carbon fiber sources

[Ken Herrick]

A possible alternate material could be Kevlar. Bicycle shops sell strips which go inside tires to make them puncture proof. As I recall they were thicker than the carbon fibre you have and something like 2 to 3 inches wide and 6 or 7 ft long and came 2 to a pack.

You could make a genuine bullet proof case with it.

[jamsav]

bloke , I had great results using fiberglass taping and an epoxy resin. Got it at the local marine supply store- same stuff you'd seal the seams on an old wooden hulled lap streaked lake cruiser....outdoors best, good ventilation a must , and it needs to be done in at least 68 degrees to properly set up and cure.

[imperialbari]

Joe, I am not an expert in synthetic materials, yet I am combining your current carbon fiber source with a woodworking phenomenon that I basically hate (especially in string instruments, bowed and plucked alike): veneer.

If you are gluing the carbon fiber anyway, why-not glue on 3 layers. Maybe it shall happen in 3 stages with a full drying/hardening between each stage. That also will work around the potential inflexibility of a thicker source.

Klaus

[ppalan]

I'm guessing you've already thought of this but, just in case: Could you just laminate several strips of the carbon fiber you described to get your desired thickness?

Pete

[Waltski]

Perhaps you could look at some bookboard as a replacement for the edging - very dense, around the thickness you described and found in fine art stores that sell paper and art supplies...

[Art Hovey]

Here's another source:

http://dragonplate.com/ecart/categories.asp?cID=45

Let us know what you end up with.

[TubaTodd]

Bloke,

There was a Mythbusters on earlier in the week that showed the UNBELIEVABLE strength of spray on truck bed liner. It made a regular plywood wall blast-proof. After what I saw, I would fix up the wood and stray that sucker with the bed liner stuff. Check out the episode it was amazing.

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/mythbus ... rshow.html

[Tom Waid]

I would use fiberglass tape with West System epoxy. Follow the link and click on the "How to use" link for a fairly complete tutorial.

[opus37]

Having developed composite materials and having worked with them of many years, I suggest you use woven fabric glass fibers and an epoxy resin matrix for this application. I suggest heat curing. You can easily get materials from your local auto parts or boat repair store.

[Mark]

Melamine or wood veneer edging strips from Home Depot?

[scottw]

Try a plastics distributor; ask for a rip off a sheet of Teflon, or ask their advice on the proper material to conform to the bend and the strength needed.

[Rick Denney]

Melamine or wood veneer edging strips from Home Depot?

Definitely easy and neat. But these strips are usually applied with heat, and use a hot-glue backing. They work fine for their intended application, but in a case like this I'd be worried that what the glue is sticking to might delaminate. Epoxy (especially the West System stuff) will soak in much more deeply, and it will reconstitute the underlying material.

I absolutely agree with other posters to use woven fiber reinforcement rather than the non-woven stuff. It will be stronger and will also be much easier to lay down.

And I agree that carbon fibers are very expensive overkill for this application. Fiberglass will do fine. What makes most fiberglass weak is the low-grade polyester resin that comes with the fiberglass repair kits at the auto parts store. If you use a quality epoxy resin, it will be strong and the adhesion will be better.

Rick "somewhat experienced with all these products" Denney

[Rick Denney]

Try a plastics distributor; ask for a rip off a sheet of Teflon, or ask their advice on the proper material to conform to the bend and the strength needed.

The tricky bit with many plastics, particularly including polyethylene, polypropylene, and Teflon, is adhesion. Most strong and flexible plastics have a slightly waxy feel, and these cannot be glued successfully. They need to be heat welded together, or stitched and riveted. Even ABS and PVC, which are easy to weld themselves using solvents, are not easily bonded to dissimilar materials.

Rick "who has tried to glue stuff to many plastics without success, too" Denney

[Tom Waid]

If the job is small you may be able to use one of the West System Repair Packs instead of paying for more epoxy than you need.

Small amounts of fiberglass tape may be bought here.

[sailn2ba]

Jamestown Distributors sells a variety of carbon fiber tapes, cloths, and twills for epoxy lay-up.