filleting bags

I've done alot of filleting on my Peeler project so far and more to come. They came out so-so, mainly because I always have trouble with the plastic bags behaving. I've tried the 1 gal and 1 quart variety,, they both have their moments of good and bad. The worst time was when the ziplock popped open and most of the epoxy ended up on the floor of the boat in a big puddle.

This morning I was at Walmart and they had disposable cake decorating bags. 16" tapered heavy plastic bags with the funnel tapered tip still sealed so you can snip off what you want and a nice wide filling end to fill. I can hardly wait to try them. For $5 it's worth a try. They suggest not filling more than half full.

Has anyone else tried these?  Thanks, Ken.


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RE: filleting bags

I meant to add, there were 12 bags for $5   

RE: filleting bags

   I used that same kind of cake decorating bags on my dory and they worked great. I even used the little plastic tip that came with them, it makes for a more predictable flow than trying to always snip the same sized hole in the corner of a ziploc bag.  

Here is what worked best to fill and seal these things:

To fill, twist the bag right behind the plastic tip so nothing can get out the tip.   Then put the bag in an old soup can, kind of like a trash can liner bag in a trash can, with the bag folding over the edge of the can.  Now you can use both hands to scoop your epoxy into the nice wide mouth of the bag.  

To seal, continue with the trash can analogy:  pull up the bag edge, squeeze out the air, twist it, and tie the twist.  First i tried to tie a knot in it, but that's too hard.  A small binder clip (the kind that holds papers together, you can get them at Staples) works great to seal the twist. I suppose a baggie tie would work also.

 

RE: filleting bags

while i realize that your question focused on filleting bags, you seemed to indicate the problem may have been that you weren't happy with the results of your fillet.

i wanted to suggest that a good looking fillet is as much as how you approach creating a clean and consistent radius to your fillet as how you get your material to the fillet location (e.g., with a bag).

that said, if you want a real clean fillet, masking the edges of the fillet in advance is an approach that makes a big difference in getting a clean result and also makes the process less sensitive to any problem in getting the fillet material to the right place (like a problem with the bag).

if you have not tried masking the edges of the fillet, give that a try.  take the radius you want and set the masking tape a millimeter to the outside of it.  after running your filleting tool and getting a smooth radius, and excess should be sitting on the tape (not on the wood).  let it get a little hard (but not fully cured) and pull the masking tape away.  you will be very happy with the results.

howard

 

RE: filleting bags

   Here is a brief outline of how I fillet and am very happy with the results.  Tape off boundaries of the filleted area.  Mix  hardner, epoxy and thickener in a 7 x 7 freezer zip lock bag.  Lay the bag on a table and with a 1 inch diameter dowel squish the mixture to one side of the bag.  Snip off a corner of the bag and squeeze out mixture.  Shape the fillet the best you can with a curved filleting tool.  Finally, dip a 1" paint brush in acetone and smooth out the fillet.  Keep wetting the tip of the brush with acetone.  You will be amazed at how nicely you can move and shape and smooth out the fillet.

As a note, I stuff the zip lock bag into a 12 oz cup and place them on a "weight watchers scale", .  I measure out the ratios of epoxy and hardener using the scale and dump in a predetermined cup or two of thickener.  I zip up the bag and mix the contents in the bag then snip off the corner and start filleting. 

 

RE: filleting bags

   I've also found that a rubber kitchen spatula (either an old one or a cheap one at the dollar store) works great for shaping fillets.  They bend and you can vary the pressure to get the shape you want, particularly good for those places where the angle between boards varies, like as you approach the bow or stern.  Also great for scraping up excess filleting material from the masking tape. 

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