Any Ideas? constructive criticism? My Tail I'm working on now.

[~Glimmer- Betta~]

Alright, this is my first time attempting making my own tail, but I have experience in crafting, sewing, and building.
This is the draft I made:
<img=src"http://mernetwork.com/index/attachment.php?attachmentid=11771&d=1370879494">

I got the doll maker from here in case anyone is interested (if you don't know about it already)
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CC8QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dolldivine.com%2Fneptunes-daughter-mermaid-dress-up.php&ei=KPi1UeHfEuaeywH0toHIBA&usg=AFQjCNEfJ1V4-lvCTl5KQcroFULsEfGGSA&bvm=bv.47534661,d.aWc

I'm making my own monofin and I'm going with a fabric tail, but I'm covering it with silicone. I've already tested a swatch of the fabric I'm going with and it feels realistic! I am so excited!

Here's a link to the fabric:
http://www.nyfashioncenterfabrics.com/fossil-foil-fabric.html
It's more blue in real life than purple, but that is exactly what I wanted.

I've bought the material for the fin; I was going to go with fiberglass or polycarbonate, but I didn't want it to shatter (fiberglass) and the polycarbonate was just to rigid. I chose to go with acrylic sheeting. I think it will be a good deal.
Here's the shape I have so far.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j313/Nose_Meat/SANY0946_zpsd35b602c.jpg (http://s83.photobucket.com/user/Nose_Meat/media/SANY0946_zpsd35b602c.jpg.html)

Tell me what you guys think. I love feedback. :D

[Carolina Mermaid]

Looks really cool!

[ShyMer]

The polycarbonate was too rigid? I guess you have access to thicker sheets then. I haven't gotten to test mine out yet, but I got the typical thin stuff, and it's pretty flexible. Where did you find the thicker stuff?
I don't know about fiberglass shattering, but I have heard of acrylic/plexiglass doing so. Just be safe :)
I might suggest making all of the cuts rounded instead of pointed to avoid stress cracks, in case you weren't planning doing so already. I don't know how your shape is going to deal with stress, especially on the rays closer to the feet.

Has anyone else tried putting silicone on holographic spandex? I wonder if the foil will stay on longer. Would you have to put silicone on both sides of the fabric? This could turn out pretty cool.

Overall I think it's a pretty cool start. Good luck!

[~Glimmer- Betta~]

I only put silicone over the top of the foil itself. Its stayed pretty flexible too. I was extremely surprised.

This is what I have going so far!
I cut out the shape with a high power rotary tool. I got mine on Amazon for like 19.99+shipping. (I can give you the link if you like)

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j313/Nose_Meat/SANY0947_zps98b96513.jpg (http://s83.photobucket.com/user/Nose_Meat/media/SANY0947_zps98b96513.jpg.html)

I sanded all the sharp edges off and rounded the tips cause I don't wanna stab anyone lol.
Then I started drilling holes in the acrylic and in the swim shoes I chose. I got these at walmart for like 9.00 and I got them a size too small so they hold better.
I stuck zip lines through the holes and tied them off. (A complete pain in the fishbutt)
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j313/Nose_Meat/SANY0948_zps7576ac48.jpg (http://s83.photobucket.com/user/Nose_Meat/media/SANY0948_zps7576ac48.jpg.html)

Then Voila! awesome monofin!
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j313/Nose_Meat/SANY0958_zps9669d7ff.jpg (http://s83.photobucket.com/user/Nose_Meat/media/SANY0958_zps9669d7ff.jpg.html)

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j313/Nose_Meat/SANY0955_zps6bc8df54.jpg (http://s83.photobucket.com/user/Nose_Meat/media/SANY0955_zps6bc8df54.jpg.html)

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j313/Nose_Meat/SANY0952_zps47352063.jpg (http://s83.photobucket.com/user/Nose_Meat/media/SANY0952_zps47352063.jpg.html)

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j313/Nose_Meat/SANY0954_zps50102b31.jpg (http://s83.photobucket.com/user/Nose_Meat/media/SANY0954_zps50102b31.jpg.html)

Im gonna try it out today because I don't think I can wait any longer. Its soooooo cold though. lol

:)

[AniaR]

the edges may poke through your silicone, it happens even with rounded monofins. I would actually consider rounding the edged off, and simply adding the spikey bits in your mold so they'll be silicone. So they'll have the shape, but be floppy, and not have hard edges inside. I think this is how other tail makers have done it based on the tails I've seen. Just a thought :)

(I know from experience too that monofins can poke through silicone as my mertender tried to pack my tail once incorrectly and poked the monofin through the silicone, and it was rounded then. Thankfully I was on my way to Florida so Raven fixed it!)

[~Glimmer- Betta~]

Well. I guess my hubris got the best of me. I jumped into the pool and it cracked right in half. >.< I'm trying to see if I can salvage the rest. I'll post what I've done tomorrow. I may just have to break down (no pun intended) and buy the thick polycarbonate. hmm. I dunno.
There is definitely a learning curve here. :P

Thanks for the tip, Rania. I'll see if that happens with the fabric I'm using. Not much will be covering the monofin itself because I want it to be see-through ect. so the edges won't be covered with anything but fabric. I may silicone the edges to keep them from being too sharp. I'll let you know how it works. But I gotta get the fin to not snap in half first lol.

[~Glimmer- Betta~]

@Shymer, I found some really thick stuff at Home Depot. I may go back and get it. It might have been just thick enough to keep from breaking. Its all about trial and error I suppose.
I only spent about $20 on the acrylic. The poly sheet was only about $30 so not too much of a stretch.
As opposed to buying a competitor monofin for like a bajillion dollars and then hacking it up myself.

