I wonder if you can glue it up with dap weldwood contact cement. I just wonder if that will hold up over time. They say Nylon is hard to glue properly because it is slick, so I guess you gotta sand the glue joint first.
surffoils, school us please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please answer my top 4 questions from above.
1/. The first question is not about the material but the way you're going to join the pieces together. If you can't get the right glue, no material will stay permanently joined, so the glue is the first step before you look for material. I use PA 5000 which is a two part glue that may be called something else in other countries. If you can get PA 5000 let me know and I'll tell you the rest, otherwise I'm wasting hours to type and guide you to build something that's just a casual interest for you.
2/. Dont stretch the fabric when you join them together and then use a flat metal roller to expel any air bubbles.
Check the pics I posted above.
3/. Yes the I- beams create the pontoons. As many as you like. Very easy to do. The only way to get a good looking mat, is the same way to get anything that looks perfect, lots of time and patience to get it right , the better your skills the better the mat. I measure everything out and draw out the positioning down to the millimetre. If you want to make out standing mats you have to take a lot of care.
4/. The I-beams have a gap at one or both ends depending on how quickly you want the air inside to move around.
the very first thing is to source a materials and glue supplier and then test what works with the glue you have. Follow the directions.
With material... " waterproof" isn't what you want, it needs to be 'AIR - proof', some ripstops material is waterproof but is also "breathable" so when you inflate it the air escapes through thousands of tiny holes. Do a Google for local material sellers and see if they will send you samples, some sent me metres and metres, others sent me little squares, and then check the samples for suitability.
the best place to source a glue is a local inflatable boat builder, they glue the panels together so see if you can buy some glue and don't forget to look for the importers name on the drum. My local boat guy sells the glue to me for $90 per litre... The importer sells it to me for $90 for 4 litres.
Monkstar, no problem at all, there's a fair bit more to come and I'm happy to share what I know. Some things you will have to learn by actually doing it, but it's not hard.
Poser516, the I beams are connected to both the top and bottom sides of the mat, when the mat is inflated the I beams stop the mat from blowing up into a sphere, the I beams can also put rocker and concave into a mat..
It took me months to find the right glue, the PA5000 is what the inflatable boat guys here use to make rescue boats and life rafts, so it is a professional product, so use it properly and its magic. The glue area needs to be cleaned / primed first with one product, then a thin and even layer of glue carefully applied to both sections to be joined and left to dry. Then apply the glue to both surfaces again and then bring them together, accurately, evenly without stretch, and then use a roller to expel any air bubbles without moving the fabric. If you can master this technique, you can make any shape you like. The beauty of using glue is exactly that, you can make any shape, however if you use a heat welding machine then you can only make the shapes of the heat welding machine like straights and 90 degrees corners.
Look closer at the pics above, there's a swallow tail with a pulled in nose and a wide point at half way, you can't get that with a heat welding setup.
if you get a small piece, see if you can suck air thru it.
If you get a big piece, blow it up like a balloon, twist the opening shut and submerge it in a bucket of water. Squeeze the balloon and it will fizz with thousands of air bubbles.
Lots of materials are labelled " waterproof" but aren't suitable. In the end you have to check each sample. I get my material from a place called Bainbridge International, it's about 200 metres away and they supply material for sailing, weatherproofing vinyl, inflatable jumping castles, all colours all weights, about $10 a metre length by 2metres wide.
The glue has never failed. Ive tried other glues and they do fail.
If you can't find that brand name in Cali then go to your local inflatable boat builder and tell him what you're doing and ask if you can buy some of the glue he uses. Or first, just ask what glue he uses and he might tell you the name and then Google search for that.
Like I said, it's probably under a different name in another country. You're going to need to be resourceful and use a bit of guile and cunning.
Google " inflatabe boat glue", search for a maker of those huge inflatable gorillas they use for advertising or inflatable jumping castles, call up a retailer who sells inflatable boats and say you have one that needs a repair. Google "waterproof glues" and "adhesive importers", or "two part PVC glue". Like I said, it took me months to find the right glue.
For a while I was using the double sided tape they use to make yacht sails, its good but not as good as the glue.
The air vents can be ordered from a company in Germany, but I told them I was a river raft company looking to source a new supplier so they sent me 100 for free.
.
.
Google 'guile' and be that.
well said monkstar. well said!
I wonder if it's 200 denier poly coated nylon fabric. I think most of the fabrics are nylon.
you can buy that stuff here http://www.seattlefabrics.com/nylons.html#200%20D%20ctd. It's on sale from that website, but i'm not buying any yet.
I wonder if you can glue it up with dap weldwood contact cement. I just wonder if that will hold up over time. They say Nylon is hard to glue properly because it is slick, so I guess you gotta sand the glue joint first.
surffoils, school us please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please answer my top 4 questions from above.
