URGENT! TORN BIKE FLIGHT HARD CASE

john said:

Hi all

Just discovered a very urgent problem. I have a Performance Bike hard
case ("PERFORMANCE CARGO CASE" is embossed on the case). It has 4
riveted metal clips that hold the two halves together. The material
around one of the clips on one of the halves is partially torn.

I'm leaving on a trip w/ said case on Tue morning (08 Aug 06). I would
like to repair the tear & have it cured prior my departure.

Does anyone know what material the case is made of? The glue / epoxy
must adhere to the black material of the case in addition to the plated
steel clip. (Of course I will grind most of the plating away & roughen
up the case material prior to application of the repair material) And
more importantly, if fiberglass & epoxy will successfully repair it? If
fiberglass & epoxy will work, can I accelerate the curing by putting a
heat lamp on it?

I know, I know, I should use carbon fiber to save weight & be
fashionable. After all, if spoke tension gauges are made of CF? But due
to the difficulty of quickly finding CF; I think I'll pass this time
;-)

Many thanks for quick answers, John

Right after I posted this I went to Performance's page for my case:

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=973&item=00-6565&slitrk=search&slisearch=true

I also found that it's made of polyethylene.

I have no idea what 'glue' sticks well to polyethylene. This is an area
where I have great ignorance. Any recommendation for a good source of
the hierarchy of what sticks best to what?

Again, Thanks for any quick answers, John

In article <[email hidden]>,

john said:

Hi all

Just discovered a very urgent problem.

why don't you just buy some heavy duty straps and secure your case with
that for transport. you'll have plenty of time to fix it properly when
you're back.

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john said:

john said:

Hi all

Just discovered a very urgent problem. I have a Performance Bike hard
case ("PERFORMANCE CARGO CASE" is embossed on the case). It has 4
riveted metal clips that hold the two halves together. The material
around one of the clips on one of the halves is partially torn.

I'm leaving on a trip w/ said case on Tue morning (08 Aug 06). I would
like to repair the tear & have it cured prior my departure.

Does anyone know what material the case is made of? The glue / epoxy
must adhere to the black material of the case in addition to the plated
steel clip. (Of course I will grind most of the plating away & roughen
up the case material prior to application of the repair material) And
more importantly, if fiberglass & epoxy will successfully repair it? If
fiberglass & epoxy will work, can I accelerate the curing by putting a
heat lamp on it?

I know, I know, I should use carbon fiber to save weight & be
fashionable. After all, if spoke tension gauges are made of CF? But due
to the difficulty of quickly finding CF; I think I'll pass this time
;-)

Many thanks for quick answers, John

Right after I posted this I went to Performance's page for my case:

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=973&item=00-6565&slitrk=search&slisearch=true

I also found that it's made of polyethylene.

I have no idea what 'glue' sticks well to polyethylene. This is an area
where I have great ignorance. Any recommendation for a good source of
the hierarchy of what sticks best to what?

Don't know of any glue suitable for polyethylene (it may exist, but I
haven't met it). You might try to sandwich the torn case between sheets
of some material across the tear and rivet together, or even "sew" with
some suitable cord. There's always duct tape. The strap idea someone
posted was good too.

Good luck,

Mark J.

M. Bakunin wrote:

HiIn article <[email hidden]>,

john said:

Quoted message said:

Hi all
Just discovered a very urgent problem.

Quoted message said:

why don't you just buy some heavy duty straps and secure your case with
that for transport. you'll have plenty of time to fix it properly when
you're back.

Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
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** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

That's a good idea. I have several Anca (sp?) motorcycle tie down
straps. I'll duct tape them to the case to keep them from slipping off
end wise, if I can't fix it before departure.
Per the research I've been doing online polyethylene don't like to
stick too much of nuttin.

Thanks, John

Yep, strap it in an "H" formation.

"john" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

M. Bakunin wrote:

HiIn article <[email hidden]>,

john said:

Quoted message said:

Hi all
Just discovered a very urgent problem.

Quoted message said:

why don't you just buy some heavy duty straps and secure your case with
that for transport. you'll have plenty of time to fix it properly when
you're back.

Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

That's a good idea. I have several Anca (sp?) motorcycle tie down
straps. I'll duct tape them to the case to keep them from slipping off
end wise, if I can't fix it before departure.
Per the research I've been doing online polyethylene don't like to
stick too much of nuttin.

Thanks, John

Mark said:

Don't know of any glue suitable for polyethylene (it may exist, but I
haven't met it). You might try to sandwich the torn case between sheets
of some material across the tear and rivet together, or even "sew" with
some suitable cord. There's always duct tape. The strap idea someone
posted was good too.

Good luck,

Mark J.

Thanks for your reply, Mark

I just realized what to do. Do the strap thing to get there.
Then I'll use your sandwich idea.
After arrival I will have access to a shop. I'll fabricate a strip of
sheet metal to fit across the convoluted inside of the case behind the
clip & rerivet the clip to the strip. Then I'll rivet or screw the ends
of the strip in double shear to the case.

Thanks a million, John

john said:

After arrival I will have access to a shop. I'll fabricate a strip of
sheet metal to fit across the convoluted inside of the case behind the
clip & rerivet the clip to the strip. Then I'll rivet or screw the ends
of the strip in double shear to the case.

If you have the equipment and skills, why not just go all
Zero Halliburton on its ass? Make a custom case out of
aluminum.

