Okay Crazy Idea

[alliekity]

I had a crazy idea and i need input

I am a full time student part time worker and i dont make good money. I'm saving for a monofin because i want to sew my tail but i got an idea to make a makeshift monifin using duct tape and cardbored. Now reason this idea came to mind if my best friend competitively makes duct tape things, like dresses, and roses, and wallets and all this cool stuff. MY dads in the military and made a duct tape boat.

I think it might be a good idea but am i just being silly?

[Ashe]

Duct tape is often used to extend existing monofins, which are made of plastic. Water will seep through the seams of the duct tape and over time cause it to detach. Extending your monofin using this method will give you a few months of swim time, at most.

However, if water seeps through duct tape onto cardboard, it will just soak the cardboard through and you'll just have a big floppy mess right when you enter the water. It is paper after all, haha. If you put of an excessive amount of tape and were able to overcome this, the second issue would be as soon as you tried to kick, the cardboard would bend. There simply wouldn't be enough propulsion.

There are many other cheap and relatively easy ways to make monofins though! Have you checked out the monofin thread and all of the tail making threads?

[alliekity]

Duct tape is often used to extend existing monofins, which are made of plastic. Water will seep through the seams of the duct tape and over time cause it to detach. Extending your monofin using this method will give you a few months of swim time, at most.

However, if water seeps through duct tape onto cardboard, it will just soak the cardboard through and you'll just have a big floppy mess right when you enter the water. It is paper after all, haha. If you put of an excessive amount of tape and were able to overcome this, the second issue would be as soon as you tried to kick, the cardboard would bend. There simply wouldn't be enough propulsion.

There are many other cheap and relatively easy ways to make monofins though! Have you checked out the monofin thread and all of the tail making threads?

I havent gotten to all the threads XD im trying to, but thank you very much ill look around

[Ashe]

You're welcome! And if you wanted to make a fin for a dry tail, your cardboard and duct tape method might work very well, depending on the thickness of cardboard and tape :)

[Mermaid Alea]

One semester of college I took a 3D class and pretty much all we did was sculptures out of cardboard. I worked with A TON of big sheets of cardboard and chipboard (similar to cardboard) and I can certainly say that cardboard would do exactly what Kalani said. It would quickly bend. For dry events as long as you were careful I am sure that the cardboard could work, but not for real swimming. The ridges inside cardboard make it very easy to bend. Chipboard on the other hand would be stronger, but still just like cardboard it is paper and wouldn't last.

You can go to The Home Depo and buy a lexan sheet to make a monofin out of. You cut the lexan to the tail shape you want and attach say water shoes or straps to the lexan and then you have your own DIY monofin. I am not sure how much that would cost you. You can read up on this method on this forum. PearlieMae makes her own monofins using lexan and Dancing Fish made her own for her tail after being inspired by PearlieMae's way of making tails. I believe PearlieMae has also had success using a thin sheet of lexan for a monofin as well.

I am sure there are other inventive methods for making your own monofin, but I would avoid anything paper, anything that could rust, etc.

In the long run, it might be best just to keep on saving for the monofin you really want because after all of the testing to create your own functional monofin, you might end up spending as much or more money that a commercial monofin would cost. That is just my theory though.

[alliekity]

One semester of college I took a 3D class and pretty much all we did was sculptures out of cardboard. I worked with A TON of big sheets of cardboard and chipboard (similar to cardboard) and I can certainly say that cardboard would do exactly what Kalani said. It would quickly bend. For dry events as long as you were careful I am sure that the cardboard could work, but not for real swimming. The ridges inside cardboard make it very easy to bend. Chipboard on the other hand would be stronger, but still just like cardboard it is paper and wouldn't last.

You can go to The Home Depo and buy a lexan sheet to make a monofin out of. You cut the lexan to the tail shape you want and attach say water shoes or straps to the lexan and then you have your own DIY monofin. I am not sure how much that would cost you. You can read up on this method on this forum. PearlieMae makes her own monofins using lexan and Dancing Fish made her own for her tail after being inspired by PearlieMae's way of making tails. I believe PearlieMae has also had success using a thin sheet of lexan for a monofin as well.

I am sure there are other inventive methods for making your own monofin, but I would avoid anything paper, anything that could rust, etc.

In the long run, it might be best just to keep on saving for the monofin you really want because after all of the testing to create your own functional monofin, you might end up spending as much or more money that a commercial monofin would cost. That is just my theory though.

mmm thats very true. I am just so excited its hard to wait >.<

[Mermaid Alea]

Yep it is definitely hard to wait but it is worth it for sure. :hug:

[alliekity]

I bet it is >.< thank you so much

[Mermaid Jaffa]

There is also plastic cardboard. Its a type of plastic which they made to look like corrugated cardboard.