I am about to glass my first board, which will be a 10’1" noserider. I want it to be strong, since I tend to tool on boards in general and I am 220 pounds. I want to glass the bottom with one 10oz layer of Volan and the deck with 2 layers of 10oz Volan cloth. For the deck, do I cut, layer and wet out both layers together, or is there a better way work with such thick cloth? Thanks, -Ray
Monolithic lam. Glass both layers together. Between layers the fibers from one layer interlock with fibers from the other layer. This squeezes out resin and prevents glass layers from sliding against each other. Two glass layers are tremendously stronger and lighter than one layer in a monolithic layup. Here’s the deal. Some of the toughest stresses on surfboard fiberglass are bending stresses, like the ones that make the surface depressions you talked about. The glass on the outside of the bend gets stretched, while the glass on the inside of the bend gets compresses. Because of the weave pattern, glass fibers on one side run in the warp direction (lengthwise), and the fibers on the opposite surface run in the woof (across) direction. Fibers running along stress lines resist stretching and compression. If you only have one layer of glass, no matter which way you try and bend it, the fibers on one side will run in the bend direction, and the fibers on the other side will run at right angles to the bend. One side will resist the bend forces, while the other side won’t. Glass layers represent full packages of strength. By laminating two layers together, you place whole glass layers in position to resist the bending forces. No matter which direction you bend the glass, inside fibers will be in position to resist compression, while outside fibers will be in position to resist stretching. And the other fibers hold these fibers in place. The only problem is that the layers try and slide past each other. That’s why you should interlock glass layers in a monolithic layup. They resist sliding. Maybe you should consider using two sixes on bottom.
Noodle, thanks for the response, and the advice. I am going to go for the 2 6oz layers on the bottom. - Ray>>> Monolithic lam.>>> Glass both layers together. Between layers the fibers from one layer > interlock with fibers from the other layer. This squeezes out resin and > prevents glass layers from sliding against each other.>>> Two glass layers are tremendously stronger and lighter than one layer in a > monolithic layup. Here’s the deal. Some of the toughest stresses on > surfboard fiberglass are bending stresses, like the ones that make the > surface depressions you talked about. The glass on the outside of the bend > gets stretched, while the glass on the inside of the bend gets compresses.>>> Because of the weave pattern, glass fibers on one side run in the warp > direction (lengthwise), and the fibers on the opposite surface run in the > woof (across) direction. Fibers running along stress lines resist > stretching and compression. If you only have one layer of glass, no matter > which way you try and bend it, the fibers on one side will run in the bend > direction, and the fibers on the other side will run at right angles to > the bend. One side will resist the bend forces, while the other side > won’t.>>> Glass layers represent full packages of strength. By laminating two layers > together, you place whole glass layers in position to resist the bending > forces. No matter which direction you bend the glass, inside fibers will > be in position to resist compression, while outside fibers will be in > position to resist stretching. And the other fibers hold these fibers in > place.>>> The only problem is that the layers try and slide past each other. That’s > why you should interlock glass layers in a monolithic layup. They resist > sliding.>>> Maybe you should consider using two sixes on bottom.
I thought I had it all figured out. I had it wrong about each cloth layer having all warp layers on one side, and all woof fibers on the other. It’s BS. Both sides show a checkerboard pattern. The conclusion is true though. Whole glass layers are needed to resist pushing and pulling forces on each side of a bend. Tests are available to prove it. Don’t forget to squeegee out the excess resin. Good luck.