Epoxy Surface Plates

[devlin]

I would say yes without having inquired. Cost is the usual issue due to volume. Just not enough people here to have the sort of second hand industrial market that the US either. I did a serious search last year and did find a couple. Unfortunately they were all out of my budget due to either high asking price or shipping from interstate.

[dubrat]

Delvin

I'm in Brissy to and heading down the epoxy route.... Might be able to combine shipping and work together...

I need to get onto it pretty quick as Alex Meade just let me know my fixture is only a week away...

Shoot me a pm

[devlin]

I'll need to hold off for a bit mate. I have another related project on the boil but am also thinking of going down the fabricate my own out of some tooling plate as mentioned by Mike M. Also looking at getting some granite bench rejects/offcuts and having that ground. Need to hunt around and get some costings on all of that though. May end up coming back to the epoxy.

[dubrat]

I met with Lavender composite yesterday and the tooling board they stock is of bad dimensions and very pricey....

[progetto]

I met with Lavender composite yesterday and the tooling board they stock is of bad dimensions and very pricey....

Good to see you are moving forward with your carbon project.

[Mike Mcdermid]

I met with Lavender composite yesterday and the tooling board they stock is of bad dimensions and very pricey....

tolling board and tooling plate completely different things

http://www.performancemetalsaustralia.com.au/ these folks seem to stock stuff of use to framebuilders

http://www.ullrich.com.au/rolled/toolplat.php do tooling plate though not cast as it is in the EU

http://www.buau.com.au/english/b_2656.htm do ground flat stock or gauge plate

http://www.calm-aluminium.com.au/Documents/ATP-5.pdf
http://www.calm-aluminium.com.au

logistics of moving metal from A to B down there is different the UK would probably fit in some of the toilets in Oz

[Kumo Cycles]

Ok Queenslanders.

I just chatted to Luke of Fikas bikes who was planning on making an epoxy surface plate.

He got a tub of the epoxy from a guy in Queensland called Lyle Jacobs of Epoxy Solutions. I also have his mobile number if you need it (PM me)

A tub big enough to do a plate for our purposes was about $150

[devlin]

Thanks Mike, I ahd already seen most of that and have an Ullrich and a Capral dealers nearby. It was more cost keeping me from pursuing those options. I'm more in a quandry on what method I want to concentrate on learning to build with, which is probably what is causing me to procrastinate more than anything. I know, just making excuses.

Cheers for that Keith. I'll make a point to remember if I do an epoxy plate. I should probably get a quote for a tool plate before deciding I suppose.

[Kumo Cycles]

Surface plates can be hard to come across in Australia

White Law Industries up in Queensland are apparently bringing in some good quality steel plates. May be worth giving them a ring

Cost will probably be the issue again I guess.

I have seen some good second hand plates come up. You really have to be persistent (I still haven't found my future surface plate!) Look for things like machining companies upgrading to CNC machines or going out of business. Also university auctions can yield some good gear

[veryredbike]

Epoxy on the way. Going with a wood surface after all (found a bunch of articles on issues of epoxy binding to tile and the pro says it'll be fine). Making the base out of 80/20 and sealing the other faces of the plywood with a nautical epoxy to prevent warping. I'll make a thread on how it works out.

Right now I'm debating if I want to put a bit of epoxy glue (man, epoxy is good for everything ;-) between the 80/20 pieces in case the bolts loosen a bit over time. Probably overkill, might even be counter-productive if it creates a layer that can compress. I always have a hard time resisting overkill though...

[EnginCycles]

Epoxy on the way. Going with a wood surface after all (found a bunch of articles on issues of epoxy binding to tile and the pro says it'll be fine). Making the base out of 80/20 and sealing the other faces of the plywood with a nautical epoxy to prevent warping. I'll make a thread on how it works out.

