Kevin6q

small quantities of basalt can be found here: http://www.sollercomposites.com/ I was making mutes from the stuff and it gave a very dead sound so I think its dampening properties are pretty good. I was also putting some into rollerski frames and so far so good. It sands well and as pointed out in other posts, not as sexy as CF. I've layed up into molds and it seems just fine and works like glass. I don't think it has the same hardness as CF or glass. I've never tried to light it on fire but can try it and report back.

Basalt is volcanic rock. The Soviets figured a way to make thread and weave the stuff into cloth. I was told basalt cloth was/is the Soviet answer to carbon fiber. Google searches will turn up a guitar maker who uses it. When dry the color is a fantastic bronze and it turns super dark brown, almost black, when wet out. Unlike carbon you can't really see the weave after cure. It holds more resin than CF and is easier to wet out.

The fabric can be anything the builder wishes. This project was to make up an inexpensive boat. Kevlar is such a PIA to work with in addition to the higher cost. When saturated and cured I've found Kevlar to be more scuff resistant but the puncture resistance is only marginally better than glass. For the added expense I'll build another glass boat. As for looks, Kevlar does look pretty cool and for that matter a CF boat would be great looking. Not sure how it would hold up in the sun. This is the first human sized moldless thing I've built and have experience working with glass/cf/kevlar/basalt and a few other odd fabrics.

Hello All, I asked a lot of questions on this forum about gluing foam and a few other bits. Here is why http://www.blueheronkayaks.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=693 . I built a few kayaks using moldless composite techniques. A basic outline of what/how I did it is in the link if you're at all interested. Building the kayaks has made me pretty confident cutting foam and glassing. Maybe time to try something that can fly. Thanks for the help, Kevin

Thanks for all of the suggestions. In the end I took polyurethane glue and diluted the hell out of it with water which also sped up the set time. Mixing the two is akin to getting oil and water to remain together. It works well enough to get the job done. After spreading the diluted glue onto the foam, the stacks of 6 piece blocks were placed into a bag and put under a 28" hg. vac for an hour which applied a lot of even clamp pressure. The diluted glue is more like a bunch of suspended droplets of ploy goo than a continuous film. When cut the disconnected droplets did not form the resistance I spoke of in an earlier post so there were no ridges after cutting.

Thanks guys, The dowels won't be feasible. The finished part is rather complex and only 3/4" thick. It'd be very difficult to place the dowels. I'm pretty familiar with the construction of the hotwired aircraft. The Great Stuff might have the same rub as the poly glue. The poly glue cuts fine but at a different rate than the blue foam. The glue is slower so the foam melts out, has a larger kerf than the glue, so the finished part is rather scalloped or has raised ribs which don't sand out too well. Think of growth rings in soft wood. Keep thinking and searching the brain cells. I appreciate all of the answers to the question. Kevin

Hello All, I have a project (part of a boat hull) where I need to keep several layers of foam together and hotwire the stack. The pieces need to remain together after the cut. The setup requires the adhesive to be cut with minimal interference of the wire. I have used 3M77 spray but it doesn't work too well since the foam surface is not planar. The foam absorbs too much energy for effective clamping. Polyurethane glue holds the foam together fine but doesn't cut very well. Foam billets are not large enough so they are out. I'm hoping the hotwire experts can help. Thanks, Kevin