Hi Netters.
I do not care whose brand of epoxy you are using but follow their
recommendations for mixing ratios. Either you are going to measure by volume
or by weight. Personally , I look at the glue job to be done. I want enough
, never too little but now away too much either. I use plastic syringes for
this work and measure by volume.
I never measure the epoxy resin in one container and the hardener in
another.That is asking for trouble. You cannot get all of the one into the
other without leaving some on the side walls etc of one of the containers.
If the glue job looks like a 25 ml/cc of resin then it is put into a fresh
container. If the manufacturer wants a 1 to 1 by volume then I know that I
will use 25 ml/cc of hardener . Measure it and add it on top of the resin
then mix. I use a different sized syringe for resin and for hardener. This
warns me not to mix them up. I have cut off and opened up the ends of the
syringes for easy fluid flow when filling the syringes. When not in use each
syringe hangs over its own can to catch any drips.
A different mixing ratio of say, 3 to 1 is mathematically easy to do. 30
ml/cc resin to
10 ml/cc hardener.
The density of the epoxy and of the hardener is not the same. Thus if you
are going to mix by weight the required ratios might as someone mentioned be
100 weights of resin to 83 weights of hardener. Out with the multi beam
balance or nicer yet a digital balance (= or - 0.1gram). You pour enough
resin into container on the left pan with an identical container on the
right pan. Weigh it. It turned out to be 42.8 g.
Out with the calculator and we have 83 x 42.8 divided by 100 =35.5 grams
hardener.
If you have a tare weight adjustment you can zero the scale and add hardener
to the 35.5 gram weight but what if you over run the 35.5 mark? By the time
you stopped pouring to weighed 37.1 grams? That is 1.6 grams too much
hardener. So you should add 100 x 1.6 divided by 83 = 1.9 grams more resin.
Be careful or you will overcontrol and start the yoyo effect again. There is
nothing wrong with mixing by weight. If you are using the very thick , 3M
product "Scotch Weld", you must do it by weight and the ratio is weird.
You can purchase different sized syringes at a Drug store, a Farm or
Veterinary supply store, hobby shop etc. Cut the ends or drill the end out
to a suitable size.
If you are careful the syringes will last a long time.
Sorry if this got too long.
Regards,
Harold Woods.
Orillia, ON. Canada.
haroldwo...@rogers.com
