Hi I want to know if it is possible to lay balsa veneer (1/16") on the bottom of the board, no rails, without having to go through the vacuum bagging process.
If I can, what would be the best way to do that?
I was thinking about going one plank at a time, fixing it to the foam core with 5 minute epoxy, waitin till it dried, then doing the next…etc etc…
When the whole bottom was done I would glass with 4oz and epoxy resin.
Anyone see a problem with this?
get yourself
tape
big plastic bag
beach/sandy environment
dig deep hole in sand
laminate
tape everything up so it doesnt move
in plastic bag
in hole
bury
wait till cured [never tried this one]
OR, fill firm plastic bags with sand and put on top of board.
or make life easy and get a vac pump from a fridge or freezer or airconditioning [true and tried]
or maybe try and wrap it with some kitchen plastic on a roll [never tried this one]
I tried to laminate with pressure only, and the wood is so strong, it neverlies down flat.
if you decide to go with the sand in bag, try to have something FIRM in between the weight and the board, if you use sand, the wood is strong enough to deform the sand locally, even though there is like 15 kg on top. that is why something FIRM must be used.
But make life easy, get a vac pump for zilch off the street. you can tape your own bag. be creative for some hose. oil the pump regularly.
good luck
spread thin layer 30 min epoxy on the balsa and on the foam, lay the balsa sheet ,
I mean the pre-glued sheets all together, after cutting template!
cover the whole thing with 1.5litre bottles,
filled with beer off course!! ( water, sand or whatever u like , all heavy and good as well)
let it cure and you’re done.
I guess I will just suck it up and get a vacuum bagging pump. Just need an old fridge pump etc…
I was hoping there would be another way but guess it sounds like just as much work for a “maybe” solution.
Thanks guys!
i think your idea will work
thought of doing itmyself
id glass the blank first and light scuff
then glue down the sheets one by one with 5 min epoxy
then lightly sand then glass it again
no reason why it wouldnt work
5 min epoxy should be a good industrial rated one
not just 5 min araldite
Don’t forget the water tank idea somebody had. Slide it into a bag and submerge it… let water pressure do the rest.
Hi I want to know if it is possible to lay balsa veneer (1/16") on the bottom of the board, no rails, without having to go through the vacuum bagging process.
For the trouble and cost, I would spend the <$100 for a used vacuum bag on e-bay. Get one rated for continuous running and you don’t need to worry about reservoirs and vacuum switches, just need a gauge and a bleeder valve (or punch some holes in your vacuum bag). Vacuum bagging a skin is easy. Vacuum bagging the outer lam, different story…
regards,
Håvard
there is a thread from a guy who put veneer on a SUP. He used a inflateble matress, put it on the veneer. Then wrapped the board in plastic. Then inflated the airmatress. looked to me like a simple method and he had succes with it.
keep it simple! erwin
I recall one of the hawaiian guys Oneula was it? Who had a picture of the “gravity clamp” method. BAsically it was a shot of a board in a bag with everything but the kitchen sink on it!!
But well… I think that the most effective option for a veneer is to grab the fridge-pump method, it ain’t difficult to do and has really good results. As for vac bags, just HDPE film on a roll is sufficient. You don’t need fancy strechlon bags or breather-bleeder thingies… just a plastic foil tube and some bubble wrap foil… there is loads of stuff on this in the archives here and on Compsand.
Good luck!!
nah your onto it bro
its so simple and it will work
but if you want to you can use cling wrap
that will work
anyway
this is what i though of doing to make a proa
im pretty sure it will work
carve it in polystyrene
glass it
and then glue/layup the balsa planks onto the glassed plug with 5 minute
when there all glued on
remove the polystyrene plug and then glue on balsa ribs on the inside and glass over them
then flip and glass the outside
it would be really light and easy to make
been dreaming bout that one for years
so simple and no bags or equipment needed
you’re just asking for problems.
been there done that
The sandbox idea has been tested and proven by Bert himself
There’s another way that model airplane/rocket builders use
and that is using heat shrink wrap tape or industrial film
wrap it around the object secure with filament tape then use a hair dryer or heat gun to cause the tape or film to contract by 30-50 percent
Finally there’s plastic wrapping film and fiber tape a favorite clamp of Paul Jensen.
Just some ideas but a pump or venturi converter for you compressor and a bag is the way to go.
Here’s the first skin I “bagged” on 
That’s 32 1-gallon ziplock bags full of water - a little more than 260 lbs of direct pressure. Plus a few assorted clamps on the ends and a few bricks in the middle. I was just so excited about Bert’s old thread on skinned boards that I had to give it a try, even before I had a single piece of my vac setup ready to go. Rail pieces were put on with blue tape until the epoxy held.
That board was .75# EPS from Home Depot, with 1/4" balsa skins and 4oz glass under & over. It came out a little heavy, but not bad. Its still alive & well. I actually think 1/8" skins are stronger, as there’s a point of diminishing returns wrt balsa thickness, where if the wood is too thick & too soft, the inner glass has little effect, as the wood itself can get crushed like foam blanks do. With 1/8" balsa, its too thin to crush much and the strength of the inner glass is more of a factor. Not to mention that the planks are easier to bend 
Good luck!
Hey tizod, why do you want to put balsa on the foam?
What type of foam are you using?
I ask because yes, even tho its possible, there are many problems with what youre trying to do.
If I had the time to list them I would, but its a long list.
no ones told me any problems with it yet
shall i do a layup?
i think it will work very well as long as you do one sheet at a time
i also see its value in sculpture and arts
bet yas 50$ it can be done
you could even scuff up the deck of a poly board
glue on the planks one by one a put another layer of glass on them
hah wanna try thick foils
scufff up a plastic fin and glue on balsa with 5 minute
foiles it smooth and paint it with resin
you surfin the next day
hey P, yeah its doable but I doubt it without distorting the rocker.
so in the end, he’ll have a board with a balsa bottom and distorted rocker.
looks good while walking down the beach but surfs like shit.
doing it w/o distortion is also possible but at that point might as well plunk $100 for pump.
A thick heavy foam blank would make things much easier hence why I asked the question.
#1 EPS would be a major hassle.
If anyone can do it w/o distortion, I’ll bet you $50 its YOU.
For #1 EPS (getting cut out of a slab):
hotwire the bottom of the board and leave the top of the slab flat and resting on the floor so the rocker can’t distort.
Of course now you’ve spent the time and $ to make profile templates and a hotwire rig…
im thinkin 2pound foam thats already glassed tho
and just on the deck side
or as a deck restoration with 1mm balsa on top of a poly
it wouldnt cost much to try with 1mm on an old poly board
then with 4 oz over the top