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Making Kydex Deck Plates

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I didn't want to hijack McCrea's post on making a Kydex Deck Plate Template so am starting a new thread on this. I did start the whole process and so far considering I've never seen this stuff before last weekend it's going much better then I thought it would. Since I bought a 2x4 sheet of it I have more then enough to make more then 3 or 4 attempts and since I can heat it up again and flatten it's not like working with resin and cloth as we all know is a one shot deal. I posted what I've done so far on my blog:

http://scooter-bangortoportland.blog...ith-kydex.html

dougd
 
So can you glue the overlap at the tip or will it fuse together when heated?
 
Just what I need ! I know of three Bell Nexus's that need end caps. One of them is mine.

How much for the Kydex, and where did you get it ?

Jim
 
Very cool Doug. As first attempts those came out really well, and I think you got this. That you can flatten out the first experimental attempts or keep heating/shaping the Kydex is a boon.

Having that double thickness of Kydex right at the oft-abused tip of the caps can’t hurt. Maybe run a bead of thickened black (pigment & graphite powder) G/flex along the edge of the flap overlap to soften/hide the transition?

I didn’t know that Kydex was available in a carbon fiber look, nor in different colors; I’d only ever seen black Kydex. Pink deck caps anyone? On that carbon fiber, wood ribbed Prospector, which originally had deck caps, the matching carbon fiber look is perfect.

For that rare canoe, a custom build by a company no longer is business, or for something like Jim’s broad stemmed Bell Nexus, the chances of finding matching deck caps is slim to none.

Wenonah’s replacement deck caps are available in three variations of shape/size, but finding the one that might kinda sorta fit would be a challenge for a non-Wenonah canoe. And those manufacturered caps are $20. Each!

https://wenonah.com/Items.aspx?id=109

$40 & shipping for two pieces of plastic that probably cost 50 cents to manufacture is ridiculous; the cost of a sheet of Kydex and some heat gun action begins to look pretty good. Bigger deck plates from Mad River run $30 each.

This will save money, and a frustrating searching for the perfect shape deck caps on some rebuilds. Rehabbers of discontinued canoe models owe you their thanks.
 
I think I'll order a couple of the narrower 1'x2' pieces . Then I only need to cut to length. The width is about right.

Jim, and other DIY deck cap ponderers, the plain black sheets of 0.08 or 0.09 thickness Kydex may be less expensive if you don’t need the “carbon fiber” appearance, or are desirous of sporting hull-colored deck plates on a Bell Nexus. Although basic black goes with everything.

Even Wal-Mart carries black Kydex sheets, although you may need to order it for local pick-up.

https://www.walmart.com/search/searc...ch_query=Kydex

Doug’s first-attempt successes with Kydex and simple heat gun application have me pondering other applications. I know Kydex is popular for making custom-made holsters and knife sheaths. . . . .what else?

Towards that end I’m hoping Doug does some scrap cut-off Kydex experiments with G/flex adhesion.

Mikey needs a flat black Kippah cover to wear atop his tinfoil hat while out in public, and a more elegant Koteka sheath. A carbon fiber Koteka might be more impressive than a hollow gourd in that Cargo Cult gone-native guise.
 
I don’t know which I am more eager to see, Kydex deck cap #3, or the raffle draw video.

Well, OK, watching Doug winter working in his new shop I really want to watch the last video from his old unheated, un-insulated shop shack again; winter wind audibly whistling through the daylight-visible cracks in the walls, bundled in winter coat and gloves, muttering about seeing his breath and something like “dang it’s cold, why the heck am I doing this” as his frozen fingers fumbled.

How are you liking that new shop space Doug? Rhetorical question.

I love my shop, but am sometimes envious that Doug’s is a bit distant from his house.
 
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