I got the GPO-3 fiberglass sheet from Online Metals dot com. I hoped to substitute it for the more expensive G-10. Looks like it worked. It is smooth like G-10 though in the picture above it looks rough.
This 2 foot by 2 foot sheet was $10. Picked it up myself. Compare to same size G-10 at McMaster Carr at $47 plus some $20 shipping.
The red probably means it is phenolic. Both of these are fire resistant.
The panel looks like it was made with chopper gun, but it will be used for low load applications, so no worry.
They did used to be a friendly neighborhood supplier. They have been bought by Thyssen Krupp and have a new corporate bureaucracy feel now. Good prices though.
VHB tape is wonderful stuff to stick things together. It was created for attaching windows to things, with no fasteners. However, I just had an illustrative example of when not to use it.
I was very impressed with the VHB tape on the lunar lander dome. It had a steel frame to stick to. Straight and smooth.
Maybe out of inertia, I also put it on the little triangular windows of the lunar lander. Later I realized the tape looked too wide on those tiny windows and I vowed to trim it back when I bought a tall enough ladder to reach.
I got the ladder. It turned out that all I had to do was push a bit and the windows folded back in. So I could then remove the tape.
Two lessons. For VHB tape to work well, the contact surface must be both flat and smooth. Many of you can do that. I seem to not have that skill nor ability in hard to reach places.
The second lesson is the VHB tape must be kept dry. Due to no ladder, I could not protect it with my caulk.
My triangular windows are now stopped in and bedded with caulk. The caulk can span the sketchy surface and gaps.
If you can do and flat, fair and smooth contact surface, go for it. If not, use adhesive caulk, like the System 3, two part polyurethane.
In contrast, I have a solar powered motion light stuck above the front door. It was stuck on with a couple of strips of VHB tape. Turns out the light is defective and won’t work. I not only can’t remove it, I can hang from it. And swing. Gonna take a chisel maybe.
I always thought it was the best sailing magazine in the world. Even in newsprint, many issues were keepers. Especially Lee Helm.
Then Richard built one of my 63 cats and has sailed it more than any 10 normal people. And he does amazing things with it.
I understand that it will keep on much the same. http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2016-10-17#.WAVmsdQrIQW
Online Metals oddly has one of the nicest plastics surveys I’ve seen. I keep bugging them to carry G-10, but not yet. They do have a GPO 3 which sounds similar to G-10.. I will have to get some and see. http://www.onlinemetals.com/productguides/plasticguide.cfm
I’ve been modeling and producing shop drawings for this little unit for several years now. it looks like they might be in production soon. The idea is to be as simple to operate as possible for beginners. More details as I learn them.
One of my customers in Hawaii has started a dialog with his senator about the recent pointless dificulties with the USCG MSC in Washington DC. If any of you in the biz have any suggestions-
Contact is:
Will Rogers
Military Legislative Assistant
Office of Senator Brian Schatz
722 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3934
Will_Rogers@schatz.senate.gov
www.schatz.senate.gov
I am a big believer in how a congressman can change the USCG after how in the early 90s I worked with Rep. John Miller to get the USCG to adopt a design rule. A few days later the second in command at the USCG MSC was in my office. We got a rule for catamarans. I think the story is here in the blog somewhere from long ago.
Guys, thanks for the positive response.
Slammed with deadlines right now but will soon track down a reliable way to make them instead of me and an iron. Also have to find a wholesale shirt seller. Soon.
