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Fibreglass Tape Question

PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 10:55 am
by GRM
Hi,

Is the fibreglass tape to used for protecting the underside of an AXN or Bixler etc - just the tape used by plasterers in joing plasterboard ? I was looking for some today at the local hardware and that's what I found - but it looks quite open weave - matrix structure. Not what I was expecting to see.

Geoff

Re: Fibreglass Tape Question

PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 5:45 pm
by theeurofoxy
no its slightly different stuff, the stuff bruce talks about is a re-enforced tape with lines running the length of the tape, i presume what you have is structure tape.
the stuff bruce uses will be very sticky whereas the stuff you use only has a mild stickiness as its only supposed to stay on while you plaster over it,
but i used some on the underside of my axn, but and i will say this is a must, don't rely on it alone it needs something like hot glue or epoxy to give it the strength it needs, and also it needs the glue to fill in the holes otherwise you will end up taking a lot of mud home with you....just like me...
as what i did was, epoxy the nose and a bit along the bottom then used this structure tape as its called here on the bottom and hot glue as i had run out of epoxy, to keep it in place, now if my axn lands somewhere muddy i end up bringing a lot of it home with me...

Re: Fibreglass Tape Question

PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:42 pm
by pldb64
Here is what i've used - works as adverstised by Bruce

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... oduct=5719

Re: Fibreglass Tape Question

PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2012 1:36 am
by GRM
pldb64 wrote:Here is what i've used - works as adverstised by Bruce

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... oduct=5719


Thank you both !

Re: Fibreglass Tape Question

PostPosted: Tue May 01, 2012 4:48 am
by quarry44
If you have a large home depot type store near you,or bunnings in oz/nz,they have this tape in 2"wide rolls.
Sticks like sh*t to a blanket.I think I paid $13 nz for a large roll.

Re: Fibreglass Tape Question

PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2012 3:45 am
by heliplanes
That "filament" tape is great. I use it on all my planes. The leading edge of the wings and simply dead center of each wing from fuse to tip. It's a great stiffener. Grab a piece of long styrofoam and stick a piece of the tape lengthwise both sides, then try to bend it, it's amazing.

One thing we've discovered (and I've never heard of anyone doing this before) Buy some ordinary brown paper from any supermarket. Then mix a very week mixture of white PVC wood glue (Aquadhere) and water (about 8 to one) paint your foam with the mixture and stick the brown paper to it. Let it dry and Bingo, you can actually bend your foam and it won't snap. Just ensure you bend with the paper outside of the foam. Don't force it too fast and it's possible to actually bend the foam in half.

Imagine getting your scratch built planes with main wings made out of one piece of foam. One side flat and place a strip of foam just behind where you want to bend it (the leading edge) and bend the other half over the strip and glue the edges together where they meet (the trailing edge).. Let it dry and sand down the trailing edge until you're satisfied it looks like a wing. Glue a hand cut piece of foam over the outer end Glue a length of carbon fiber or dowel rod between the top and bottom, the length of the wing and finish off with another piece of foam for the other end. I'll leave the mounting of the wing to the fuse to you. The small group I'm part of have tried this and the strength of the wing is unbelievable.

Yes the brown paper will stretch to allow the bend and taking it slowly will make sure it doesn't rip or the foam snap. If you get it wrong just bend it the right way. We passed the covered piece around and we must have bent it over 100 times and although the foam got a bit soft it never broke or ripped the paper. We honestly couldn't believe it would work as well as it did. We only discovered it when one of the group's daughter said she wanted a home made plane but she wanted a gold one. He couldn't paint the foam with the gold paint he had so he tried the paper. Whilst we were having a cuppa he was playing around with the foam offcut and he noticed it didn't snap when he folded it. Without realising it he'd invented a new way to build a wing.

I really hope someone tries this for themselves. If you do, let me know what you think. Oh! nearly forgot, ordinary brown wrapping paper, not greaseproof paper

Re: Fibreglass Tape Question

PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2012 6:33 am
by quarry44
Brown paper as a covering material has been around since adam was a lad,so I regret it's not the new greatest thing your friend has invented.also,brown paper is quite heavy,especially when glued on with pva-type glues.On the pro side,it's as cheap as chips,and much more user friendly than the old tissue and dope method.In any case,you can't use dope on a foam wing,it'll turn your wing into a pile of goop.
way back I made a Mosquito using blue urethane foam,and covered it with brown paper.It's impossible to fit the brown paper around a compound curve,you end up with a wrinkle.On the upside,once painted,the wrinkles are not noticeable,unless you know where to look.
Incidentally,I do use greaseproof paper over my plan when building a wood plane,it stops the plane being glued to the workbench:)

Re: Fibreglass Tape Question

PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2012 6:45 am
by cynr100
Hi quarry44,you need to catchup with heliplanes he has a Canadair in his fleet :D

Re: Fibreglass Tape Question

PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2012 10:07 am
by TacoRC
I had a hard time finding filament tape, but found it at Staples office store.

Re: Fibreglass Tape Question

PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2012 7:47 pm
by quarry44
he has a Canadair in his fleet :D

I haven't even flown mine yet! :oops: