Thrifty Alternatives ..Building Foam Campers

[GPW]

I can think of no better destructive testing than Flying the sample ... and crashing ...


As far as it drying inside ... who knows ? ... just gotta’ give it time (and I think even more time in my humid climate ) .... for attaching canvas , it’d dry very quickly ... I did notice the EPP test sample was impossible to separate ... lots of Air already in that (you can blow into it and hear the air coming through) so maybe why it dried so quick ... The extremely slick finish of the meat trays, plus maybe a little chicken fat , may be why the Gripper is a little slower on that.

[Corwin C]

Where do you find Flint ??? .... No rocks around here.... (all mud)

I'm afraid that you're going to have to find a rock somewhere ...

"Flint" in this application is actually any durable edge which is significantly harder than the steel that you strike against it. The flint shaves a tiny piece of the metal away which oxidizes and makes the spark. There are crystals in some granite that are hard enough (perhaps a piece of broken countertop?) I would try things that you already have, an old grinding stone (don't beat on one that will EVER get put back on a grinder), a piece of quartz, some glasses are hard/durable enough (antique glass electrical insulator). In my neck of the woods, the hard part is finding a suitable steel, obsidian can be found by looking down and taking a few steps. Tool steels seem to be too hard, I have the best luck with spring steel, mild steel needs heat treatment, but can work if properly prepared. Also, In my experience, it seems that the metal/stone combination is important to making it work. Some stones work with one steel while with another it doesn't do anything. If you use char cloth, even the tiniest spark will work. Find a place out of sunlight to test, sometimes that spark is hard to see.

[GPW]

Corwin , for me, somebody that has no rocks around , that sounds complicated ... Obsidian ... “Dragon Glass” , volcanic glass ... I’d Love to get my hands on some of that... You Lucky guy !!! if I lived there I’d be searching for all kinds of interesting rocks and gemstones too ...
And speaking of glass , there’s always the old reliable magnifying glass, old geezers like me always carry one to read the “fine print” ... Gotta’ start your fire in the daytime and on a sunny day , but then a sunny day is best for Camping huh ?? Unless you’re like Eagle , who always seems to get rained on ... .....

[eaglesdare]

How true!

[GPW]

Eagle , what you cooking for Easter dinner... ? Everybody here is having a Crawfish boil , so I cooked a Turkey ... Crawfish and Chocolate just ain’t happening for me ... ecch !!!

[razzer]

I finally read the whole thread . I just celebrated by having a cup of coffee . It's really nice to see how the foamies are standing the test of time . I'm really surprised that some people are having trouble accepting Foam as a structural material . I mean after all they have been using foam panels for walls for at least 20 years . For foundations about the same time . And of course in boats and airplanes . And of course the space shuttle tank . And then there's the canvas skin which has been used on boats for thousands of years , on a few cars and notably on high speed airplanes and in tents of course . I'm confused that people can't see how a foamie can hold up to highway speeds yet think nothing of a airplane made of thin wood sticks and canvas going hundreds of mph . I know people here understand that foamies work , this is just some more back up for you when someone tells you your trailer is going to fall apart .

Anyway I've just started aultralighte foamie bicycle trailer this weekend . " VeryThrifty " lots of recycled materials . About time .

[wagondude]

Where do you find Flint ??? .... No rocks around here.... (all mud)

They sell it at the Boy Scout Scout Shop. But I can get it for free just a couple of hours south and west of here in the Flint Hills. http://www.google.com/search?q=Flint+Hi ... 34#imgrc=_
Lots of pictures. When they do the annual burn, the smoke haze makes it all the way into Missouri. to add to what Corwin said, we recycle old garage door springs to make the striker.

[Mary C]

Razzer read the whole thread!!!!! congratulations Now you understand !!!!

Not to cut it short but I am really proud of myself I put the HF trailer together by myself and finished putting on the last nut today 11 N ow my build will begin in ernest. Actually in the barn , yard, and in front of the house. I am getting very busy. I am going to have help wiring it up.

time for my

Mary C.

[Jack B.]

Okay. I musta blinked or something because I'm a bit lost on the whole gripper thing. Is it a paint or is it a glue of some kind? Brand name, trademark or something for when I go looking for the stuff 'cause it sounds amazing. Might have to use it to fill in the MN rust holes in my Caravan this spring. Not to mention trying to get the hair to stay on the top of my head.

But seriously, what did I miss in the 'splainin'' part Lucy?

Jack

[razzer]

Look up Glidden Gripper paint JB .

[GPW]

Razz, Congratulations , You’re now an Official Foamling !!!

Jack , it’s a Primer ...

[bonnie]

:awesome: Razzer read the whole thread!!!!! congratulations Now you understand !!!!

Not to cut it short but I am really proud of myself I put the HF trailer together by myself and finished putting on the last nut today 11 N ow my build will begin in ernest. Actually in the barn , yard, and in front of the house. I am getting very busy. I am going to have help wiring it up.

time for my

Mary C.

Way to go! Glad that parts finished.

[bonnie]

Okay. I musta blinked or something because I'm a bit lost on the whole gripper thing. Is it a paint or is it a glue of some kind? Brand name, trademark or something for when I go looking for the stuff 'cause it sounds amazing. Might have to use it to fill in the MN rust holes in my Caravan this spring. Not to mention trying to get the hair to stay on the top of my head.

But seriously, what did I miss in the 'splainin'' part Lucy?

Jack

It's a primer that is pretty awesome. I picked up a quart to experiment with. Bought mine at HD. Made by Glidden.

[Mary C]

I will play with pictures tonight and see if I can get them on and shrunk and then learn how to put them in the reply (Here) and I will start a proper build thread. Thanks Bonnie just a little milestone.

Mary C.

[Mary C]

Jack B. I think if you go to page 8 or 9 of the glue post you will find info and a u tube video regarding glues the people have duplicated those experiments here in the big thread in various ways the stiro wars video puts it all together. that part is in this thread somewhere earlier on I don't think anyone on here has really played and experimented with the Gripper to any extent , I hope they do cause I am planning to use it to put my sides on instead of GG (gorilia Glue) I cant stand it, I keep thinking of a sculpture of a horse that got broken and I stupidly used GG I didn't know it would foam up and the thing was ruined by the time I got back to it. I was sickI used it on a piece of wood and the thing blew up and I lost 20 worth of wood in my little wood project. others swear by it but not me I hate the mess.

GPW how did that experiment of your Gripper coming along? inquiring minds want to know.

Mary C.