Donek Metal Assembly video

[Donek]

I've posted a video of the asembly process for our metal construction on youtube.



I'll be working on some other videos in the coming weeks.

[big canuck]

Thanks for sharing Sean. Your boards ride awsome.

Kurt

[Loc]

I enjoyed watching, thanks Sean! Can't wait to see future videos

[Snowman]

Thanks Sean, gives us laymen some insight to how it all comes together. It always amazes me how faily uncomplicated the construction process really is.

[corey_dyck]

Great video Sean, thanks a ton for posting!

[scrutton]

Excellent. Are there any potential problems with epoxy curing too fast on the lower layers before you can get the whole assembly into the press?

I love that you use a drill press to mix the epoxy - there's a time saver !

[Donek]

Excellent. Are there any potential problems with epoxy curing too fast on the lower layers before you can get the whole assembly into the press?

I love that you use a drill press to mix the epoxy - there's a time saver !

The resin we use has a pot life of 30 minutes. That means it can't remain in the pot for more than 30 minutes without curing too much. This pot life is largely due to the thermal mass in the cup and the exothermic reaction that takes place. Once it's on the glass in a thin layer the cure time dramatically increases. You'll notice I weighed two cups, but mixed them one at a time. The unmixed cut can sit there for a very long time before you get curing between the two layers. The first cup is down in under 5 to 10 minutes. The entire layup process for a metal board takes about 20 minutes and about 10 for a glass construction board.

Gotta love harbor freight. I think I got that drill press for $29.

[scrutton]

Wow, I didn't think about the cure time increasing once it is out of the pot and on the board. Awesome. Thanks for the info. I do the occasional windsurf epoxy repair work, so I'll remember to get the stuff onto the equipment fast.
Thanks for the info!

[Donek]

Wow, I didn't think about the cure time increasing once it is out of the pot and on the board. Awesome. Thanks for the info. I do the occasional windsurf epoxy repair work, so I'll remember to get the stuff onto the equipment fast.
Thanks for the info!

When you have a lot of resin in the cup it stores heat easily. As it exotherms em-mass the temperature rises. With the increased heat the resin cures faster. It just keeps going out of control. A cup of our resin left alone wil get so hot it boils before it cures. I've heard of fires being started by such things. In a thin layer, heat can't build up since it has to heat the surface it's on and the air it's in contact with.

[Erik J]

Great vid, thank you!

I'm curious about the metal layers built into the board. With the older metal topsheets (not Doneks), metal failure was pretty obvious. Is it possible for the metal to fracture or crease inside the board? If it did, would one know? And would it even matter? I realize with the nature of the way that you are building the board they are much stronger than just metal topsheets - just curious.

BTW, I just sold my Donek freecarve 171 (from 2001) so that I can update my boards - I hated to see it go though. You build a really great "sturdy as all hell" product.

[Donek]

Great vid, thank you!

I'm curious about the metal layers built into the board. With the older metal topsheets, metal failure was pretty obvious. Is it possible for the metal to fracture or crease inside the board? If it did, would one know? And would it even matter? I realize with the nature of the way that you are building the board they are much stronger than just metal topsheets - just curious.

BTW, I just sold my Donek freecarve 171 (from 2001) so that I can update my boards - I hated to see it go though. You build a really great "sturdy as all hell" product.

If the metal cracks, you're likely to see a big crease in the board. So far I have not seen this happen in one of our metals. The failure we have noted and seen in other manufacturers boards as well is bending. Really hard crashes can result in bending the board. Given the brittle nature of the material everyone seems to be scratching their head on that.

[Gecko]

very very very cool thanks for posting that

[tex1230]

forgive my ignorance, but when do the inserts go in? (or are they in that sandwich and you just skipped that part)

[www.oldsnowboards.com]

Thanks Sean, "Most Excellent" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[queequeg]

forgive my ignorance, but when do the inserts go in? (or are they in that sandwich and you just skipped that part)

I was wondering about this too - Were they somehow attached to the core when you put it into the sandwich and then get drilled out later?

Fascinating video - really cool - Thanks for posting!

[Gecko]

I can't speak for how Sean does it but we used to have them attached to the core with the filler/thread saver bolt in place before the core went into the cassette.

[WinterGold]

AMAZING VIDEO - thanks a lot for posting!

[Donek]

forgive my ignorance, but when do the inserts go in? (or are they in that sandwich and you just skipped that part)

They were pressed into the core before it arrived at the lay-up station. Like I said the lay-up is a very small part of the entire process.

[lonbordin]

That video was great... will we see more?

Thanks again.

[Donek]

That video was great... will we see more?

Thanks again.

I'm going to work on a 10 minute shop tour next.

[Donek]

Is that the board I ordered Sean? Would be sick if it is. So cool to see it being constructed even if it's not.

It's actually a board for Bomber's stock.

[powdahbonz]

Really enjoyed that. I'd like to see Bruce and Chris do the same to see how you all whip up our toys.

[Sultan Guy]

Nice video Sean.
I work with composite materials in a very similar way building kayak paddles. We use foam cores, fiberglass, carbon fiber, and epoxy all cured in a press. Maybe we could trade some notes on materials and suppliers?

[terekhov]

thank you, nice video. what's black cloth - and what it's purpose - which surrounds core?

[Scuff]

Great stuff Sean! Thanks for sharing!

[D.T.]

thank you, nice video. what's black cloth - and what it's purpose - which surrounds core?

unidirectional carbon fiber - "provides a little bit of extra snap"

[Donek]

Nice video Sean.
I work with composite materials in a very similar way building kayak paddles. We use foam cores, fiberglass, carbon fiber, and epoxy all cured in a press. Maybe we could trade some notes on materials and suppliers?

Just give me a call some time.

[Donek]

thank you, nice video. what's black cloth - and what it's purpose - which surrounds core?

As DT says there's uni carbon in there. Perhaps your volume was turned down, but I do tell you what each layer is. There's also some black rubber in there. which provides dampening.

[terekhov]

Perhaps your volume was turned down

you know!! sorry, I saw flick in the office - so volume WAS turned down)

[Donek]

you know!! sorry, I saw flick in the office - so volume WAS turned down)

Get back to work!