I'm thinking the foam may of had a reaction with the glue that is used on the duct tape . That is where it it didn't foam ??? Otherwise it looks like it foamed up good .

Thanks all for feedback.

Having a chat on the phone with Imax yesterday, he was really scratching his head. "It should work !".

I did a simple test to see if the expander foam was reacting to the cloth tape. It wasn't that. But, I found out the fault in the end. It's was caused by an "Idiot Behind Machine" (IBM) error. I operated the can side up, and not upside down. However, the instructions on the can did not mention this, but the picture on the can showed what to do. And I call myself a picture man.. anyway

So I retried; making the area open (Imax's suggestion) and operating the can the way it was designed to be operated. Much better.

Paducah: I know you said not to use cloth tape. It was a hot weekend, I didn't want to use masking tape as it lifts off the board when it gets hot.


The result of Saturday. A nice finish in the fwd side of the box hole.

Today was the business - time to get buttery !. Some years back, I threw out my old talcum powder (I think because it went solid ?). Today, I could not for the life of me buy unscented talcum powder (3 supermarkets + Chemist Warehouse). Nobody seems to sell it anymore. I read somewhere not to use baby powder as a filler, but this is all that was available. So, baby powder it was. I mixed 60ml of epoxy and doubled the volume with baby powder until I got a mayonnaise thickness.

I buttered inside of box hole and outside of box, and fitted box into board from the bottom of board. Everything went well.

Once box was in, I taped up deck.

I checked fin to make sure it's 90 deg. I take back what I said earlier about never milling out a fin box again. The tight fit made it very easy today. It was forecast 27C today, but it hit 31C at my place, and the glue cured very quickly. If I had the extra step of making sure fin was square while doing everything else, it could've turned into a sh1t show.

Roughly 90min later, the glue had turned plastic on the bottom. So, now I flip board to work on the deck. This is what I found. A few spaces around box. It looked worse than it was I think.

Nb/ The remainder of the glue in the tray cured nicely. No melt down or unpredictable reaction. So, the baby powder seems ok at this stage.


About 10ml clear epoxy to fill the voids, then mixed in baby powder and closed it off.

Ok. Thanks FN. Good info.

One little thing that might help for using epoxy in hot weather: I like to buy a bit more work time by chilling resins in the freezer before mixing, especially if making a bog mix.

515 said..
In NZ winters we used to wrap the 20l resin in an electric blanket

Yeah, temperature makes a difference. Its easy in cold weather to do all the mixing and work with cool resin, and then put the heater on to accelerate the reaction. Whereas hot weather can make it too much of a rush.

515 said..
I don't understand not using proper fillers?

At least in my case it comes down to laziness. I use epoxy for filling timber a lot more these days than repairing boards. Talc works well and is very easy to get at a supermarket. Cheap too.

I came across something which compared filler compounds and talc rated surprisingly well. It mixes well and sands well.

I have a bag of microballoons around somewhere and I tried using them for a project recently and I think I ended up losing more to the air and floor than I mixed. It is like they do their best to avoid the epoxy.

In repairing some other stuff I have also used sand and cement as a filler (in concrete), sawdust, plaster base coat, and flour. I am not sure they all worked very well but the sand and cement epoxy mix seemed to work well and holding up. From memory I think the plaster was the worst for some reason. I wouldn't use any of these in a board before anyone asks

515 said..
Without heating resin the resin is thicker and harder to wet out.

Interesting you use the term 'wetting'. That term is used in electronic assembly. I suppose electronics has borrowed this term from an older profession.

Ok. if this does not work, I'll do that.

Hey JN1, I'm sure your new repositioned Tuttle box will work out. I used to love watching progress on Imax's and others board builds on this forum. You will find board builders have slightly different processes to achieve the end result
'Wetting out' was referring to laminating.

FN - ok understand different powders and the fine microballons going everywhere - need a bigger container and patience. Most my latest resin work has been on ply cat. Apart from glassing certain jobs using microfibres for strength or the wests brown fairing (like the way it mixes and easy sand). Sometimes use a mix of both.

I don't think voids in the top will be a huge problem, but I would have used a heavier layer there than 2X4oz.
Don't ask me why, I just would.

decrepit: Would more layers of 4 Oz be equivalent to a heavier grade ?

Today's effort:

Removed cloth tape, paper and sanded using home made sanding tool. This is the result. Although, I did speed things up with an orbital sander. (PS/ Contoured shape of the laid fibre with the rocker of the board).

Cut out fin box using craft knife and removed packing.

Chamfered edges of fin box with file and cleaned up the box.

The result. Very very happy with it . It's nice 'n square. As they say in Adelaide - "Like a bought'ton one"

So now, the deck.

I want to recess the fwd bolt about 10mm, because I know this bolt will touch my foot and be annoying. Any tips on how to create a well for the bolt ?

jn1 said..

I want to recess the fwd bolt about 10mm, because I know this bolt will touch my foot and be annoying. Any tips on how to create a well for the bolt ?

Router ?

Sealing the recess can be messy if you just try and glass it. Using a bit of tubing makes it easier. You have to use you ingenuity to find an appropriate sized tube.

I would do that same procedure again. More glass in the recesses and another two layers of 4oz over the top.

jn1 said.. Ahh, too late. I've done it. May have to use your advice tomorrow.

Nah, you've done a good job there, just follow imax now.