Inflatable of the Day 4/5

@eonfifty I was wondering THAT and how big his storage area is…some of these are HUGE

@eonfifty @tinamarie1974 As you might expect, they compact considerably when deflated. I store them neatly inside large plastic tubs, though a couple of my toys are big enough that they occupy an entire tub by themselves. As for seam stress, most of the time with pinch (standard) seam toys, it’s okay to let them fold parallel to the seams, as long as you’re not creasing the exact same spot repeatedly (this causes torsional stress which can eventually crack the vinyl, same as with repeatedly bending a wire back and forth). Lapped, or flat, seams are a bit different; if you fold directly on these, it really stresses the outer of the two layers and it will break in short order. For these, it’s best to fold near, but not directly on, the seam, in a slightly different spot each time.

@RiotDemon Pinch seams are the standard method of manufacturing most mass produced inflatable products, so named because the two pieces of vinyl are pinched together and welded to close them. These are very prone to splitting open where the seam is on a negative curve, such as under a neck or inside an elbow. The alternative is called a lapped, flat, or reinforced seam, which is done by placing the two edges so they overlap slightly, and welding them like this so the seam is nice and flat. Aside from looking better, this seam is stronger and much more resistant to stress. It is more difficult and time consuming to produce toys this way, so they are more expensive.

@PooltoyWolf @RiotDemon If you have time at some point, can you post a close-up pic of a lapped seam?

@Limewater @RiotDemon I’ll reply to this post with separate messages, since I can only affix one image per post.

@Limewater @RiotDemon This is a standard pinch seam, easily recognizable by the raised lip along the seam. This is the cheapest type of seam work, and is adequate for most things, but will split open if overstressed, especially on negative curves like the one shown in the image. Many times I will glue down a strip of clear vinyl over the negative seam areas, to reinforce them.

@Limewater @RiotDemon This is an inverted pinch seam, which is exactly what it sounds like - the weld is on the inside of the toy instead of the outside, making for a clean and neat appearance. The weld is made inside out and then the material is inverted to hide the seam lip inside the inflatable. The obvious advantage to the inverted pinch seam is that it provides the appearance of a flat seam at the price point of a lapped seam. However, inverted pinch seams exhibit inverse stress characteristics to standard pinch seams - they tend to be most stressed on positive, or convex, areas, and so are best suited to small areas like Balto’s ears, shown here.

@Limewater @RiotDemon Finally, a true lapped, or flat, seam, is the most costly to manufacture, but is by far the strongest and most visually appealing bond. This one is made by placing the two vinyl surfaces so they slightly overlap each other, and then welding both sides of the material. Consequently, there is usually a small area of pinch welding somewhere on the inflatable, where the welder is inserted to complete the opposite side. These welds are very durable and for the most part do not care whether they are on negative, positive, or really any area on the inflatable; they are universally strong. Usually the material itself will tear before these seams fail, if they are made properly. Lapped seams are the method of choice used on large custom inflatables. Shown here is Balto’s aesthetically pleasing muzzle!

@PooltoyWolf thanks for the indepth info. Btw, you can add more than one photo to a post. Curious why you said you can’t?

@PooltoyWolf @RiotDemon

You can add a second photo (or more), as long as you save the post between adding each photo.

@RiotDemon No problem! Every time I have tried, it didn’t work, or maybe I’m just dumb.

@Limewater @RiotDemon (Please note that the word ‘lapped’ should be the word ‘pinch’ here…my mistake!)

@f00l @PooltoyWolf you don’t even need to save in between. I just make sure to go to a new line before uploading another photo. You don’t want all the text jumbled together without spaces. That’s usually where I see failures when I need to edit posts.

@PooltoyWolf @RiotDemon

I have done what you suggest, and it still messes up if I don’t save the post before loading another pic.

This prob may vary by device, operating system, and/or browser.

I just always save the post after an image upload, then edit to add another image.

@f00l @RiotDemon Tried this on yesterday’s inflatable post and it worked!

EDIT: I’m currently on a Samsung Galaxy S8+ running Android 9 (Pie), and using Chrome.

@llangley I’m so glad!!

@cinoclav Most of my neighbors love seeing the inflatables on the lawn. Our neighborhood had a ‘lawn safari’ thing last week…guess who won.

@PooltoyWolf “Most” It’s the other ones that I’d love to eavesdrop on. Lol

@cinoclav @PooltoyWolf

Our neighborhood had a ‘lawn safari’ thing last week…guess who won.

Your neighborhood should just give your household a huge trophy, and put your own household into the local “Hall of Fame”, so that the “little folks” can have a chance.

I’m betting that no one local can compete w you right now.

@cinoclav I have honestly never had a poor reaction!

@cinoclav @f00l You’d be betting correctly! LOL