Might be better in the end anyway, now your first board will have one less variable you have to do test pieces for.
Your dad is right, that capacitor should be covered, but not just the body like you have done with tape, the real danger are the connection tabs hanging out of it, try to make a shroud that covers the whole thing but doesnt touch against it so it also doesn't cause it to get too hot. If you have some offcut fiberglass you could try practicing your glass work by making a fiberglass cover.

pmg · Post by **pmg** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 9:02 am

Hi,

the pump is designed to be built into a case anyway. I put mine into an old computer case, only the vacuum hose and the power cord coming out. But it will work without, too.

If I don't forget I will take some pictures tomorrow.

skidesmond · Post by **skidesmond** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 4:19 pm

knightsofnii wrote:check qcm/forrest paints epoxy. that TAP stuff seems more expensive.
I can't remember if you can get less than 5gal from forrest. Ask for samples!!!

regarding flame treating bases. I've never done it. Only had one base delam in close to 100 boards. They're flamed from crown, I just keep them as clean as possible.

TAP Epoxy seems expensive. I've used QCM/Forrester and Resin Research. I liked Resin Research because it wets out nicely. I always had to warm up QCM to get it to wet out thoroughly. Just bought Entropy Bio Resin (going for the green products) and gonna give that a try. I heard good things about it and it's cheaper that TAP. If Entropy doesn't do the trick for me, I'll go back to Resin Research.

nistler · Post by **nistler** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 5:35 pm

TAP Epoxy seems expensive. I've used QCM/Forrester and Resin Research. I liked Resin Research because it wets out nicely. I always had to warm up QCM to get it to wet out thoroughly. Just bought Entropy Bio Resin (going for the green products) and gonna give that a try. I heard good things about it and it's cheaper that TAP. If Entropy doesn't do the trick for me, I'll go back to Resin Research.

Really, its expensive? $35 for hardener and epoxy is the cheapest I've found, plus I wouldnt have to pay shipping. Where do you guys buy your epoxy if its cheaper then that?

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