Welcome to the ApneaScrap Lab blog.

Research Notes: Adhesives for Bonding Rubber Rails to Carbon Fins

After a season of pool and open-water sessions both of our documented rail-gluing approaches — Two-part Plastic to Carbon Adhesive and Marine Adhesive — started peeling right where the rails meet the foot pocket hardware. That joint sees the most peel stress when the blades flex, and the bond has been letting go in that exact spot.

The quickest fix has been to wick rubber-toughened cyanoacrylate (CA) under the lifted sections and clamp for a few minutes. That pinning keeps the rails in place for now, but it is still a patch layered on top of a bond that wants to fail.

Lab Update: Trapped Balloon Vacuum Gauge

We added a short guide to the measuring vacuum section that covers the trapped balloon gauge. The write-up walks through how to size the container, prep the airflow holes, and use the balloon expansion as a quick visual check that a bag has pulled down to around 80% of atmospheric pressure.

If you need a reference while setting up a bag, read the new page here: Trapped Balloon Vacuum Gauge.