Re: Is there a market for...

From: <mkirda_at_sbcglobal.net>
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 16:48:13 -0000

Leo asked me some questions off-line. I am posting my answer here.

Hi Leo.

The only real difference is the fact that I adapted some different methods for making my mold.
His way of making the center one thickness is a bit too much work for my tastes.
I layered the center layer so a taper was evident when split apart. A lot less sanding. I hate sanding.

I also ran it through a vacuum. I am beginning to think it is not necessary, adds some complexity, and may not be helpful.

12K tow would involve an insane amount of sanding. Even 6K is too much. 3K is what I have and works well.
A single tow around will weight roughly 70mg and it is not thick enough to match Brett's 0.015" square root specification.
It needs to be doubled out roughly 1/3 of the way then sanded to the specs.
82-85mg is about what they come out of the mold at.

Cut to size, dip in resin, squeeze in to make sure it penetrates, squeeze out the excess, pop into vacuum bag for 10 minutes at 24" vacuum to suck out the excess resin, then wrap around the mold, let gel and post cure at the temp specified by the resin used. Pretty much the same as Brett minus the vacuum bag part.

None of my sources have panned out completely yet.
If something does pan out, I'll probably sell the fiber to folks since there is no other source now.
It costs $2000+ per pound and the manufacturer has a 5KG minimum.
It isn't clear to me that there really is a market for it though to be honest...

Regards.
Mike Kirda
Received on Tue Jan 28 2014 - 08:48:14 CET