Critterhunter
New member
A little more on the subject of Shoe Goo. I've got some experience using this stuff to fix holes in waterproof fishing waders and also waterproof hunting boot's soles. It's designed for that kind of abuse (walking on it even in the case of fixing the bottom of a boot). In the past I've used it to construct homemade game trail cameras in that it can be custom formed in certain ways to form tight lips and seal things water tight. Those portions of the PVC and metal junction box (on two separate models I built) and glass lens holes that needed a water proof seal proved an ideal use for this stuff.
Off topic but that was back in the day when a trail camera was a good few hundred dollars when with a little knowledge in electronics I built one using a motion detection door chime/alarm and a camera with an electronic shutter. A few mods to the electronics here and there and a relay to act as the electronic shutter control and I've got a $60 trail cam for roughly one third the price of what you could buy them for back then. Way off subject but I'll never forget how thrilled I was to come back a week later and have pictures of nice bucks and other game passing by these rigs.
Back to the Shoe Goo- It can also be used for everything from fixing a hole in a boat to building an aquarium. It's not your typical rubber cement. It's much thicker and designed to stay flexible without cracking under constant flex and stress. For that reason it's also a favorite among some of us in the RC crowd when constructing high speed planes that produce a lot of vibration. In situations like that key stress points (such as tail boom vibration) can crack and cause an in flight failure if you were using your typical CA, epoxy, or certain other glues on those joints.
I try not to build with Shoe Goo because it's heavier than even epoxy. Most of the time Gorilla Glue is the lightest and strongest option, usually for the joining of foam parts, but there are times when nothing other than Shoe Goo is going to work for the job. It's main quality is the ability to stand up to constant vibration, flex, and distortion without any kind of cracking or failure as it stays very pliable.
That's also one of the reasons why I feel it would make an excellent not to mention much cheaper way to waterproof coil and headphone cables where they exit a waterproof box. This stuff isn't going to crack, it isn't going to break, and it won't lose it's ability to keep a waterproof seal despite abuse and stress put on the cables.
The other big bonus to me is it's very thick and so can be put on a good 1/3rd inch thick or more if you want to really insure overkill in terms of keeping a waterproof seal. Besides all that it dries clear and so you're waterproofing job can be inspected *from the inside out*. Gaps, air bubbles, or uneven application can be easily seen and corrected for before a problem occurs. Yet despite all the above benefits it will peal off with moderate effort (and in one piece if you do it right), so changing coils down the road would be a quick, cheap, simple matter of fact.
What bothers me more than the price of those waterproof clams is the inability to see any flaws before disaster happens. You can't see through the stuff where the seal is what counts so far as I'm aware of any of the designs out there. The sealing portions of those designs are hidden and so I can't use my eyes to be sure all is well unless they make a clear version? The other added con to those clams is bulk and weight compared to a decent portion of Shoe Goe.
Like I've already said, since I don't ever plan on my waterproof box to go anywhere under the water unless by the occasional dunk due to wave action, I don't want or need the hassle or expense of building something that can survive pressures just short of a small nuclear explosion. If I was a diver by the time I put the cost, expense, and hassle into building a box I could count on that might just equal the price of a factory built water proof machine. That's just my opinion, though, and I'm sure some have found cheaper solutions that make it worth the effort and time to do so.
One thing that motivates me is when I'm told something can't be done. When I was told that a "cheap" $12 brushless motor couldn't crack 100mph compared to it's $90 counterparts I just had to throw down to that challenge. I'm all about doing things cheaper and better if at all possible. When I was told that a carbon fiber lower Whites tall man rod wouldn't hold up to the weight of Minelab coils I knew I was going to test that theory for sure then. It has held up fine, and that's swinging the 15x12 SEF coil bumping things through the woods. And for that reason I think I'm off today to the local marine store to see if I can track one of these boxes down and throw something cheaper and easier to build together. If you're cheap like me, only plan to use it on or near the surface of the water, and don't want your Sovereign committed to a water proof cell for the rest of it's life never to go land hunting again...then maybe what I figure out would be of use to at least a few people out there.
Off topic but that was back in the day when a trail camera was a good few hundred dollars when with a little knowledge in electronics I built one using a motion detection door chime/alarm and a camera with an electronic shutter. A few mods to the electronics here and there and a relay to act as the electronic shutter control and I've got a $60 trail cam for roughly one third the price of what you could buy them for back then. Way off subject but I'll never forget how thrilled I was to come back a week later and have pictures of nice bucks and other game passing by these rigs.
Back to the Shoe Goo- It can also be used for everything from fixing a hole in a boat to building an aquarium. It's not your typical rubber cement. It's much thicker and designed to stay flexible without cracking under constant flex and stress. For that reason it's also a favorite among some of us in the RC crowd when constructing high speed planes that produce a lot of vibration. In situations like that key stress points (such as tail boom vibration) can crack and cause an in flight failure if you were using your typical CA, epoxy, or certain other glues on those joints.
I try not to build with Shoe Goo because it's heavier than even epoxy. Most of the time Gorilla Glue is the lightest and strongest option, usually for the joining of foam parts, but there are times when nothing other than Shoe Goo is going to work for the job. It's main quality is the ability to stand up to constant vibration, flex, and distortion without any kind of cracking or failure as it stays very pliable.
That's also one of the reasons why I feel it would make an excellent not to mention much cheaper way to waterproof coil and headphone cables where they exit a waterproof box. This stuff isn't going to crack, it isn't going to break, and it won't lose it's ability to keep a waterproof seal despite abuse and stress put on the cables.
The other big bonus to me is it's very thick and so can be put on a good 1/3rd inch thick or more if you want to really insure overkill in terms of keeping a waterproof seal. Besides all that it dries clear and so you're waterproofing job can be inspected *from the inside out*. Gaps, air bubbles, or uneven application can be easily seen and corrected for before a problem occurs. Yet despite all the above benefits it will peal off with moderate effort (and in one piece if you do it right), so changing coils down the road would be a quick, cheap, simple matter of fact.
What bothers me more than the price of those waterproof clams is the inability to see any flaws before disaster happens. You can't see through the stuff where the seal is what counts so far as I'm aware of any of the designs out there. The sealing portions of those designs are hidden and so I can't use my eyes to be sure all is well unless they make a clear version? The other added con to those clams is bulk and weight compared to a decent portion of Shoe Goe.
Like I've already said, since I don't ever plan on my waterproof box to go anywhere under the water unless by the occasional dunk due to wave action, I don't want or need the hassle or expense of building something that can survive pressures just short of a small nuclear explosion. If I was a diver by the time I put the cost, expense, and hassle into building a box I could count on that might just equal the price of a factory built water proof machine. That's just my opinion, though, and I'm sure some have found cheaper solutions that make it worth the effort and time to do so.
One thing that motivates me is when I'm told something can't be done. When I was told that a "cheap" $12 brushless motor couldn't crack 100mph compared to it's $90 counterparts I just had to throw down to that challenge. I'm all about doing things cheaper and better if at all possible. When I was told that a carbon fiber lower Whites tall man rod wouldn't hold up to the weight of Minelab coils I knew I was going to test that theory for sure then. It has held up fine, and that's swinging the 15x12 SEF coil bumping things through the woods. And for that reason I think I'm off today to the local marine store to see if I can track one of these boxes down and throw something cheaper and easier to build together. If you're cheap like me, only plan to use it on or near the surface of the water, and don't want your Sovereign committed to a water proof cell for the rest of it's life never to go land hunting again...then maybe what I figure out would be of use to at least a few people out there.
Naaa, I think I might have a better guess.