--Blair

john said:

I just realized what to do. Do the strap thing to get there.
Then I'll use your sandwich idea.
After arrival I will have access to a shop. I'll fabricate a strip of
sheet metal to fit across the convoluted inside of the case behind the
clip & rerivet the clip to the strip. Then I'll rivet or screw the ends
of the strip in double shear to the case.

Thanks a million, John

What I like to do in these situations is use fiberglass reinforced
epoxy to make the patch. After the epoxy cures you can install rivets
in strategic locations to ensure it can't break free. This will fit
better than a fabricated piece of sheet metal and it won't matter if
the epoxy bond breaks free of the plastic because the rivets will hold
everything together. You can make it even stronger with a sheet of
fiberglass on each side of the repair.

You can get everything you need at Wal-mart. The fiberglass is in the
automotive section. The epoxy and rivets are in hardware. Use some
runny epoxy to get the fiberglass fully wetted.

Quoted message said:

What I like to do in these situations is use fiberglass reinforced
epoxy to make the patch. After the epoxy cures you can install rivets
in strategic locations to ensure it can't break free. This will fit
better than a fabricated piece of sheet metal and it won't matter if
the epoxy bond breaks free of the plastic because the rivets will hold
everything together. You can make it even stronger with a sheet of
fiberglass on each side of the repair.

You can get everything you need at Wal-mart. The fiberglass is in the
automotive section. The epoxy and rivets are in hardware. Use some
runny epoxy to get the fiberglass fully wetted.

I don't think it will work with polyethylene (PE). What i remember from
when i used to windsurf is there are two kinds of material: themoplastics (PE)
and thermoharders (polyesther or epoxy resin with glassfiber, carbon etc.).
The way to repair PE back then was to melt it together.

"amakyonin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

john said:

I just realized what to do. Do the strap thing to get there.
Then I'll use your sandwich idea.
After arrival I will have access to a shop. I'll fabricate a strip of
sheet metal to fit across the convoluted inside of the case behind the
clip & rerivet the clip to the strip. Then I'll rivet or screw the ends
of the strip in double shear to the case.

Thanks a million, John

What I like to do in these situations is use fiberglass reinforced
epoxy to make the patch. After the epoxy cures you can install rivets
in strategic locations to ensure it can't break free. This will fit
better than a fabricated piece of sheet metal and it won't matter if
the epoxy bond breaks free of the plastic because the rivets will hold
everything together. You can make it even stronger with a sheet of
fiberglass on each side of the repair.

You can get everything you need at Wal-mart. The fiberglass is in the
automotive section. The epoxy and rivets are in hardware. Use some
runny epoxy to get the fiberglass fully wetted.

Blair P. Houghton said:

john said:

After arrival I will have access to a shop. I'll fabricate a strip of
sheet metal to fit across the convoluted inside of the case behind the
clip & rerivet the clip to the strip. Then I'll rivet or screw the ends
of the strip in double shear to the case.

If you have the equipment and skills, why not just go all
Zero Halliburton on its ass? Make a custom case out of
aluminum.

--Blair

Well er er

I don't have that degree of skill. Nor is the shop a sheet metal shop.
But I can fabricate three ~2" wide strips, one w/ mutiple dog legs & 12
holes, & 2 w/ 4 holes each, using a vice & drill press, & band saw.

"(Put) (ed) Zero Halliburton on its ass" That would be cool to have
that kind of equipment & skill ;-)

John

amakyonin said:

john said:

I just realized what to do. Do the strap thing to get there.
Then I'll use your sandwich idea.
After arrival I will have access to a shop. I'll fabricate a strip of
sheet metal to fit across the convoluted inside of the case behind the
clip & rerivet the clip to the strip. Then I'll rivet or screw the ends
of the strip in double shear to the case.

Thanks a million, John

What I like to do in these situations is use fiberglass reinforced
epoxy to make the patch. After the epoxy cures you can install rivets
in strategic locations to ensure it can't break free. This will fit
better than a fabricated piece of sheet metal and it won't matter if
the epoxy bond breaks free of the plastic because the rivets will hold
everything together. You can make it even stronger with a sheet of
fiberglass on each side of the repair.

You can get everything you need at Wal-mart. The fiberglass is in the
automotive section. The epoxy and rivets are in hardware. Use some
runny epoxy to get the fiberglass fully wetted.

That's a great idea! Doesn't matter how well it bonds to the case.

Thanks, John

Mark said:

Don't know of any glue suitable for polyethylene (it may exist, but I
haven't met it). You might try to sandwich the torn case between sheets
of some material across the tear and rivet together, or even "sew" with
some suitable cord. There's always duct tape. The strap idea someone
posted was good too.

Polyethylene is a tough one to bond because of its pitiful surface
energy.

If you were looking to bond it on an industrial scale then you'd maybe
be looking at some sort of flame or corona surface treatment to get
the surface energy up.

I tried an ad-hoc flame treatment when I needed to bond some
polypropylene, which is as bad or worse than polyethylene, using an
oxidising flame via a hand torch with "by luck and by golly".

Either I couldn't get the surface decontaminated well enough or I
couldn't control the heating closely enough to activate the surface
without melting or distorting the part. None of the bonds was anything
to write home about.

OTOH, Scotch make a modified acrylic adhesive that claims to be
suitable for bonding polyethylene, should you wish to patch the case.
Beware, however, as that kind of specialist stuff don't come cheap.