Epoxies, West and Raka and....
When I used West epoxy in the past on a lapstrake canoe using 4mm
plywood, it was a bit thickish. Putting stakes together was a cinch.
After wetting out, a bit of the white stuff added to the mix made it
all go together fine. The epoxy mix (resin to hardener) was special,
I think 5:2 or 1 or so..and I used their hand pumps which made the
job easy. For all its goodness though, West was pricey, yet
since only a gallon was needed, the 'best' was good enough.
For Bolger's Chebacco, some 10 gallons are needed and shopping around
is prudent. Nay... for a Bolgeresque / Payson approach it is
mandatory.
I'm currently testing RAKA epoxy sold out of Delray Beach, Florida.
It is a 2:1 mix and I think thinner than West. Using small samples,
I've put together wood pieces (pine, and some cedar with inherent
oils that should cause problems but haven't) with thickeners of
various sorts and they held as well as with West -- the wood breaks
before the joint itself. RAKA is substantially less costly than West
or any other that I've come across, such as MAS.
Yet it seems that with RAKA, with its thinner makeup, I'll be using
more fillers if not more epoxy than with West if I'm to get the
requisite peanut butter consistency that some joints and filleting
require.
I've read Reuel Parker who thinks (in his Sharpie book) that all
epoxies are essentially the same: they're from Shell or some similar
petrochemical giant and are just packaged a bit differently by
the various epoxy companies.
Do you Bolgerites have feelings about the pros and cons
on RAKA vs. West vs. MAS and vs. all the other epoxies that are out
there? What say you?
dick burnham
plywood, it was a bit thickish. Putting stakes together was a cinch.
After wetting out, a bit of the white stuff added to the mix made it
all go together fine. The epoxy mix (resin to hardener) was special,
I think 5:2 or 1 or so..and I used their hand pumps which made the
job easy. For all its goodness though, West was pricey, yet
since only a gallon was needed, the 'best' was good enough.
For Bolger's Chebacco, some 10 gallons are needed and shopping around
is prudent. Nay... for a Bolgeresque / Payson approach it is
mandatory.
I'm currently testing RAKA epoxy sold out of Delray Beach, Florida.
It is a 2:1 mix and I think thinner than West. Using small samples,
I've put together wood pieces (pine, and some cedar with inherent
oils that should cause problems but haven't) with thickeners of
various sorts and they held as well as with West -- the wood breaks
before the joint itself. RAKA is substantially less costly than West
or any other that I've come across, such as MAS.
Yet it seems that with RAKA, with its thinner makeup, I'll be using
more fillers if not more epoxy than with West if I'm to get the
requisite peanut butter consistency that some joints and filleting
require.
I've read Reuel Parker who thinks (in his Sharpie book) that all
epoxies are essentially the same: they're from Shell or some similar
petrochemical giant and are just packaged a bit differently by
the various epoxy companies.
Do you Bolgerites have feelings about the pros and cons
on RAKA vs. West vs. MAS and vs. all the other epoxies that are out
there? What say you?
dick burnham