Zipflex

[John Maddison]

Got talking yesterday with the lads at our regular makers afternoon at Pete's place about the availability of Zipflex in Australia. A google search did not find a great deal of information about same.

Because of the Lacy Act in the states there are severe restrictions on the export of any shell products, however one manufacturer (Advanced Shell Tech) in California is establishing a network of international suppliers of their Zipflex product range, which involves a comprehensive paperwork process plus a $USD250 levy per shipment (even for a single strip). At this stage they have Canada and Europe in place. The good news is that Asia and Australia are in their sights to establish a reseller network. Read more here.

Be keen to hear of anyone who has sourced this stuff in Oz. Cheers and happy new year all!

[Bob Connor]

Hi John

Inlaying abalone pieces is not at all difficult and you can get the radius that you require from Australian MOP supplies.

I did a couple of OM's a few years back in Martin D42 style (rosette and purflings) It did take a while but it was most satisfying to see the end result. This was my first attempt at this type of thing.

Regards

[John Maddison]

G'day Bob

I have only ever done rosettes so far with curved Paua from Australian MPO; it's the edge binding I'd be keen to have a go at, but with several curves of differing inside diameters it's daunting to even consider doing it with hard shell.

Cheers

[John Maddison]

Nice job Bob on the OM BTW ... Looks like you went real close to the edge, not a lot of wiggle room there?

[Bob Connor]

It's really not that difficult with a mixture straight and curved pieces. That was the first (and last) I've attempted it.

Regards

[nutsdan]

buy from a Canadian supplier and you avoid the stupid US rules. They have already done the work

[Kim]

When it comes to curves there is no need for a perfectly matched radius when installing abalone. You just need the shell close enough and then you 'break it' to conform. Seriously you will not pick it because of all the naturally occurring black lines in the shell itself. Ablam strips are particularly good. As long as they are cut reasonably close width wise then its just a matter of break it into the rout and tacking with CA.

That property of ablam is precisely what enable zipflex to be developed in the first place. It really is a 'bend me, shape me, anyway you want me' material.

Cheers

Kim

[John Maddison]

Thanks for the head-ups Bob & Kim. I think we are fortunate to have an Australian supplier in AMOP, where there is plenty of choice of curved strips in a variety of shell.

[ckngumbo]

buy from a Canadian supplier and you avoid the stupid US rules. They have already done the work

+1 to that

[Simon Neville]

Hi John

I have also been looking for Zipflex, no luck in Aus, and couldn't see a dealer for Canada. EU site will also not ship to Aus. So I suspect I will buy in the US and use a 3rd party address. I would love to talk to you about Ukes and maybe coming to the Albany meetings - I will follow up soon. cheers

[Kamusur]

Simon

You might want to repost this with a new title as it is a pretty old post, and welcome also.

Steve

[Simon Neville]

Advanced Shell Technology will supply Zipflex direct to Australia from their website - just waiting to see what the shipping and other costs are for a small order.

[Simon Neville]

Simon

You might want to repost this with a new title as it is a pretty old post, and welcome also.

Steve

Hi Steve.

Sure..... how?

And thanks for pointing out the age of John's original post.... I didn't look! duh

[kiwigeo]

Simon

You might want to repost this with a new title as it is a pretty old post, and welcome also.

Steve

Hi Steve.

Sure..... how?

And thanks for pointing out the age of John's original post.... I didn't look! duh

A job for the Mods.....added to my list of things to do.

[Simon Neville]

Advanced Shell Technology will supply Zipflex direct to Australia from their website - just waiting to see what the shipping and other costs are for a small order.

Update - I put in an order for a few bits - $160 USD - they charged an extra $23 USD for postage. Payment via PayPal (which I hate).

cheers Simon

[Kamusur]

Simon what length does $230 AUD buy if you don't mind me asking.

Steve

[Simon Neville]

Hi Steve - sorry about delay - didn't look for reply!

My AU$239 got me for 5 pieces 380mm long: 3 x .079 wide strips (pearl, two types of abalone) and 2 x .047 abalone. All beautifully packaged in plastic carry tubes!

Postage was high for such a small order.

cheers