Hey,
after being shaken around on my cut out hardware store wooden plank for some months it was finally time to build myself a better more comfortable board. My friend had a loaded vanguard flex 4 laying around so I ordered the 12s4p Enclosure from @eBoosted and went to work. I milled internal wire canals and it worked out okay but when i screwed on the enclosure I realized that there was a pretty substantial gap between the board and the enclosure when standing and especially when bouncing on it.
Since I plan on using the board as a commuter I want it to be somewhat splash resistant. I don’t want to ride in rain but it should handle wet roads in the morning.
My first idea was to use a big flexible seal but I did not find anything that was able to stay fully compressed most of the time but extend 2cm (0,78inch) very fast when it flexes.
So I came up with my own idea.
I cut a piece of plastic into the shape of the enclosure and put smaller seals on both sides.
My plan was to make the plastic cover seal the enclosure at all times and only create an air gap between the board and the sealing plate so no water can get in.
Sadly this did not really fix the problem. The gap is smaller than before but the sealing plate does not stick to the enclosure because it is slightly curved.
My only idea to fix this problem is to ad some additional screws (marked in green) so the sealing plate is bent into the right shape but I don’t really want to destroy the beautiful enclosure with additional screws.
Do you have any ideas to fix this problem or entirely new concepts to seal the enclosure?
so are you saying ditch the middle plates completely or ad a different gasket between the plate and the enclosure?
I don’t think a relatively solid Rubber / gasket is Going to work because the range of motion of the enclosure ist so big. A big part of the front ist not supported and can move a lot (Flex 4). The seal needs to travel at least 2cm with the enclosure.
I think this is mostly what you’re working against. I’ve heard of builders utilizing carbon fiber or layers of epoxy / other stuff (don’t ask because I don’t know) to stiffen the board.
I’ll be doing this with a flex 2 42" vanguard soon so I’ll message you whenever I do.
I’m planning on getting thick rubber and mounting it against the deck, routing a little path in the rubber for the enclosure to sink into, and then drowning the gaps in ‘enclosure sealant’ / epoxy / silicone.
yea flex 2 and a longer board will probably be easier. I also experimented with bigger / taller seals and all that’s doing is preloading the board and putting additional stress on the enclosure. As soon as you drive down a small step or something there will be a gap again. Sealing the enclosure and then putting it unter the board is probably the only reliable solution for me.
Boosted used a piece of plastic similar to yours, but they smeared a TON of sealant under the edges and in the space between the plastic cover and bottom of the enclosure.
I think that this is the ‘right way’, but its more permanent than most would like.
If you fashion a seperate gasket out of sika 11fc, or even build up the flanges on the enclosure with the sika, I reckon it would work.
If your bolts were done up tight enough, it would compress the cured sika and being a polyurethane product, under flex it would rebound to fill up any gap.
You’ll never know if you never go, and once you’ve got sika in your life you’ll wonder how you ever survived without it.
Try the sika.
Edit: for this to work best, it would be ideal if the gasket was considerably thicker than the biggest gap created under flex
Epoxy and carbon fibre applied properly will definitely stiffen up the board. Basalt fibre, kevlar fibre, glass fibre and flax fibres will also have a significant effect in stiffening the deck.
IDK what I did right but 3mm Neoprene cut almost to size of the enclosure (adhere to the deck) along with a strip around the inner perimeter of the enclosure has worked flawlessly for me. It might not survive a puddle but it certainly keeps out light water splashes and dust. Been going strong for 6 months on a 42" flex 2 with the 10s4p enclosure.
the smaller enclosure with a longer stiffer deck is better combination. My shorter more flexible deck and bigger enclosure just combine all the problems into a big gap when flexing.
