I'm a Bro not a Pro,
I called all the local Low Tech Guys in to a meeting. It got intense. I got slammed...big time...
I told the Crew to respect Ben T....No respect given...The guys respect DeadShaper...
Ben....I like your work....My guys say you've glassed less than 6 surfboards ?????
I say screw it ...glass the gosh darn thing....
It's just a surfboard....4oz cloth is easy to work with. Go for it!
Ray
Ray, you nailed it again. “out of the mouths of rays…” (lame play on the old saying : out of the mouths of babes…)
Ben, no disrespect. We are talking past each other. Just trying to understand your point. I use the 3 oz in 45 degree orientation sandwiched by 4 and 4 oz which are in 0/90 orientation. Am I wasting my time in your opinion?
I’m trying to keep it simple. Once a minimum threshold in durability and function is reached, it is then not about the tech.
[quote="$1"]
I told the Crew to respect Ben T....No respect given...The guys respect DeadShaper...
Ben....I like your work....My guys say you've glassed less than 6 surfboards ?????
[/quote]
They should respect DeadShaper, he dispenses a lot of good advice. An aspiring craftsman will learn a lot more from him than me.
The first thing a structural engineer learns on the job is that the builders have little respect for them. Why would they? We haven't ever welded a single joint or laid an ounce of concrete. It's a frustrating experience for many, especially considering the liability that we assume…if our calculation is wrong, many people will die, if not hundreds or thousands. The attitude that some shapers and glassers express toward me is of no surprise. I think about surfboards more than anything else I own (more than everything else I own combined) and I think shapers practice one of the most intellectually challenging vocations in the world. Still, the boards and the people that make them are of little importance to me next to surfing.
I’ve glassed three boards…just to validate naysayers looking for validation. Now that I’ve found a master craftsman to build boards to my whacko specs, I may never glass another board in my life! Master-craftsmen like DeadShaper have irreplaceable skills/techniques that would take me a decade to learn…that’s more time consuming than a phd.
[quote="$1"]
I use the 3 oz in 45 degree orientation sandwiched by 4 and 4 oz which are in 0/90 orientation. Am I wasting my time in your opinion?
I'm trying to keep it simple. Once a minimum threshold in durability and function is reached, it is then not about the tech.
[/quote]
Yes, the 45 degree layer improves the layup measurably. Which 3oz cloth are you using?
I like ya Ben…
I enjoy reading your posts. Perhaps they’re a little too scientific and serious at times, but a fun read, and most often contain accurate observations ( as if I knew the difference,lol)…
I think your analogy to the construction industry / engineer is similar here… Most here have leared things through the “school of hard knocks” commonly known as trial and error. Sometimes pure theory is not the answer…
Back to the subject:
I sometimes off set a layer of cloth to cover some of the “off axis” angles, but not enough to have to go and waste precious cloth…
It don’t make that much difference, imho… More layers of lighter cloth don’t result in the larger voids between weave that less layers of thicker, looser weave cloth do… And that’s a personal feeling on my part, maybe I’m wrong…
Hello Ben T ,
I respect your opinion. I like your input. Here's a little story for you.
I'm blue collar , I work in a factory. Lots of chemist and other super smart people running around. It's not un-common to get ignored.....One day Mr Super Smart Guy with two degrees needed to move a pallet. The pallet jack was right there. He jacked up the pallet jack but could not move the pallet. I watched the whole thing. I glanced over at a co worker. We smiled and nodded to each other. Mr Super Smart Guy was jacking up the wheels right on the pallet's wood base. He only need to move the jack 3" but instead he struggled and busted the pallet and left the broken pieces of wood for me and my co worker to clean up. There's no way I was going to help the guy. He has treated me like dirt for years.
Don't be that guy.......
Back to surfboards........
Oh wait.........Most Chemist and engineers where I work are great people and they want the input from the guys on the factory floor. We see things from different angles. We work together to provide the customer with a quality product!!
Have a great day
Stingray