Re: Spreaders [Rog]
\Rog reported on his latest "opportunity":
>Got down to Vallejo last week and the spreaders on the 2-30 had decided to
>split. Glad that didn't happen underway!
Sorry to hear about the split, and glad you didn't lose anything more than
the spreaders. Really glad!
>So I am building new ones out of carbon fiber with a marine plywood core.
But of course you are! We have learned to expect nothing less.
>I will vacuum infuse them today and
>will report back on how that process went. The resin I am using is an
>experimental infusion resin from System Three. Very long open time and so
it
>will be a couple of days before these go in the oven for the post cure.
>Anyway, it should be interesting and fun and since I have a lot of extra
>carbon fiber, this is a good way to clear some of it off my racks.
Interesting and fun indeed, not to mention informative. It's funny, but I
tend to think of reinforcing fibers as having strength in strain, but not
compression. I take it from this application that carbon works in
compression as well, right? I'm guessing that you have to have lay up the
fibers in layers of different directions to keep things stable, right? And
I'm also curious about the difference in weight aloft. I'd guess that the
original spruce is less dense than the carbon/resin/plywood would be, but
I'm also guessing that the high-tech replacement is also a lot stronger and
thus gives you the opportunity to make a spreader with less volume, making
the weight the same or less than the originals. Am I close?
>Has anyone else replaced spreaders on a 2-30?
Just a WAG here, but I'm betting that nobody has done it with carbon fiber
yet..
>Progress report will follow.
We're counting on it! With pictures, please!
>\Rog
>Cal 29+ #1
>Swiss Navy
>Cal 2-30 #77
>St. Lori's Comet
Alfred Poor
1969 Cal 29 #132, "Pentaquod"