Anybody have experience with seconds? I just bought one, a 6’9"R for 35 bucks. they told me they dont know whats wrong with it and I could only find a small hole about a quater inch in diameter and 3/16 deep. Could there be anything more severe i should look for?
hey Jason, Im no expert on this but, I would be looking carefully for two things of concern:- 1. TWISTED BLANK - longitudinal twisting as a result of gluing up the stringer. I have heard that you can actually cut a twist out (by sanding it out) but its a bastard to do. 2. POOR CELL STRUCTURE - the manufacturer may have identified that the foam blowing process created a large open cell structure, meaning that once the crust is removed, the blank will be quite soft. Both sound dire I know, but you may be right about the hole being the only problem.
I’ve had “second” blanks for test boards and I’ve seen exactly those problems you’ve described. Most of the time, say 7 out of 10, it’s just physical damage like “da kine puka” or a busted nose. When there was not any obvious damage, the problems mentioned (twist and bad structure) were usually there. You bought it already- so just make a killer board (well not too killer in case something goes wrong…) Good Luck.
I thought about twisting but i couldnt see anything obvious (i may see it in the shaping room but i dont know yet). Guys at clark told me they have no idea whats wrong with some of the seconds, they just come with whatever flaw and you have to find it and decide if you want it.
Jason. Check the blank in your shaping bay lights, there could be a black line or a clear line in the foam from a bad pour. The black line is ok, but the white line is unmixed chemicals which makes for a weak blank.The black line is from two lines of foam coming together once a skin has formed or there is a gap in the pour after the paper has covered the foam and the mould is closed, the foam will be ok but the black line may show when you glass the blank.There could also be a hole in the foam once you remove the skin,the hole may also show up in the lights. Rabbit
Seconds are usually only small holes in the skin of the blank and are a bargin. Blanks that are twisted, have big bubbles or a bad pour are called rejects and clark sells those even cheaper. You just check then out before you buy them, clark will circle any large flaws with a black marker.
Clark doesn’r sell 2nds or rejects that have chemical flaws, ones that will continue to collapse or decompose. They will always be cosmetic flaws, I buy as many 2nds as I can get my hands on. It is the perfect place to put the cut for offset stringers, but in most instances, they disappear during shaping
I get “pour marks” in First Quality blanks all the time!!! A real pain for those super light shortboards that have bottom contours, etc. Just keep those tools sharp and keep mowing I guess… …haven’t seen many “Reject” blanks in recent years; plently of “Seconds”. Great for experimenting.