cut supply lines?

What is the likleyhood of there being a restriction on your average backyard joe types from aquiring the materials necessary to build boards. Like what happened to r-12 refridgerant sort of. Im i just being paranoid? Does anyone have any first hand knowledge on this ?

What is the likleyhood of there being a restriction on your average > backyard joe types from aquiring the materials necessary to build boards. > Like what happened to r-12 refridgerant sort of. Im i just being paranoid? > Does anyone have any first hand knowledge on this ? don p, As with all things in a consumer-based society, the most widely used, commonly available materials are very unlikely to ever become unavailble without plenty of warning. But the farther away from the point of manufacture and primary sources of distribution a person lives, the greater the potential for shortages and the highest prices. Besides the fact that it just feels good, it`s never unwise to have a couple favorite blanks, fiberglass cloth, etc. stashed away… just in case. In fact, I have hardcore clients who actually have new, unused surfmats carefully rolled and tucked away in bank safe deposit boxes! Dale

Don…some of your concerns are valid…especially with respect to the “backyard builder”/low volume shaper. One of the main concerns are how we affect the environment. the current materials are pretty toxic, and everything from our blanks to the resins we glass with are under increasing scrutiny by the environmental agencies, these days. (and rightly so…to a great extent) Yes, the supply to us could “dry up”, but not without warning (as Dale has indicated). Backyard builders would be the “first to go” in the scheme of things. Backyard guys are perceived to be the most detrimental to the environment because of (some of) our unregulated way(s) of handling things (dust and fumes flying around…disposal issues…operating under questionable conditions; unsupervised). The new materials are promising, so we will probably have safer blanks and glassing products (maybe something altogether different). It is looking like we will become more regulated, very soon. If you are not established, it may become increasingly difficult to acquire the materials necessary to make boards for yourself. It may also become cost prohibitive in time. but don’t give up if this is something that you love …making boards. where there is a will, there is a way…and taking up Dale’s advice…it never hurts to have a secret stockpile/stash of materials. (bet a lot of you would love to go back in time and hoard some of your fave blanks which are no longer available…how about a couple of spanking new skill 100’s?! EH?!)

Barring local community regulations about activities allowed in areas zoned residential, as for environmental laws and issues, ironically, as long as you do not drop anything on the ground and leave it - particularly acetone (deliberately dump it on the ground, get caught, go to jail) - I would say the environmental impact is relatively minor. And, it is unlikely that the core materials you use today will be unavailable to you in the future. Cloth and resin are used in so many applications - you may even have counter tops in your home made of polyester resin. Once resin sets up - its safe, you can even eat off a table made of it. Resin accelerator (Methyl Ethel Ketone Peroxide, or MEKP) is the only item I would expect as “likely” to be restricted in the future - in terms of who can get it - do to its toxicity. But then you can use suncure if that happens. Blanks, once manufactured, produce no significant environmental impact (inert dust) - so as long as you do not drop the dust on the ground and leave it - or let it float into your neighbor’s pool or barbecue grill, your cool. For the most part, the environmental impacts of surfboard manufacture are blown out of proportion. Let’s face it, the highest impact product you will use (due to the combination of toxicity and volume) is acetone - and they sell that at freak’n Wal-Mart every day. Make the change to suncure and lose the MEKP, and you have a fairly low impact (environmentally speaking) set up. That is not to say that breathing foam dust and raw poly resin for 25 years is ok. Or that laminating a board in your living room is smart. The surfboard industry is a real small blip on the environmental radar screen - much bigger fish to fry than you. As for blanks, who knows? Clark pretty much has a monopoly, they could stop selling to the amateur builder and we (those of us still in the underground) would all be screwed. But then you could just get yourself a business license and they would have a hard time denying you the product without breaching anti-trust law. Shine http://users2.fdn.com/~shine

In 1974, I had taken several deposits on boards. I went down to my local resin supplier with my empty cans (I could refill for $3.00/gallon) and was told that due to the “Arab Oil Embargo” resin was no longer available at any price to small time guys like me. The big boys (aerospace, yacht builders, etc) who buy multiple 55 gallon drums had priority. It was months before I could find resin in small quantities and the price had gone to something like $15.00/gallon! Acetone was still unavailable. There were lines at the gas pumps a mile long and I can remember the odd/even days, a pregnant woman getting beat up for cutting in line and even shootings - some gas pump attendants wore guns!

In 1974, I had taken several deposits on boards. I went down to my local > resin supplier with my empty cans (I could refill for $3.00/gallon) and > was told that due to the “Arab Oil Embargo” resin was no longer > available at any price to small time guys like me. The big boys > (aerospace, yacht builders, etc) who buy multiple 55 gallon drums had > priority. It was months before I could find resin in small quantities and > the price had gone to something like $15.00/gallon! Acetone was still > unavailable. There were lines at the gas pumps a mile long and I can > remember the odd/even days, a pregnant woman getting beat up for cutting > in line and even shootings - some gas pump attendants wore guns! Before this happened, acetone was 11.00$ a drum!!!Dion resin, the mainstay enduro resin of choice, a mere 175.00 a drum delivered!!! Obscure, small resin companies were smothered with new biz’. I could get one 5 gallon pail at a time/40.00$, suddenly, acetone was 3-5 bucks a gallon, but is was the start of the Columbian cocaine boom and much U.S. acetone was being diverted to South America. Boards had to jump in price overnight, it was famine for quite a while, surf trips could only be calculated in how far 5$ of gas would take you and back. It was a black time for everyone, especially surfboard builders.

Before this happened, acetone was 11.00$ a drum!!!Dion resin, the > mainstay enduro resin of choice, a mere 175.00 a drum delivered!!! > Obscure, small resin companies were smothered with new biz’. I could get > one 5 gallon pail at a time/40.00$, suddenly, acetone was 3-5 bucks a > gallon, but is was the start of the Columbian cocaine boom and much U.S. > acetone was being diverted to South America. Boards had to jump in price > overnight, it was famine for quite a while, surf trips could only be > calculated in how far 5$ of gas would take you and back. It was a black > time for everyone, especially surfboard builders…I owned 2 hotrods at that time,a 1970 454ci chevy ss that got about 3-7 mpg,and a 1968 428ci super cobra jet GT fastback Mustang that got about 5-10 mpg.BOTH OF THESE CARS WERE 10 SECOND QUARTER MILERS.I held on to them as long as I could but with the jump in gas,I eventually sold them.Herb.

So I guess the point is that we will all run out of life before we run out of resin. Better to worry about the first, rather than the second. http://users2.fdn.com/~shine