Right now I'm debating if I want to put a bit of epoxy glue (man, epoxy is good for everything ;-) between the 80/20 pieces in case the bolts loosen a bit over time. Probably overkill, might even be counter-productive if it creates a layer that can compress. I always have a hard time resisting overkill though...

Is there a reason you are not using engineered wood (MDF)? The stuff is WAY flatter and rather strong when applied correctly.

[veryredbike]

Is there a reason you are not using engineered wood (MDF)? The stuff is WAY flatter and rather strong when applied correctly.

The flatness doesn't matter since the surface is self-leveling, and the epoxy surface plate guy recommended just framing up plywood. I'm trying to resist the urge to second guess him on too much, since he's been doing it for a decade. I tend to be a "but what about this? what about THAT?!" kinda guy, and I'm trying to get it in check where appropriate.

[progetto]

Is there a reason you are not using engineered wood (MDF)? The stuff is WAY flatter and rather strong when applied correctly.

For a hobby builder, MDF is perfect, no epoxy required.

[blasdelf]

Is there a reason you are not using engineered wood (MDF)? The stuff is WAY flatter and rather strong when applied correctly.

It'll also add a bunch of nice weight to it on the cheap

[Mike Mcdermid]

The flatness doesn't matter since the surface is self-leveling, and the epoxy surface plate guy recommended just framing up plywood. I'm trying to resist the urge to second guess him on too much, since he's been doing it for a decade. I tend to be a "but what about this? what about THAT?!" kinda guy, and I'm trying to get it in check where appropriate.

Im assuming your planning to do this

TableTopPlate

these are the same things we used to use in F1 only they were mounted to a large (relatively unstable) object called the earth rather than an aluminium core bonded frame (see previous suggestion of optical table)

Super accurate measuring machines are made in a similar fashion only upside down where a master surface and ,we are talking flatness of 0.00001 here between planes as opposed to level in however many metres (theres a difference between what is perceived for precision as level and flatness) is used and the epoxy replicates the surface, this allows inserts to be inserted at the pouring stage and means you can mass produce accuracy and low micron surface finishes cheaply and without the skills involved in scraping in surfaces

I still wonder why you need something so accurate to build a few bicycle frames on

[veryredbike]

Im assuming your planning to do this

TableTopPlate

these are the same things we used to use in F1 only they were mounted to a large (relatively unstable) object called the earth rather than an aluminium core bonded frame (see previous suggestion of optical table)

Super accurate measuring machines are made in a similar fashion only upside down where a master surface and ,we are talking flatness of 0.00001 here between planes as opposed to level in however many metres (theres a difference between what is perceived for precision as level and flatness) is used and the epoxy replicates the surface, this allows inserts to be inserted at the pouring stage and means you can mass produce accuracy and low micron surface finishes cheaply and without the skills involved in scraping in surfaces

I still wonder why you need something so accurate to build a few bicycle frames on

I certainly don't NEED anything that accurate! I'm basically doing it for three reasons:

1. It's an interesting construction project that I haven't tried before. I used to be an all computers all the time guy and every time I get practice with new skills (mixing and setting epoxy, and some design in this case) it just makes me really happy.

2. I want some kind of a surface plate, but I want to be able to move it a lot more easily than I could move a granite or cast plate, since I don't have dedicated space.

3. Mine is going to be red, and I'm 10 years old at heart.

So yeah, I could build something fine on plain mdf or a granite countertop... but the combination of a new fun construction project and portability make it worth it to me.

[prolix21]

curious if anyone here tried this yet?

[veryredbike]

Just finished mine. Left the epoxy a bit long at low temp, so there were a few bumps from places I popped bubbles. They were obvious and local, so I sanded those spots below the level of the surface and it went well Seems pretty damned flat. It's on a piece of plywood (sealed with epoxy), bolted to a rectangle of 80/20 reinforced with cross pieces. Relatively light. We'll see how it endures use!

[prolix21]

very cool - how thick did you end up doing your pour? seems like it doesn't need to be that thick.

[Todd Mosley]

what was the cost?