wow,… all i have to say about the newest boards. ? about the tailblocks…are you using casting resin for the clear, or regular lam resin? also…what’s your technique when combining the clear and wood for blocks?
hey teddy,
Thanks for the kind words. The new tailblocks were an experiment gone right!! I use regular lam resin kicked pretty slow. The technique for the clear and wood blocks is one filled with trial and error. As of yesterday im trying a new method and hoping for better results. This time i made the tailblock into its own mold. I took two strips of bass wood and taped them together 1/4 inch apart and filled in the gap with the clear resin. I also suggest wiping the woods down with acetone prior to this and sometimes cheater coating them with lam before hand. I used a popsicle stick which just happens to be 1/4 inch wide to give me something to hold them separate. I will try to take pictures as i go through this process. Hope that helps.
Austin S.
Hey Austin,
Here’s one of my trial and errors that actually worked. It was inspired by one of your resin tailblocks. I took a 1x2 piece of balsa slightly wider than the tail width. With a slightly steady hand, I routered a 1/2 inch trough down the middle leaving about a 1/4 inch of wood on each end and 1/8 inch or so on the bottom. I filled the trough with sanding resin kicked really slow. After it kicked, I sanded the bottom wood off and cut the width down leaving a nice balsa/resin/balsa tailblock to shape down. If you make it a little thicker than the actual tail, you can sand off any bubbles that cure in the top. Hope this makes sense.
have you ever cut the block or resin with a jig saw? can you recommend a good blade to use?
I actually cut it with a scroll saw with a regular wood cutting blade, but a jig saw should work too. Just take it slow when entering the resin so it doesn’t crack or chip.
The tail block I made for a customer board going to Costa Rica tomorrow. It includes Purple Heart, Zebra wood, Maple and Red Oak, Fabric Inlay and then Clear.
For more pics…go to www.fluidedgesurfboards.com (Artwork then Current Projects)
I hope to upload final pics to the site this evening before we leave.
Teddy,
The best thing we have found so far is a skill saw with a plywood blade (we flip it upside down and use it like that/ so far no lost fingers). It cuts much smoother and quicker than a bandsaw and definitely better than a jigsaw. A table saw would be the ticket but unfortunately we don't have one of those.
Troy
where might i find mold release? arts & craft store?
ok here are those pics i was promising. I dunno about mold release teddy. I dont use anything. My mold is made of window glass. hope these help.
Austin,
What did you use to glue them all together? To the board?
Gregg
Gregg,
Lam resin and Lam resin.
Troy
here is the finished pic.
Came out really nice. Hope that helped teddy.
Austin S.