Life has been great, but not enough Falco work. First thing to getting back into it has been some improvements around the shop. There is a new workbench with vise, and some shelves to organize parts. A need is a board to hold the plans; that one should be easy.
The Aerolite is 18 months past the expiry date, so I ordered a new batch from Skycraft of the UK. It arrived in about a week. Cost was around $50 US for 10 lbs, plus shipping around $60. Still, it is a lot of glue, and great stuff. Skycraft included directions for mixing the GPX hardener from locally procured formic acid. The acid that I ordered last spring is 90%. The reason for doing it this way is that the regulations for international shipping of hazardous substances is so complex and fast-changing, no venders seem to be interested in dealing with it. Shipping within the US is not difficult, but FedEx seems to be the only option, which is fine.
Anyway, the first order of business was to produce some test blocks with the new glue and hardener. While I was at it, I intended to produce some using the old glue as well. When I mixed the 2:1 old glue to water slurry, I could not believe my eyes. The water seemed to disappear, and when I tried mixing it, all I got was curds. More water didn't help, it just would not make a uniform slurry. The new glue worked fine. I had hoped to keep the old glue around for making non-airplane knicknacks or whatever, but ended up walking out in the corn field with my back to the wind and throwing it up in the air.
The bottom line, Aerolite only keeps for about 3 years. The new batch did not come with an expiry date (it was in a black plastic bag, perhaps filled from a bulk supply). I reused the original container and wrote the acquistion date on it. The good news is that when it goes bad, no one would try to use it for anything.
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