"Terry" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 6 Jun 2010 12:54:41 -0400, "Ed Huntress"
wrote:

BTW, what's the latest word on vinylester? I haven't seen much about it
recently. R.Q. Riley uses it for his carbon-fiber recumbent bicycle,
because, he says, you can use it with carbon fiber without the need to
vacuum-bag it. Do the rocket guys use vinylester for anything?

I don't know of any rocket guys using vinyl ester. I'm just barely
aware of the product. As I said, most if not all of them use epoxy.
Worth noting: the hobbyists who do high-power rocketry are *not*
necessarily technologically savvy. Some of the best rocket motors and
rockets I've ever seen were constructed by a friend who has a GED and
runs a welding shop in his real job.

Best -- Terry

Aha. Well, working with reinforced materials requires a combination of
technical knowledge and a LOT of hands-on experience. The latter is more
important than the former, so a hobbyist who does a lot of it ought to make
out well in the end.

I love working with it, but part of the satisfaction comes from dealing with
its contrariness. The reason I don't do more is that, so far, I've avoided
becoming sensitized to epoxy, and I want to keep it that way; and the
styrene and other nasties in polyester can make me wheeze after a full day
of working inside of a boat hull. It presents some health hazards when you
work with large quantities.

And then, there is the fact that the day I started working for Ranger (then
owned by Bangor-Punta), a 50-something guy in the shop next door, where they
made Luhrs boats, died from silicosis, after 20 years of working in an
atmosphere of ground fiberglass dust.

--
Ed Huntress