punching holes in cuben?

[BlackHatGuy]

I have this big piece of lightweight cuben (that’s all I know, I don’t know if it’s 5.1 or whatever the designations are). Unfinished edges, just a big piece of cuben. Can I use a grommet kit to punch holes in the corners and put grommets in without harming it or weakening it or whatever?

[Clifford Deakyne]

Doug,

the UHMWPE fiber that makes up the cuben sheet is very cut resistant so your grommet tool may not punch through it cleanly.  But it is a cross plied unidirectional so you might be able to open up a hole for the grommet by using an awl and moving the fibers making a hole.  You will also have to deal with the Mylar on the surfaces.  Keep in mind that the grommet might just move the fibers and pull out since there is no locking of the fibers like in  woven fabric, just the binder resin and the Mylar surface. You may do better bonding on tabs.

[BlackHatGuy]

Thanks Clifford!

[Gary Dunckel]

Doug, you might just ‘burn’ a hole with a wood burning tool or something. That will melt both the aramid fibers and the mylar, and it will leave everything sealed up and ready for your grommet. This is just theoretical on my part, since I’ve not tried it, but it seems like it should work. The key would be to make the hole for the grommet to precisely fit. Try it out on a small scrap piece and see how it works.

[Bob K]

That will melt both the aramid fibers and the mylar

Cuben/Dyneema uses ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene fiber, not aramid. That’s good, because aramid fibers do not melt.

[Valerie E]

I have used a hole-puncher from a grommet kit with DCF before. I hit the punch tool multiple times (and hard) with the hammer.  Usually, it cuts through about 70% of the circle, and then I use a little nail scissors or a razor blade (with cutting mat) to finish up the full circle.

[Jerry Adams]

if you have extra fabric, try it on scrap first.  Assess if it’s strong enough.

Maybe reinforce both sides with a piece that you glue or tape, grommet through 2 or 3 layers of fabric

[Pierre Descoteaux]

As Jerry suggested, I always bond/tape a few layers and then punch my holes when using cuben. I tend to use cuben hybrid for this purpose since I have so many small scraps.

[Gary Dunckel]

Thanks for that info, Bob. I just figured that the fibers were some type of aramid. They do melt when I put a Bic to the material for one (intended) reason or another.

[BlackHatGuy]

Thanks all for the input. Much appreciated.

[Hoosier T]

I can say for sure that a single layer of .51 DCF will rip right out. I made a stuff sack for my hammock with a round bottom and a grommet in the center for my hammock suspension to thread through. It came right out with minimal force. I added three extra layers and it has held up fine since.

[Andrew Stevens]

I have cut holes in DCF with a scalpel that works really well.  I just use a sharpie to outline the hole and hold the material a little taut and above my cutting mat.  It cuts a perfect hole.  A hole punch catches on some of the threads.  I just cut a hole in 5.0 DCF yesterday.

[Brook / MtGL]

Hi, Doug, as some one put it it’s 70% cut-through by using a grommet tool (hammering), and then you can use a sharp blade to gently cut the entire hole.

One tip, if you grommet is 5mm in diameter, then use a little bit smaller grommet tool (4mm or 4.5mm) to drill the hole.

First patch/stregthen the fabic before you make the hole, that makes a much more stronger grommet tie-out.

Such as the way I used on my ground sheet corners:

There was even more art in my design. I first buried a plastic ring (a padding typically sold with grommet) in between two layers of DCF, to make an micro “S” curve in the fabric, this way is to　dramaticaly increase tie-out strength….

So such a grommet-style tie-out should be typically strong enough, if not as strong as a sewn-style tie-out to be made with similar elegance.

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