[ShyMer]

After thinking about it, I'm a little concerned about your monofin shape- I feel like the side fin things near the feet are going to have problems. I know this is the shape you want to go with, and you want this to be an uncovered fluke, but I don't know that trying to have a monofin with so many spines off of it will hold up to much use. You'd be better off using a simpler shape and making the rest of the details with fabric and silicone.

Also, my hubby just pulled out one of his metallurgy books that also talks about other materials and mechanical properties. It says because of the small volume to surface area ratio of your acrylic (specifically the areas of those small sections), the plasticity of the material drops exponentially. So to my understanding, it's more likely to snap because of the way it was cut. The small cuts have made it much weaker.

You might want to make a simple shape- I think the monofins you buy have their shape for a reason. It takes the stress better and is more efficient. You can experiment with transparent silicone to get the rays you like. It might be better for seeing the fluke in the water, anyway.
Try to study the curves that commercial monofins have.

I think you have a lovely idea, I want to see you do a great job <3 It can be frustrating when you have to go a different direction, like the monofin, but sometimes you find the new solution works better than your original plan.


Edit-
I forgot to say that the acrylic you have in your picture is actually pretty thin, which is probably part of why it broke so quickly. My lexan is not the thicker stuff, and it doesn't feel flexible at first, but if you think of how much force it's going to need to withstand as you swim, it's not as stiff as you'd think. I could tell by bending mine that it would need to be reinforced by a second layer near the feet, where it would be doing most of the work, so I used a polycarbonate glue to bond a second piece there. I haven't gotten to try it out in water yet, but I can already tell how much better it is with that extra thickness.

Second Edit-
Here's a lovely video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8v1B0Q2s5U) of someone I saw before I did mernetwork, so I don't know who it is. I seem to remember that she made the monofins in her tails, and that this is only one layer of poly. You can see how much bendiness the fin has to be able to take. Acrylic/plexiglass doesn't bend like this at all without snapping.

[Spindrift]

I think that with that kind of shaped spiky fluke, a finis foil inside cloth cut to your design shape might work really well - it could look really beautiful in the water.

[~Glimmer- Betta~]

Yeah. I've fixed it with the remaining pieces left over, but I don't think it will hold. I'm gonna have to get the polycarb. or maybe I'll just wait and get the fiberglass. I dunno. My fingers hurt right now from the last one, so I think a rest is in order lol. ( I also need to save money). If this next one breaks then I'll just break down and buy a competitor.

@ShyMer, I think it broke because I had too much surface area of the fin as opposed to the area of the foot. I needed a much bigger thickness if I want to have a tail with that much unsupported area. From the looks of the video you gave me, she has quite a wide tail and it didn't snap. So maybe that's what I need.

[~Glimmer- Betta~]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j313/Nose_Meat/SANY0959_zpsaef420fc.jpg (http://s83.photobucket.com/user/Nose_Meat/media/SANY0959_zpsaef420fc.jpg.html)

Here is what it looks like now. I have no confidence in it lol. I just think its too thin to bend the way I need to. I'm hoping that the placement of the shoes gives the plastic a bit more support.

[~Glimmer- Betta~]

@Spindrift, I think fiberglass would be a good idea too for this design. I wanted to stay away from fiberglass because I don't feel like being all itchy lol. But It may be a good idea at this point. If the polycarbonate doesn't work I'll break down and buy an actual monofin. lol

[merline]

what do you think about a sheet of rubber. If you put aluminum foil vertically all around the edges of your polycarb to make retaining walls. Then you have a mold and can just pour a layer of latex there and let it dry then add a layer of screen from a screen window. So it would be soft like a fish with a little rigidity of screen material inside of it like a skeleton.Maybe a few rounded coat hangers or similar for bone supports. Then add another layer of latex or silicone for that matter.

[malinghi]

Well. I guess my hubris got the best of me. I jumped into the pool and it cracked right in half. >.< I'm trying to see if I can salvage the rest. I'll post what I've done tomorrow. I may just have to break down (no pun intended) and buy the thick polycarbonate. hmm. I dunno.
There is definitely a learning curve here. :P

Don't feel bad, I did the exact same thing. Acrylic totally looks like it should work, and then you get in the water and it snaps like a twig. Its so easy to underestimate how strong the hydrodynamic forces can be. Ultimately I think the monofin needs to be really strong, and the foot pockets need to be bonded really well.

[~Glimmer- Betta~]

I bought a GIANT sheet of fiberglass. It's really thin, but I think that it has good flexibility and shouldn't snap. I have enough of it to test out a few ideas. i'm gonna cut out the fin on a single piece of the sheet, and if that snaps, I'll just secure two pieces of the sheet together for extra support. The last idea should definitely work, but I'm gonna try all options first.

I love that rubber idea, merline! I think that is going to be a future goal for sure.

[~Glimmer- Betta~]

Alright, so good news and bad news. Bad news is the fiberglass broke too, but only because my design wasn't correct. The feet need to be more towards the middle or I need to re-enforce the foot area or it will crack off. It took a good 10 minutes to completely break, so I got a really good swim in to see what it felt like. GOOD STUFF. I don't know why I didn't do this earlier! :P oh that's right... the splinters... >.<
So after a few modifications (I'm still deciding on which route i'm taking) I'll most definitely have a working tail! SUPER HAPPY!