Resin Infusion of a 16' Flax Fibre & Bio Resin Canoe
Product links ► www.easycomposites.co.uk/lear...
Further information and links ▼
In this composites training video, we continue to explore the topic of more sustainable materials in composites by building a full scale (5m/16') canoe, dubbed the 'Flaxplorer', using flax fibre, balsa wood and an epoxy bio resin using the resin infusion method. The video focusses on the lamination and infusion of the flax and core but includes fitting out the boat with gunwales, seats and yoke.
How to make the mould: • How to Laminate Large ...
Full training video for vacuum resin infusion: • In-Depth Guide to Resi...
Introduction video to flax fibre in composites: • How to Use Flax Fibre ...
Full project details (including links to all the products used):
UK and World ► www.easycomposites.co.uk/lear...
EU ►www.easycomposites.eu/learnin...
00:00 - Introduction
01:41 - Preparing the mould and selecting the reinforcement
04:09 - Cutting the kit of reinforcement
04:47 - Preparing the balsa core
07:42 - Laying up the reinforcement and core
10:27 - Vacuum bagging
16:26 - Infusing the bio-resin
18:57 - Demoulding and rough trim
20:13 - XCR coating
21:56 - Woodwork and fit-out
23-49 - The finished boat
God I adore this channel, and Paul is a really fantastic presenter. As I've said many times, it's hard to believe this content is free!
Thanks Alex, that's very kind of you. We've said it before too, but we really enjoy making this content and sharing our passion and it being freely available is a key part of that.
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@@easycompositestv Great Channel! do you guys make custom parts for purchase as well?
@@crossbreedperformance I'm afraid not sorry, we can certainly help with technical support and product selection but we don't make custom parts.
Honestly, making this high quality of videos is a brilliant business strategy. In fields like this where it is hard to find good suppliers people often go with the first one that looks good, and man oh man you make it look good. I know multiple composite techs that all independently started following this channel and use your stuff for their own projects.
Thanks very much for this comment. It’s really nice to hear. When we’re out and about we do hear similar things from engineers, or uni techs/lecturers/students etc and it always reminds us how effective the combination of quality products supported by good training content can be.
I buy all my stuff from them because of these videos :D
Im a simple man. I see an easy composites upload, and watch immediately.
Haha, thank you. Glad you’re enjoying the content.
I have 10 years professional experience in aerospace composites but I still enjoy each of your videos like I was discovering a new craft 😅 and then I buy tools and tooling material from you at work because they're you great and so are you !
Dear EasyComposites, thank you for all of your videos but most importantly your high quality products that we use to produce carbon fiber products. Serious stuff, amazing quality, fast shipping (we are in Italy) Thank you!❤
Thank you, that means a lot. We're really pleased that you're enjoying the content but, of course, our main business is making and supplying high quality composite materials so it's great to hear that you like the products and service!
Your videos are awesome. Would love more explanation on core materials. Pros/cons of different material, when to use what, etc. 👍
Great suggestion!
Damn I wanna see more Flax stuff. Looks so nice.
This channel and this presenter are just pure gold
Most of the time im watching this channel for motorsports composites etc. this time i watched purely for the joy of watching the editing and process 👌
Thanks, thanks interesting to hear. As it happens, our next series of videos will all be motorsports based so should be right ‘in your lane’ but we enjoy the production process too and so it’s nice to learn that it’s appreciated 😀.
I know deep down this is an ad, but man what a fantastic one, it really shows pasion to your craft, kudos to you guys
Simply the best educational channel on KZhead. I don't even work with composites and I watch every single video you guys do. Keep it up!
Thank you very much. That’s great to hear and we appreciate your support.
Ridicously good production. Kudos to everybody involved ☺
This channel has gone from strength to strength! Wonderful editing of a truly fascinating story. The things I learned from this seem almost incidental.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I know, I always gush at your content and it is no different here. Your ability to succinctly summarize the technical contents, and process of making a structure are very inspiring.
Thanks a lot. I recognise your name and, we’ll, gush or not, appreciate the long term support and feedback 😀.
I'm just happy to buy all my stuff from the best KZhead channel on composites 😊
Thanks pedgarage :)
I cannot get enough of this content. Thanks Paul and the production team !
Thanks Logan, appreciated 😀.
Great content as always. Proud to say I made a award winning flax chair some 7-8 years ago.
Before I started following your channel I thought the whole process was too difficult, now I not only have the confidence to try doing composites for my next project, but most importantly, I also learnt a lot in general about the whole process and tools. That knowledge is universal and speaks to Pauls' great presentation skills and that the company prioritizes these videos where knowledge is shared freely very valuable.
Glad we were able to help. With our videos we aim to pass on knowledge so people can do their own projects.
just realized why i watch this channel. i grew up an 80's kid, middle house, middle of the street. my neighbour on the right worked in formula one, my neighbour on the left had his own fibreglass business, made most of the cars on fairground rides and half of the enemies on dr who. i don't do anything like that but maybe i could have!
my dad said: willy next door = super clever mechanic works for williams, john works harder than any welshman i ever met = deserves his company. neighbours said: your dad hardest working, honest scouser we ever met. i said: my dad told me how smart you are! how much sanding you do! but i'll be 40 before i listen!
never really said that but clearly i didn't listen either. messed around a bit. got a dead end job. got sacked. got a few more. got sacked. got in trouble. got smart. got my way out of trouble but easier if i listened to those three men as a kid though. this guy reminds me of my dad & neighbours.
My appreciation for this company is unrivaled. You guys sell amazing quality products at an amazing price, and follow it up with providing free education on entire composites processes. Unbelievable in the best way possible.
Wow, thanks a lot. That’s amazing feedback and tells us we’re still on the right track! Great to have your custom too, we appreciate it.
Really good video. However as an owner in the past of a boat with a balsa cores deck if the outer laminates get damaged you need to repair prompltly. A lot of racing yachts were built using balsa cores in the late 70s and 80s becasue of its strength but by the time our boat reached the age of 30 there was an awful lot of water trapped in the core in places.
Fabulously edited, too.
Kudos to our new (ish)videographer and editor Ben Wiles for that. He did all the drone/gimbal shots, as well as the studio videography and editing. He’ll appreciate your appreciation!
typically excellent presentation - great job
If I could pick a favorite Easy Composite video, this would be it. I'm not sure if I can pick a favorite since I like so many of them so much. Thanks for another fantastic video.
You had me at indoor outdoor wipe cut...
I see Paul from Easy Composites, I click thumbs up. Make a cup of tea, watch, then scheme how I can finally try it myself.
Haha, thank you. Definitely go for it, it maybe don’t start with a 16’ canoe!
WOW!! Years ago my dad was given a canoe by a neighbor who had no use for it anymore... It was big and had a nice wide beam, quite stable... But to big for him now that the kids left the nest. He gave it to my dad knowing that he took care of the cottages around the lake so that was the easiest way to get around. My dad left it at some house one day next to the shore and the following day it was gone!! Somebody nicked it!! If I could go back in time, get a mold of that canoe and make another one for my dad he would be over the moon!! That being said, if you have an old canoe, or if you find one that's no longer sea?!?? lake-worthy, then you can just use that to make a mold and give that old boat a new life!! There's probably some hardware and seats and stuff that can be salvaged to the new build!!
The fact these videos are FREE is incredible thanks for putting this stuff out
It truly is our pleasure!
Unironically my favourite KZhead channel
You guys really turned your passion into your job, I love it! It’s very inspiring to see both your amazing subject knowledge and how much you enjoy what you are doing. Inspirational! 👍
Thank you, yes, we’ve been pretty lucky to end up doing what we love, and scaling a business from that. I think that genuine passion comes through!
I want that mold for a weekend. That’s the boat I want to build
Nice shot of 5-10's, knew there was a reason I liked Paul 😂
Not just a youtube channel, but it's a great youtube channel.
Haha, thank you, we appreciate it!
The unidirectional flax looks so good.
Yes we agree, it certainly has a very nice look to it.
¡¡¡I can translate this to Spanish and help you distribute it here in America and maybe Spain!!! Your channel has helped me to learn and I've been trying to work with the fibres, right now I'm building a motorcycle with a kevlar-carbon fibre weave, trying to apply what you show is. Sometimes, as I live in Venezuela and studying Law, it's been difficult for me to have the materials and all the tools but your teachings keep inspiring me and I keep doing!!! Thank you!!!!
I read / saw somewhere that the Soviets used a wool / baker light phenolic resin composite to make Lada car panels in the 1950’s.
First Lada was produced around 1970 and there are no composite panels on that car, nor were there any on following soviet era models to my knowledge. Possibly there were other soviet veichles where composite parts were used in. In general, possible benefits of such technological experiments in soviet union looked good only on paper and rarely reached the lives of common folk.
1:02 That transition
Yes, I think videographer Ben had some fun with that one!
Haha perfect opening, Paul is the man!!
Myself and some family members made a boat 10 years ago - it was a small pontoon boat with fiberglass pontoons, and each pontoon had a VERY similar construction to this albeit with fiberglass. However, at the time there was NO resources like this available to the public and we essentially had to figure out most of it ourselves, from mold making to layup and construction. We laid up each pontoon by hand, which would take us about 30 hours. Wetting out that much fiberglass by hand is MISERABLE. In some ways, I'm amazed how good of a job we did, but I can't even imagine how much easier it would have been had your content been available at the time. All that to say, THANK YOU for making this content available and sharing what used to be very hard to learn, very specialized knowledge with the masses. This really make me want to try some new projects with the new information I now have. You have a gift for explaining this all in a very detailed yet easy to understand way and the production quality is excellent. Thanks again!!
Thanks for the comment, that’s really good to hear and thank you for the kind words on our content. Well done on getting stuck in, with your family, and figuring some of this out for yourselves those years ago… most people don’t!
Paul, you're inspiring! Thank you for sharing your passion with us.
This video shows a magnificent step up in your production values, from the wonderful outdoor introduction to the excellent and interesting camera work during the process. I particularly enjoyed the tracking time lapse shot and the 'moulds eye view' during the demoulding. You did a great job telling the story of the process, well done.
We really appreciate the comment/feedback - we've certainly come a long way since our very earliest videos over on our carbonmods channel!
You guys have contributed greatly towards my passion for composites. Thank you!
Great to hear!
Thanks guys! Your channel is one of the most informative ones! Bravo! I can't stop admiring your accuracy and consistency! Please keep on making various videos! It would be funny if you one day start revealing the secrets of Formula 1! 😉Thanks again and wish you all the best!👍👍👍🙏
Nice work as always.
Thank you :)
@@easycompositestv No thanks required. Just keep up the excellent work! You are inspiring many a hobbyist as well as professionals.
okay now this is cool, great job as always!
Exceptional video again! Thank you!
This is fantastic!
Missed you so much
I love these videos, I've learned so much watching them.
It is videos and channels like this that make composite manufacturing a lot more fun. I find this channel as being the best and most inspiring of them all. Paul's way of presenting tops it all off. Great job. Thank you for all the work you put in this videos! The Easy Composite as a whole is a great place to get all the required materials for composite works. 🔝
Glad you enjoy our videos.
Great videos guys, please keep them coming. With thanks.
That's a good looking canoe
hello,as usual your videos are amazing,thankyou
Lovely work. it is always a pleasure to watch a master at work.
Fantastic
Thanks for your wonderful videos, I always look forward to your new videos as you release them!!
You’re welcome, glad you like them.
Very inspirational.
Amazing video, and again an great project. Every video is a blast to watch and has a lot of good information in it. Keep up the good work guys.
Thanks. We will. Next videos will be back to motorsport; quite technical, hopefully interesting!
Thank you so much for sharing such a great video! You provided a really detailed step-by-step process with amazing production quality which is all much appreciated. Well done! 💚
Glad it was helpful!
Very usefull info. Thanks a lot.
Il est magnifique ton bateau ❤
This channel fuels my composites ambitions. One of the best spots to learn! Nice work yet again :)
Thanks a lot, glad you’re enjoying it 😀.
this materials are impressive!
Another advantage of end grain balsa, if it gets wet from a crack or a hole in the laminate, the water does not soak (and rot) through all the wood like it would if the grains were long
Outstanding content 👍
Great video. This explains a great many things that are worth noting. Having spent the weekend struggling with flax and LB2, I think it is clear that this technique through vacuum forming makes a lot of sense (I need to watch the smaller section on aluminium again!).
Flax tends to expand when wet laid which increases thickness and resin soak up which can make it harder to laminate. Certainly a vacuum bag based process will limit that.
Imagine trying this by yourself having no clue, you could spend a lot of time, effort and money for scrapping your tryouts and never succeed. Now that we have these vids we know how to, thanks EC for this super usefull content!
That's the idea - we want to share our own knowledge and experience so that customers (and non-customers) make the very best use and have the best possible experiences with composite materials.
Loved it
It would be cool to do a Murray river flat bottom Tinny. Half sled and half hull that’s stronger that welded aluminium.
It feels strange to see Paul out of the workshop haha
What an awesome idea with the Kanu
Wonderful work.
Wow! This video gave me enough reason to reconsider my next coming project! I love the slight translucent finish. I hope you can confirm, that the weight comparison with fiberglass is lighter. Is that really true? Wish to see more productvideo’s and product tutorials of these “more eco-friendly materials”. Ps could you show a quick video, on how translucent the finish of the canoe really is. Thanks
Depends on the construction but certainly on par or slightly lighter than a typical similar sized fibreglass canoe.
Truly impressive build of a great looking canoe. I'm curious as to how hemp fiber would compare to flax fiber for this type of use.
Certainly hemp fibre has very similar properties in many ways so no specific reason why you could not make a similar Canoe using hemp based fibres.
Huh, I guess you're not a Vampire, lol. I love your videos and this one's no different. Thank you for all the knowledge and can't wait to try one of these projects.
Will you do a full video on the resin coating process? I'd love to see more detail an information. Did you apply more than one coat?
This one required a single coat only. We do cover the coating process in more detail in some of our other tutorials. Check out the mouldless construction and skinning tutorials.
I'll check them out. Thank you.@@easycompositestv
What an excellent presentation and project. Really great work by your team at Easy Composites. 👍 You've covered the high performance and low environmental impact composite options quite well but when you are approached by manufacturers looking to make composites at scale, where cost of materials must also be balanced, what kind of recommendations do you make in terms of materials and epoxy?
Hi Thomas, thanks for the feedback but the question is maybe a little too broad to answer helpfully. The nature of composites means that the details of a project matter a lot and might change our recommendations significantly. If you’ve got anything specific in mind, even if it’s just something you’re pondering, drop us a message; we’ll try to help 😀.
This was awesome and as soon as I find space to store it, I'm making one :) I just have one question: does the balsa core get fully infused with resin and if so, doesn't that cancel it's light weight?
No, the balsa is almost ‘closed cell’ in its behaviour and so its resin absorption is minimal. Resin fills the tiny gaps between the blocks and there is a small amount of resin permeation into the first 1mm or so of the balsa but that’s about it, so the core stays light.
I absolutely endorse to add 3% (or so) epoxidized castor oil in the resin part of the mixture. Back then I used Heloxy 505. It is a superior wetting agent for all sorts of natural fillers and fibers. Edit: we used Divac 2.2L dry sump pump (and a resin trap!!!) to keep the insides of the vacuum bag at 6 mbar for several hours, to remove the free water from the fillers/fibers. (with that heloxy additive and divac pump, that's how you will make a totally translucent glass fiber epoxy laminate)
Great content as always !!! I would suggest you to make series of "common mistakes done by beginners" (practical mistake examples) when making composite parts with each laminating method (hand laminating, infusion, prepreg etc.). Eg. I would like to see tested side by side, how good and bad vacuum infusion affects mechanical part properties.
Thanks for the suggestion. I’m sure we wouldn’t struggle to come up with some ideas for that!
@@easycompositestv Thank you ! Test eg. side by side how good and bad vacuum infusion affects mechanical part properties would be useful.
do you think you can make a video on how to strip clear from carbon fiber parts?
Do you mean clear coat lacquer or resin? In both cases sanding will work although care should be taken when sanding into resin to not sand into the fibres themselves as the cosmetic pattern will be lost.
@@easycompositestv im mostly intrested in taking an already finished carbon fiber part and refinishing it with something different but yes clear coat lacquer.
wow, another fabulous video!! And great that the workshop is so close to the lake ;-) Question about the environmental impact of the fibre material: Can you comment on the total benefit of these natural materials? My assumption would have been, that for a standard part, the resin has a bigger impact than glass fibre.
Being a composite, both resin and fibre are relevant. Natural fibres are sustainably sourced and take less processing and energy to make a usable fibre compared to fibreglass or carbon. The bio resins replace petrochemical sourced parts with bio derived alternatives making the production more sustainable and with reduced energy usage during manufacture.
excellent editing
Thank you
Did you make that snowboard?? Any tutorial videos for that? 😀
That particular board is a veneer of flax over the surface. In terms of making one from scratch, It might be a topic we cover some time in the future.
You guys are making some really incredible videos here. I've done composite work sporadically since I was a kid, but have been doing a lot of things wrong because there aren't really a lot of good sources for proper technique, and/or explaining when to use what fiber or epoxy, or how to use the vacuum bagging bits and bobs. I am somewhat curious what the margins look like on something like this canoe build? Obviously there's come capital wrapped up in the mould and tooling, but otherwise it seems like mostly consumables and time.
The material and resin cost depends on the size and layup of the specific canoe you build plus the consumable materials in the infusion as seen in the video.
Hemp would be an interesting fibre to try. Structurally hemp is very strong, like rope. Is there processed product out there?
Hemp fibres are slowly becoming available in matting formats. We have 2 non-woven hemp cloths here: www.easycomposites.co.uk/natural-fibre-reinforcements
Make a carbon kevlar/ carbon fiber one next 😍
Well, we’ve got the mould sat here 🤔…
So awesome - any idea how much it weighs?
The finished weight is 29.5g including all of the timber work/seat, etc.
What a beautiful work!. if it's possible to create a canoe, I believe I could fix my carbon fiber paddle. it got 1.5 inch crack at the end of the blade and blade tip is broken off, hanging. What materials should I buy from Easy Composites to fix the paddle? many thanks
Best off emailing us some pictures of the damage to technical@easycomposites.com as there are a couple of different ways to repair depending on the damage.
We can certainly have a look at it for you. If you can send some photos of the damage across to our inbox our technical team will be able to advise.
The professionalism and depth of knowledge showcased in this video are truly refreshing. I'm particularly interested in learning more about the application of both loose and woven hemp bast fibers in conjunction with your epoxy. Could you share insights on scalable solutions and any testing that has been done? Looking forward to a deeper dive into these innovative materials!
Thanks for the feedback Brandon and thanks for watching. I think we've replied to your email on this subject.
Wow! I'll definitely be using this instead of glass fiber in future projects!
Glad to hear that it's got you inspired! Get in touch with our technical team if you have any questions on using it for your projects.
What about a carbon monocoque tub for a car like McLaren or Bugatti, That would be THE tutorial
We have a lot more motorsport based tutorials in the pipeline already but no immediate plans for a full monocoque, but it's always something that we've considered. If we did one, it would be for something a bit more realistic, like a single-seater, but the concepts and process would be the same.
@@easycompositestv Any step to building a full monocoque tub will be helpful, please do think about this! Also how is a carbon tub even made? A pipe skeleton and a carbon extra structure or just carbon? Thanks for the great techniques and demos!!!
@@omegaelixiryes. DIY Bugatti
I think Red Bulls F1, McLaren road cars and Koenigsegg have videos on their channels covering their production processes.
@@easycompositestv something like a velomobile would perhaps be a more reasonable size for a monocoque demonstration?
Interesting! Q: Is it viable to save on cost and use wet lamination instead of prepreg for a project that requires making long tubular shape?
Although these natural fibres can be wet laid, they tend to swell when not under vacuum which increases thickness and uses more resin. Vacuum based processes like infusion minimise this.
incredible job! very nice
Thanks, we're really pleased with how this one came out.
Quick question. Instead of applying the balsa core to the whole of the bottom, could you not have just gone down the keel like you did on the "lightweight" sample and then add balsa ribs to add stiffness?
With a bit of further experimentation it may well be possible to further reduce the balsa bottom in the way you suggest. Our experience of this canoe was that the balsa base helped with overall stiffness.
0:54 - a rider!!
Haha, yes, more back in the day but old habits…
Very cool. But what is unsustainable about fiberglass?
It’s a fair question, and one that we looked at in a bit more detail in the partner video which dives a bit deeper into the case for -and - against the environmental case for these sort of materials. The main thrust of the case against fibreglass is the amount of energy used in the production of the fibres, but as is always the case when evaluating overall environment benefits of a material, there’s a lot more to it than that!
Your videos and your work are so good! I really appreciate what you are doing and sharing. You make it look so easy, but it sure isn’t for me.
Well, if you’re struggling to get good results using any of our products make sure you contact us, we’re happy and pleased to help you get successful results.
@@easycompositestvwell I haven’t ordered from you only because of the shipping costs. I am in the US, California. But the cost of shipping may be well worth the advice. I am struggling with what seems a very simple application for a product I am developing. I am trying to tame plywood warping with composites. I have had more success with aircraft parts I am fabricating. It is a great medium.
@@applegatearts It would be a great help to those of us in the US if Easy Composites would get a domestic warehouse.
This video, and honestly all your videos, are absolutely brilliant. This one was just that much more. One question, Paul, regarding the FusionFix GP product. I imagine that getting this in the US will be a real challenge. We do have something _similar_ made by 3M, Hi-Tack 71 spray adhesive. Though its pretty expensive and its hard to find for the hobbyist. Can you offer your professional suggestion(s) for the use of normal 3M Super 77 spray adhesive or the _old standby,_ hairspray?? Obviously the latter won't be as good as a purpose built product, but for those of us who are trying to do some small and complex layups that need a helping hand, it would be nice to know what our options are. Thank you from the US!
3M77 has commonly been used for that purpose but care needs to be taken to avoid over application both due to cosmetic marring and also potentially slight reduction in strength of the part. We can ship Fusion Fix to most US destinations via FedEx although FedEx have quite a high "hazmat" surcharge which makes it expensive to ship smaller orders.
@@easycompositestv Thank you! I will look into it and if it is viable or can group with other order items to make shipping more bearable, I will certainly try it out.
AMAZING !!!