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Anyone DIY reed petals for Go Power?

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 12:53 pm
by Kurt Bogerman
Guys,

I've been quizzing the internet for info about making reed petals from laminate stock or by modifying existing manufactured reeds. I haven't found much information that I deem trustworthy. Does anyone here have any experience with this, or advice on this topic? Or, skipping to the end, does anyone offer replacement reed petals for my MC-90 Go Power reed cage?

Thanks!

Kurt

Re: Anyone DIY reed petals for Go Power?

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 1:12 pm
by Kurt Bogerman
So... Minutes after finally posting the question, I discovered that Black Dog shows them. That certainly solves a problem. I would still be interested in the prospect of making my own, if there's any advice out there.

Re: Anyone DIY reed petals for Go Power?

Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2017 7:32 am
by REAR
Kurt,

Nothing wrong with making your own reeds. Source the material and have at it. Would advise that you stay away from steel as a material choice in case of a reed failure.

R.E.A.R.

Re: Anyone DIY reed petals for Go Power?

Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 8:44 am
by Rob Voska
I have a cad file if you want to laser or water jet cut them. I used fiberglass material from McMaster carr.

Re: Anyone DIY reed petals for Go Power?

Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 11:14 am
by Doug Tenney
Kurt,
I've never made my own reeds, but here's a few thoughts that might be useful.
1) Boyesen makes all kinds of reeds for the serious motocross crowd, and pretty much anything else with a 2-stroke mill, out of lots of different materials. I had them make some graphite-epoxy Mac reeds for me a few years ago. They have some kart profiles in their database, and will work with you to make whatever you want. Good people. http://boyesen.com/product-segments/karting-home.html
2) The bread-and-butter material for decades seems to be G10 Epoxy Glass. I forget the thickness folks use for kart reeds, but you could measure an old reed and be close. Be careful, though: bending stiffness generally varies with the 3rd power of thickness, so small differences matter. (Twice as thick = 8X as stiff.)
3) Go too stiff and I assume it'll be like a sock stuffed in manifold, but too flimsy and they'll likely twist & flutter excessively, leading to premature start chipping & fraying. Boyesen can take you as deep as you want to go on that topic.
4) A few years ago I asked one of the fastest & smartest karters I know where he buys his reeds. He shrugged and said he has a big sheet of G10 and makes his own with a pair of scissors.
5) G10, G11, FR4, etc. all refer NEMA grades going back decades. McMaster-Carr has a nice summary of the various types of materials and what they're good for. I suppose you can use that knowledge to impress chicks...
Doug

Re: Anyone DIY reed petals for Go Power?

Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2017 12:56 am
by Kurt Bogerman
Those are some great suggestions, Doug. Thank you! Black Dog Vintage Racing was kind enough to supply some .016 G10 reeds, so those will get me going. Perhaps I can experiment more, once the machine is up and running!

Re: Anyone DIY reed petals for Go Power?

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 12:30 am
by Kurt Bogerman
"I suppose you can use that knowledge to impress chicks..."

I found that very funny, by the way. I know one young lady who builds extra-legally fast mopeds, and she would love that info for sure!