1/. The first question is not about the material but the way you're going to join the pieces together. If you can't get the right glue, no material will stay permanently joined, so the glue is the first step before you look for material. I use PA 5000 which is a two part glue that may be called something else in other countries. If you can get PA 5000 let me know and I'll tell you the rest, otherwise I'm wasting hours to type and guide you to build something that's just a casual interest for you.
2/. Dont stretch the fabric when you join them together and then use a flat metal roller to expel any air bubbles.
Check the pics I posted above.
3/. Yes the I- beams create the pontoons. As many as you like. Very easy to do. The only way to get a good looking mat, is the same way to get anything that looks perfect, lots of time and patience to get it right , the better your skills the better the mat. I measure everything out and draw out the positioning down to the millimetre. If you want to make out standing mats you have to take a lot of care.
4/. The I-beams have a gap at one or both ends depending on how quickly you want the air inside to move around.
the very first thing is to source a materials and glue supplier and then test what works with the glue you have. Follow the directions.
With material... " waterproof" isn't what you want, it needs to be 'AIR - proof', some ripstops material is waterproof but is also "breathable" so when you inflate it the air escapes through thousands of tiny holes. Do a Google for local material sellers and see if they will send you samples, some sent me metres and metres, others sent me little squares, and then check the samples for suitability.
the best place to source a glue is a local inflatable boat builder, they glue the panels together so see if you can buy some glue and don't forget to look for the importers name on the drum. My local boat guy sells the glue to me for $90 per litre... The importer sells it to me for $90 for 4 litres.
Thanks for taking the time to write that out. I appreciate it.
Send me your dinged, damaged, and yellowed.
BackyardBullard.com
tryin to source the glue.
so hanging a rectangular I beam from the deck, inside of the mat, creates that pontoon look?
Monkstar, no problem at all, there's a fair bit more to come and I'm happy to share what I know. Some things you will have to learn by actually doing it, but it's not hard.
Poser516, the I beams are connected to both the top and bottom sides of the mat, when the mat is inflated the I beams stop the mat from blowing up into a sphere, the I beams can also put rocker and concave into a mat..
It took me months to find the right glue, the PA5000 is what the inflatable boat guys here use to make rescue boats and life rafts, so it is a professional product, so use it properly and its magic. The glue area needs to be cleaned / primed first with one product, then a thin and even layer of glue carefully applied to both sections to be joined and left to dry. Then apply the glue to both surfaces again and then bring them together, accurately, evenly without stretch, and then use a roller to expel any air bubbles without moving the fabric. If you can master this technique, you can make any shape you like. The beauty of using glue is exactly that, you can make any shape, however if you use a heat welding machine then you can only make the shapes of the heat welding machine like straights and 90 degrees corners.
Look closer at the pics above, there's a swallow tail with a pulled in nose and a wide point at half way, you can't get that with a heat welding setup.
thanks surffoils.
Do you ever use thermoplastic polyurethane coated nylon?
Will that glue stick to that?
How do you tell if a material is "airproof" once you get the material sample in the mail?
Yes
yes
if you get a small piece, see if you can suck air thru it.
If you get a big piece, blow it up like a balloon, twist the opening shut and submerge it in a bucket of water. Squeeze the balloon and it will fizz with thousands of air bubbles.
Lots of materials are labelled " waterproof" but aren't suitable. In the end you have to check each sample. I get my material from a place called Bainbridge International, it's about 200 metres away and they supply material for sailing, weatherproofing vinyl, inflatable jumping castles, all colours all weights, about $10 a metre length by 2metres wide.
Are you in Australia?
A mat should cost about $20 to make.
good advice surfoils, good advice.
Do your mats hold up over time or do the glue joints fail?
i'm in california.
What do you use for your air vent?
man, i can't find that PA5000 anywhere on the interweb. how can it not be on the INTERWEB?
The glue has never failed. Ive tried other glues and they do fail.
If you can't find that brand name in Cali then go to your local inflatable boat builder and tell him what you're doing and ask if you can buy some of the glue he uses. Or first, just ask what glue he uses and he might tell you the name and then Google search for that.
Like I said, it's probably under a different name in another country. You're going to need to be resourceful and use a bit of guile and cunning.
Google " inflatabe boat glue", search for a maker of those huge inflatable gorillas they use for advertising or inflatable jumping castles, call up a retailer who sells inflatable boats and say you have one that needs a repair. Google "waterproof glues" and "adhesive importers", or "two part PVC glue". Like I said, it took me months to find the right glue.
For a while I was using the double sided tape they use to make yacht sails, its good but not as good as the glue.
The air vents can be ordered from a company in Germany, but I told them I was a river raft company looking to source a new supplier so they sent me 100 for free. . . Google 'guile' and be that.
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