Date: Wed, 9 Feb 1994 10:50:21 -1000 From: sasaki@das.harvard.edu (Marty Sasaki) Message-Id: Organization: Harvard University OIT/NSD Subject: Template materials... I was very surprised by the talk about template materials in today's rec.kites postings, because I had a discussion with Mike Dennis last night about templates. For those who don't know, Mike flew as a member of Flight Squadron (other members were Pam Kirk, Paul Hodges, and captain Ron Reich), and worked for Top of the Line. Mike took quite a few kites from prototype to production models while working for TotL. Now Mike and Pam are on their own and do the sewing for me (and others) as Head's Up Kites. I use mostly thick tag board for my patterns. If I am going to do a lot of hot cutting, I will apply aluminum tape (it's thick aluminum foil with a sticky side) to the edges of the templates. This keeps the cardboard from burning. I've also used aluminum flashing for templates with good results as well. It is pretty easy to cut, and holds up to hot and cold cutting well. Make sure and smooth the edges of the flashing, the edges can give nasty cuts (I learned this the hard way). Mike mentioned using Formica for templates. One can often get scraps inexpensively. Formica can burn, so keep the hot knife moving to avoid burns. Mike says that for some kites at TotL tagboard with aluminum tape is the material of choice for templates. One thing to note though, is that TotL hot cuts (or they did when Mike was there) all of the fabric. Some of the templates that he made out of cardboard were used to cut the fabric for hundreds of kites. -- Marty Sasaki Harvard University Sasaki Kite Fabrications sasaki@noc.harvard.edu Network Services Division 26 Green Street 617-496-4320 10 Ware Street Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 Cambridge, MA 02138-4002 phone/fax: 617-522-8546 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Sun, 13 Feb 1994 04:43:25 -1000 From: dickbell@netcom.com (Dick Bell) Message-Id: Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) Subject: Re: Template materials... Marty Sasaki (sasaki@netop3.harvard.edu) wrote: stuff deleted : I use mostly thick tag board for my patterns. If I am going to do a : lot of hot cutting, I will apply aluminum tape (it's thick aluminum : foil with a sticky side) to the edges of the templates. This keeps the : cardboard from burning. Marty, The aluminum tape sounds like a good idea. The suggestion also brought to mind that a person could use the copper tape that is used on stained glass. It comes on a roll and is about 3/8 of an inch wide. It should hold up to the heat of hot cutting as it is used to create the solder joints that hold the glass pieces together. Another trick that Spencer Chun of Hawaii taught me. He uses thick tag board and after cutting the pattern out, coats the edges of the board with super glue. It seems to work fine. Later -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dick Bell dbell@lobby.ti.com (work) dickbell@netcom.com (home) Dallas, Texas = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Wed, 16 Feb 1994 09:13:28 -1000 From: tds@eschi.cray.com (Timothy Sirianni {x66452 CF/DEV}) Message-Id: <1994Feb16.131328.8174@ned.cray.com> Organization: Cray Research, Inc. Subject: Re: Template materials... In article , dickbell@netcom.com (Dick Bell) writes: > > Marty, The aluminum tape sounds like a good idea. The suggestion also > brought to mind that a person could use the copper tape that is used on > stained glass. It comes on a roll and is about 3/8 of an inch wide. It > should hold up to the heat of hot cutting as it is used to create the > solder joints that hold the glass pieces together. Another trick that > Spencer Chun of Hawaii taught me. He uses thick tag board and after cutting > the pattern out, coats the edges of the board with super glue. It seems > to work fine. Later > -- Has anyone had problems with heating super glue? The chemical name includes the word cyanide, and I wonder about the effects of heating it. I was working on building my own night kite lights by first glueing LEDs to some dacron tape, and then soldering wires to the leads to make the electrical connections. After a few minutes of doing this, I became light-headed. I believe (but have not bothered to prove) that this was a minor case of cyanide poisoning. Has anyone else had such an experience? Would passing a hot knife past the edge of a piece of tagboard coated with super glue liberate cyanide? -- ============================================================================= Tim Sirianni, Cray Research, Inc., 900 Lowater Road, Chippewa Falls WI 54729 Corporate Computing and Networks, tds@cray.com, (715) 726-6452, Fax 726-6713 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Thu, 17 Feb 1994 06:14:26 -1000 From: sasaki@das.harvard.edu (Marty Sasaki) Message-Id: Organization: Harvard OIT Network Services Subject: Re: Template materials... In article <1994Feb16.131328.8174@ned.cray.com> tds@eschi.cray.com (Timothy Sirianni {x66452 CF/DEV}) writes: >Has anyone had problems with heating super glue? The chemical name includes the >word cyanide, and I wonder about the effects of heating it. I was working on >building my own night kite lights by first glueing LEDs to some dacron tape, and >then soldering wires to the leads to make the electrical connections. After a >few minutes of doing this, I became light-headed. I believe (but have not >bothered to prove) that this was a minor case of cyanide poisoning. Not to worry, it is not cyanide in the fumes. However, the fumes are not good for you. Gases released from burning or heating are rarely good to you (chicken soup is the exception! ;-) Some people are also allergic to the fumes given off by the glue itself. The bottom line is to work in a well ventilated area. Using a vapor mask is probably a good idea as well... -- Marty Sasaki Harvard University Sasaki Kite Fabrications sasaki@noc.harvard.edu Network Services Division 26 Green Street 617-496-4320 10 Ware Street Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 Cambridge, MA 02138-4002 phone/fax: 617-522-8546 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Sat, 19 Feb 1994 17:49:16 -1000 From: johnsen@eskimo.com (Brian Johnsen) Message-Id: Organization: Captain Pugets Roadside Taco Stand Subject: Re: Template materials... In article <1994Feb16.131328.8174@ned.cray.com>, Timothy Sirianni {x66452 CF/DEV} wrote: >Has anyone had problems with heating super glue? The chemical name >includes the word cyanide, and I wonder about the effects of heating it. [ ] >few minutes of doing this, I became light-headed. I believe (but have not >bothered to prove) that this was a minor case of cyanide poisoning. > >Has anyone else had such an experience? Would passing a hot knife past the >edge of a piece of tagboard coated with super glue liberate cyanide? >============================================================================= >Tim Sirianni, Cray Research, Inc., 900 Lowater Road, Chippewa Falls WI 54729 >Corporate Computing and Networks, tds@cray.com, (715) 726-6452, Fax 726-6713 The Cyanoacrylate Esthers used in nearly all the 'Super Glues' are (I _believe_) are fairly tightly bound molecules. They won't disassociate at near room temperatures or with a hot knife at <= 200 deg or so. You are probably getting Methyl Ethyl Ketone vapors or some other product of the bonding reaction with either Oxygen or H2O (I don't remember which atmospheric component drives that reaction once it's out of the tube). I wouldn't try BURNING it with an open flame in a closed area, but if it's on your kite, the resulting plastic byproducts are probably just as nasty. Sodium and Chlorine can mess a person up pretty bad by themselves, but if you mix them together just right you get table salt. Work in a well ventilated area? -- I'm NOT a chemist and I don't know anyone who plays one on TV. -- Brian Johnsen johnsen@eskimo.com = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =