Material Inquirie
Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 3:43 pm
I'm going to be ordering some 2# MC from foamforyou.com, and am debating on the best way to "skin" it. I've seen that some people have used packing tape on the blades with some success, and others have used a thin layer of plasti-dip with similar results, but what I was wondering was if anyone had used a layer of foam on the outside that already has a skin, such as blue foam, or PE?
My main concern is how this affects the hit of the weapon, while still keeping it lightweight and lower in profile. Would, for example, building a 32" blue sword with a 4# box, a 1/2" layer of MC, and a top layer of 1/2" blue foam, still hit in an acceptable range? I've gotten away, as have many others, with swords that have 1" of 2# foam, but seeing as blue foam is, roughly, 2.7#, how would this affect the hit of the weapon?
Furthermore, would it be worth it, considering the lower durability of the blue foam, to build in such a manner, or does the difficulty of properly applying packing tape outweigh the decreased longevity of the blue foam?
While we're at it, does clear strapping tape on the blades work better than strapping tape with vertical fiberglass reinforcement? Does it affect the hit of the weapon, and the durability of the foam?
Sorry for the question overload, and thanks for the assistance!
-Thurat-
My main concern is how this affects the hit of the weapon, while still keeping it lightweight and lower in profile. Would, for example, building a 32" blue sword with a 4# box, a 1/2" layer of MC, and a top layer of 1/2" blue foam, still hit in an acceptable range? I've gotten away, as have many others, with swords that have 1" of 2# foam, but seeing as blue foam is, roughly, 2.7#, how would this affect the hit of the weapon?
Furthermore, would it be worth it, considering the lower durability of the blue foam, to build in such a manner, or does the difficulty of properly applying packing tape outweigh the decreased longevity of the blue foam?
While we're at it, does clear strapping tape on the blades work better than strapping tape with vertical fiberglass reinforcement? Does it affect the hit of the weapon, and the durability of the foam?
Sorry for the question overload, and thanks for the assistance!
-Thurat-