Web Sites w/ Foam Info For Tools, Techniques, Sources Etc..

[eaglesdare]

no, honestly, i took gpw's word for it.
but i would think its out of the thrifty category.

[atahoekid]

No worries, I will check it out. Although there is a budget for this build, I think I have a bit of financial leeway to play with so I will look at it. I'll check it out.
As soon as I get back from vacation, I will post more "Hot Foam Factory" pics and pics of some "structural" glue ups. I won't be back from vacation till Monday but I couldn't go an entire week without at least checking in.

[GPW]

New (to me) foam resource... http://atlaseps.com/products/thermalstar It's Orange ...

[mezmo]

Hi all Foamlings,

Here's a link to fellow forum member rowerwet's post in "TD Construction
Tips & Techniques". It's an account of his experience using paint & canvas
as an exterior finish for his TD.

http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=45468

The one thing to note is he didn't use any canvas overlapping for any
structural purposes as he was only using the technique as an exterior
finish, not as an [additional] fastening as we are concerned with in this
section [i.e. the "sock effect"].

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

P.S. This may be a re-post of this, if he may have posted it in the Foamie
section. If he did I couldn't find it at the moment.

[atahoekid]

To anyone who was interested in the performance of the products in the website mentioned at the start of this thread, I promised some pics of glue-ups using different glues and testing them to failure. These glue ups were edge to edge and I get different results from the four different glues tested. In each case, I am using 1" pink foam. I used a good amount of glue and clamped them for 24 hours then let them cure for an additional 24 hours. I then pulled on each test piece until it broke.

Here are the results

The first glue up is The Hot Wire Foam Factory's Foam Fusion



It is the only sample where the glue held and the foam broke.

Next is GG



The two edges you see in the picture were the bonded edges. The joint held until the glue broke.

Next up is PL Foamboard adhesive


The results are similar to the GG results. The joint held until the glue broke.

The last glue tested was TB2. For whatever reason, I lost the pic. But it too broke at the glue.

It took a good bit of pulling for each of the samples to break and a lot of pulling to break the Foam Fusion piece.

I've decided that I will use the Hot Wire Foam Factory Foam Fusion for any glue that I need in my Road Foamie.

I've also face glued two pieces of foam with it and have not been able to break the pieces apart.

[Rosey]

Thanks for the info atahoekid! I think I will go with the Foam Fusion too.

[GPW]

Wow!!! What a great test !!!

Now I don't know about the Thriftiness of the Foam Fusion , but just as an example I bought the 18 oz. GG and still have half of it left ... Wonder if they sell it by the gallon ... ?

Rosey, please check with me ... I may have found a way to buy the Foam boards much cheaper ...

[mezmo]

Hi All Foamlings/Foamanistas,

Here's a link to a book about building with foam and fiberglass that
may be useful for our purposes:

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/b ... ldless.php

It's from a link within a link posted by Harry Segelken in his
"Fiberglass composite delamination issues" thread.

And on second thought, the link [and web site] he provided that this link
came from has info/techniques that can be very useful too:

http://hoverclub.invisionzone.com/forum ... topic=2357


Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[DJT]

Ok, I know it was discussed, but I can't find it... What's the perforating tool called again, where can I get one, and are they necessary?

Thanks,

Dave

[eaglesdare]

they are only necessary if you think and want them to be necessary.
that is my opinion. i did not use one, and i have no problems. if and when i build my second, i will still not use it.

[DJT]

Good enough for me eagle!

Thanks!

Dave

[eaglesdare]

your welcome. but just remember that was just my opinion.

[Aligator944]

May be this has been posted somewhere else in the Foamies section, but the following is a portion from another wood - canvas covered TD I found in this build thread. The steps and tips for installing the canvas would clearly apply just as well to a foamy.

Build Thread: http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=45718

From the thread:

"millstone wrote:
Great job on the canvas. Any secrets?


Thanks, guys.

Other than what I mentioned already, let's see what I can remember....

I used a router to put a 3/16 radius on the edges before starting the canvas.

We bought painters drop cloths from Harbor Freight for the canvas. Untreated cotton 10 ounce fabric. We were disappointed to find a seam in the middle of the "tarp" and had to change the orientation of the canvas after cutting the piece to remove the seam. We did end up with one overlap seam on each side, and on the roof. We applied the rear pieces first, so the front piece overlaps the rear piece. That's to keep the headwind from towing from lifting the seam. (I don't think it would have lifted even if we did it backwards, the glue really stuck it down.)

After trimming the hems from the canvas, we laid the canvas on the driveway, and soaked it good with the hose to preshrink it. it shrank a LOT. 10 foot wide before shrinking was under 9 feet after shrinking. I pre shrunk it because I was worried it might shrink while the glue was drying and pull the overlap around the corner.

We applied the canvas flat and let the untrimmed overlap hang while the glue set up, then went back, trimmed the overlap to size and glued it down.

Trimming the overlap evenly proved a challenge. We tried scissors guided along a spacer block, and using an x-acto knife along a block.
Marking the overlap with a pencil and following the line with scissors proved to be the most accurate.

After trimming the overlap, we used a small brush to apply the glue to the overlap, then worked along the seam smoothing the overlap with our palms. It was surprising to us how easy it was to "bend" it around the corner without wrinkles.

No pictures yet, but we have put the first thinned coat of exterior latex pain and second full strength coat on the canvas. One more full strength coat, and it should be done. We are pleased with how it looks so far, a bit nervous about how it will hold up.

With our intense summer sun, and snow in the winter, we are planning on building a shed to keep the tear in to protect it when not in use. Doing that, I'm hoping it will hold up for years without any attention.

Sam and Kat (fingers crossed)"

[GPW]

Jut FYI , I never shrunk my canvas ... glued it on , no problems ... Glued on it really can’t move ... won’t pull the edges and hasn’t ... no worries ...

[linuxmanxxx]

I build my microcampers using the foam in the core and after plowing through many glue types to find the ones that wouldn't break the foam down, I have wound up using a commercial 3m glue 30NF (non flammable). Water based and is a contact cement so you coat both surfaces let the water evaporate (up to 30 minutes) and then press the 2 pieces together. I have bonded wood to the foam and aluminum to the foam and this stuff sticks big time and might be a bit more cost efficient than using the foam factory glue. Its not cheap but at a hundred dollars for a whole gallon you can glue a lot of foam with it for sure. I apply it with a cheap HVLP gun from harbor freight at 40 psi on my line and it goes on good sprayed. Smaller I just brush it on. We used neutral which is good but hard to gauge how much you get onto the surfaces of some of the neutral colored items but switched to the green tinted one and it rocks as you can easily gauge if you've applied enough of it to stick together. Can get it at RS Hughes or fastenal if you have either of them locally available.