Is anyone doing this and how is it working? It struck me the other day that a 4" width of carbon tape would cost only about twice the same as a basswood stringer – much less work, however. Cut the blank and lam it in with some thicken epoxy. But, would it wreck your planner blades, etc.
2" carbon tape lammed top and bottom would likely do more for strength of the board than vertical in the blank. And then you don’t have to worry about your blades.
From a healthy standpoint, mowing carbon fibers is probably not a good idea. That is what one shaper told me. So I myself would not do it.
Thrailkill has the idea. I’d do what he says.
And if you want to reduce torsion twist, put two on the deck in an “X” pattern.
Anyone for M-2 cloth, no vert stringers?
Some good info – but my goal is to get rid of the wood/pvc stringer and minimize steps - improve strength.
Had a Charlie Baldwin, 1992, with carbon flat down the stringer. Broke that sucker in half.
EVERTHING breaks, there’s nothing you can do about it. Carbon is not the only thing that keeps board’s from breaking, and as mostly applied, the worse thing!
Go back to surfing 101, and look up why a board breaks. It sure isn’t just a couple layers of carbon that prevents breakage, it’s not just a beefier stringer, it might not even be big, beefy laps with stiff resin!
Maybe try not to toss your board pointing straight in or out.
I agree with Lee
I think youve been duped by the Carbon marketing machine. Carbons is stiff and strong but brittle too. Sure it will add stiffness, but its failure rate is catastrophic…i.e., it doesnt just crack, it fails completely. Kevlar wold be a better alternative for prolonged board life. But if you think carbon is a bitch to work with wait till you try kevlar. It also absorbs more resin thusly creating a heavier laminate. From what Ive learned here on sways a center stringer is not the best thing for board performance anyways. But if youre stubborn and feel you must attempt a carbon stringer try routing two or three dados in your board and dropping in carbon tubes, feel the void with whatever your skills allow you…a formed peice of foam, two part urethane foam or ???..and glass it. the tubes will ba far superior to the thin vertical stringer…IMHO.
hi Gary !
what did you use for [a] stringer[s] in your red carbon fibre avatar photo board ?
and , how has that board stood up , so far !
…I’m loving the carbon fibre in the fins I made . I surfed a carbon fibre single fin in the “moonrocket” on that fateful birthday trip to lancelin last week , and the board felt great …until , of course …[“moonrocket attacks” !]
cheers !
ben
‘the lines’ have returned . uh oh.
Forget the stringer.
Use this tape carbon Kevlar.
Comes in colors.
http://www.fibreglast.com/showproducts-category-main-Hybrids-16.html
Polyester and carbon is not a good match.
If your CB was polyester there your answer.
FYI… for all the carbon junkies, that stuff sucks… I have a hood made out of it for my car and its light and all, but it cracked on me so easily and it must be 3/8" thick… split apart all over it too into two halfs… its strong when really thick but not all its hyped up to be. You gotta remember theres still the same resin material giving it form and strength, its just fibers
Not looking at using carbon for carbon’s sake. Lot of truth here and said. I am a long time windsurfer and the strongest wave masts were Kevlar, S-glass and Carbon. 100% carbon is generally used to get the lightest, not the strongest mast and those expensive, bad-boys will break. Laying extra glass or carbon or anything else down the top of a stringer will not give you much to prevent breakage (in my opinion) as the real resistance to breakage is in the lap and “I-beam” of the rail and stringer. That said, my concern is more about thinking outside the box then being enamored with any one product. We are taking surfboard design and construction to new levels. Then slapping a wooden plank down the middle – Ok, that’s the same technology Christopher Columbus used 500 years ago. Maybe wood is still a good choice and at times the best. If we did not consider the alternatives we would all be on redwood boards, no fins, or leashes. And, we would be screwed because we are out of redwood trees! 
Glass fiber, or Carbon fiber, in a resin matrix is a “two phase” material. The resin resistant in compression, the fiber resistant in tension. Wood is a natural two phase material. Probably the best natural two phase material you could use in the traditional sense, would be a laminated Bamboo stringer. Ounce for ounce way stronger than most woods. Anyone out there have some engineering shear tables? I would not be surprised to find out that you would get something close to twice the strength, at equal or less weight. Carbon tape top and bottom, over the stringer, would be resistant in tension, to compression load from the opposit side of the board.
One bad example does not make a study.
Matching the fiber to the resin is where mastery of the
materials comes in. Without more information I can’t really comment further on your story. But, if you can supply hood manufacturer, resin type and manufacturer perhaps I can get a product number for the resin and if I can find the physical characteristics your hood problem can be analyzed further.
Your hood not withastanding, no one should let one car hood stop them from trying ideas. There is plenty of information here in the archives how to match resin to fiber. And wood is considered a fiber. Ancient Hawai’ians made fine cloth from fibers extracted from bark. Just thought I’d throw that in thanks to Oneula. And life on earth is carbon based. Take that thought into your sweat lodge and contemplate.
These are the times to expand out philosophies not limit them.
It is just about the nastiest stuff to work with, I did carbon/epoxy sandwich between western cedar. The carbon fiber gets into the foam when planed, is the crulest splinter when you slide your hand across the foam and get stuck by it. It breaks and you can’t get it out of your skin. The planer blades dull rapidly when cutting too.
Channin bad a box of carbon strips, about 1/2" tall by 1/32" wide, 8 foot long, they were for rail bone re-enforcement. Being nosey, I opened the box and slid them out onto my open, palm sideup hand. That was one of my biggest mistakes ever, my entire palm was full of carbon fiber, misery
Now that we have the view of someone who has actually done it, I think I am ready to toss this idea in the scrap bin – this ones ready for the archives. Jim – you made my first board, circa 1990. Always a pleasure to have your input. Scott
These guys make the majority of the bow limb material for the archery industry. Material is far superior to anything you could wet layup. Not cheap, but by far the best material available for a thin structural laminate. I would look at the Zentron for good tensile strength.
I’m a 24 year, 4 day a week windsurfer also.
But before that, built fairings and seats out of 10oz straight carbon cloth and epoxy resins in the mid 70’s. High frequency vibrations just kill carbon, when mounted solidly, so rubber mountings were used starting right around '69.
Any crash’s killed carbon, so repairs where generally heavy and used on practice bikes, the new lighter fairings on race bikes…
Carbon is stiffer, but weaker against impacts.
“Stronger” is a very misleading word.
I currently sail with mostly 70% carbon PX masts, and have 5 pieces of RDM, some Dynafiber 50’s, North 40’s, and all sorts of pieces.
Just don’t crash with any impact, and they are usually fine…
Larry Gordons family,(Gordon Plastics) Bahne still has the machined aluminum molds that the bows were pressed between. I used some of the micro thin epoxy/carbon sheet for tailblocks accents, but the epoxy didn’t even bond the slightest amount with polyester, fell apart the second I put the grinder to it
Jim,
See above link to Gordon Composites. They moved to Montrose Colorado from San Marcos about 10 years ago. Kind of a Clark Foam situation for the bow industry. Almost all domestic archery bows come from their material.