NetHeads, I've been doing a few little fiberglass layups on the canopy frame today, and it occurred to me that I could save a few people some trouble regarding epoxy scales. Way back when I started N56ML, I bought a Pelouze PE5 electronic scale. It worked OK, but had one annoying problem. If you started out pouring slowing, the scale didn't seem to "realize" that the cup on the scale was being filled, and the first 4-8 grams just might not get counted. For large quantities, this was less of a problem, but for small quantities, that's a serious difference in epoxy/hardener ratio. Removing the cup and reweighing an empty one like it became the norm, in an effort to get the mixture right, but it was a pain, and probably led to the occasional mixing error.
While living in England in 2009, I was looking for some kitchen stuff at the local ASDA store, and found a Salter 1019 WHDRAS (no longer made, apparently) for something like 10 GBP (British pounds), which was maybe $16, and therefore a real bargain in my mind. It has a higher range (6.5 pounds) and displays in increments of 1g rather than 2g, but best of all, it works in a more linear fashion and appears to accurately measure the first few grams as well as the last. The ability to measure small quantities can save a lot of epoxy, as well as assure an accurate mixture. I mixed up 13 grams (less than half an ounce) of epoxy for these reinforcing layups I did this morning. After writing the above, I went looking for inexpensive scales on ebay. There are plenty of options, so I picked one with an 11 pound max weight, which measures to .1g. It's $9.99 with free shipping (from China, no doubt). When I receive it I'll report back on how it works... PS...this list used to be famous for all the information that was put forward to further the aircraft homebuilding process. I'm sure there are others out there who have observations or skills that they can share with other list members in order to make homebuilding more efficient and safer. Why not spend a few minutes to put your thoughts "on paper" and spread the knowledge? Mark Langford ML at N56ML.com website at http://www.N56ML.com -------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: scales.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 63482 bytes Desc: not available URL: <http://list.krnet.org/mailman/private/krnet_list.krnet.org/attachments/20130629/6cf5f57c/attachment.jpg>
