Re: [TCML] Sonotube Preparation

[Steve Ward <steve.ward@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tyler,

Having wound many coils on sono-tube, here is my method.

1) make sure the tube has been in a fairly dry place for awhile, if its
soggy, throw it out and buy a new one ;-).

2) remove the outer layer of waxy paper with all the black ink printed on
it.  Usually this will peel off carefully, if you are not so lucky you can
use an orbital sander to rip it all off.

3) give the rough cardboard form a nice heavy coat of polyurethane varnish,
the cardboard will soak it up real nice.

4) after the varnish dries, give it a little wipe down to remove any large
pieces of dust or anything, and wind the coil.

5) i give my coils 1 coat of varnish right after its done.  I let this dry
overnight, and the next day apply a good coat of pour-on epoxy (or more
coats of varnish if you like).

My sonotube coils have no problem hurling 10-12 foot sparks (4' tube).  They
are nice and light weight, but they can be fragile.  I beef mine up with
some internal baffles cut out of 3/8" plywood.  They are just a snug
friction fit inside the tube, i use 2 baffles total (plus the 2 end caps,
also plywood).

Steve Ward

On Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 11:06 AM, Tyler Pauly <rpggod714@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>
> Hello all,
>
> First, sorry for the previous message.  I must not know how to use yahoo
> mail....
>
> Anyways, I am getting ready to coat a 12" sonotube with some helmsman spar
> varnish, but I'd like to get a general idea of how everyone else prepares
> their tube.
>
> I looked through the archives, but no one seemed to mention that theirs had
> a wax coating on the inside.
>
> Regardless, I'm not sure what to do with it.  I don't believe the varnish
> will stick to it, but I fear pulling out the waxed layer will weaken the
> integrity of the form.
>
> Also, it has red and blue lettering on the outside.  Do I really need to
> sand off the outer layer of the sonotube because of this?  Maybe I'm
> paranoid, but it seems like this could weaken it as well.
>
> I appreciate any suggestions or recommendations!
>
> Thanks,
> Tyler
>
>
>
>
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