On 5/24/2010 5:53 PM, amherstburg46 wrote:
In message 9592 Cris posted a link to a video showing a mixer made from a steel shaft with about five links of chain attached to the end of it, the middle link being the attached one so when it was spinning it had an equal number of links spinning on each side. In a drill it did a nice job of mixing paint and dry powders, and I intended to make one to try with papercrete but have been tied up with other things. It should be a bit safer than spinning sharp blades. If you try one, please let us know how it works and even post photos and videos. You tube has a papercrete group that is associated with us, so there's another resource if you have a decent web connection.First of all, for a mixer. I have read that you can use an "x" stucco blade attached to a drill to mix the papercrete. I have not been able to find them locally, and I was wondering if a paint mixer drill attachment would suffice ? Just looking at it there would be very litte of a cutting effect. Right now, I am only looking at doing a few small test batches, so I would not be interested in investing time and money into any of those wonderful mixing machines people on here seem to be making.
Borax or boric acid are used to prevent mold and rot, and also act as fireproofing.Another question. I live in a humid part of Canada and intend to use make a large solar greenhouse with the papercrete. So I am interested in something with a high insulating value which at the same time is resistant to mold and rot associated with high humidity. I was wondering if it would be possible to create a brick much like a bi-metal coin (a toonie for any Canadians reading this). I could create the first brick with just paper and concrete. I would obviously shrink with that sort of mixture. When it dried, and shrank, I would put it in the same mould which I would then fill with a mix that had high amounts of concrete and sand. This would create a brick with an insulating interior but a strong, mould resistant exterior.
I made some triangles for a geodesic dome about ten years ago with light papercrete cores encased in heavy papercrete. Similar to what you propose, but no sand in the heavy layer, just cement rich paper pulp. It worked nicely. I think if I lived in a wet place I would definitely seal the outside of the papercrete. You want to keep the interior of the pc down to 18% or less if you can.
You'll get lots of help on this list, and reading the 9,000 archived messages will give you a great knowledge base. The vast majority of them are on topic, the moderators run a pretty tight ship around here.If anyone could provide a clue, I would appreciate it. Thanks
spaceman All opinions expressed or implied are subject to change without notice upon receipt of new information.
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