I don’t know where to even start. Here’s a little intro about myself:
I’ve been doing career insight. I realized that a career isn’t so much about the money. I’ve grown up in Sarasota, Florida (west coast florida) about 5 minutes from the beach. Although the waves suck 95% of the time, I managed to get into skimboarding and slightly into surfing (still trying rights as a goofy footer haha). I never had much time to excell because I was a competitive swimmer in high school through my freshman year at University of Florida But my point is that I looked for a career that I would really enjoy. I tried to look inside and find that one thing that I could do to get away from all my stresses. I recognized water sports as this outlet, and why not try to incorporate it as something that I could do for a living.
I’m currently in my second year at the University of Florida. I’m doing a dual major in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. I’ve figured that this is a great way to learn the “science” of board production as well as dynamics of materials and even hydrodynamics. What I’m looking for now is a little intro into the field. Before jumping into my first board, I want to do my research. It is pretty difficult for me to follow a lot of the talk about materials for boards. I understand the basics of rocker, rails, buoyancy, etc.
Based on my knowledge now, are there any links that anyone can pass to me so I can do a little research. I searched the forums a bit and found a few DVD’s that are a good intro (101s). Thanks for anyone’s help!
Hey Drew, there's tons of information on Sways about board-building, but for sure - difficult to follow if you're not familiar with shaping terminology. Greenlight (www.greenlightsurfsupply.com) has a series of useful information and printable templates for beginning shapers. If you're looking for the uber-DIY fix you should visit www.surfersteve.com. A lot of $-saving first-timer info there. You just need to get your hands (and dorm-room) dirty. Get some blue Dow insulation foam from Home Depot, some glass and epoxy and go crazy! It will float, and you will be able to ride it. So your boys will knock the first couple shapes, but only because they're jealous. Skip the ultra teched-out / designerly / over-engineered / ultralight / etc. approach the first time - will only slow you down when you could have made a handfull of boards by then, and begun to develop your intuition.
Thanks your the information, I at least have a house and garage to mess up this year, no more dorm b.s. (shaping a board in the dorm would definitely cost me all of my deposit haha). I have a little experience in glassing through building custom subwoofer boxes with my friend, but only with walmart-level fabric and resin. I live in Gainesville with a few surfers and they’ve talked about wanting to have some fun with making boards so I won’t get too much heat as long as I can 1-up them! Thanks for the information, it gives me a good starting point!
All other opinions are greatly appreciated as well.
Also check out the various videos on shaping and glassing from Greg Lohr (epoxy 101) and John Carper (shaping 101). You can get them at various sources and sometimes rent them. While you won’t be able to get a skil100 planer, get a decent planer and learn to use it. When you watch the videos pay attention to the shapers left hand on the planer - they use the controls to vary the cutting depth to fair their lines and such. It took me a while to catch on but this is vital. There are a lot of other techniques in the videos that are well worth the price of admission.
Check the other threads here for details on light racks and stands. You’ll need to build some.
If you live near an Insulfoam plant you can usually buy a block of foam from them to make a bunch of boards out or. I got a 2# density 4x8x14" block from them for $130, it’s enough for 6 boards and that’s wasting a bunch. Google them to see if they are near.
Thanks for the leads on videos. I’ll definitely look into those and see what I can get my hands on. I found an Insulfoam plant in Lakeland, just an hour or so south of where I’m living right now so that works out really well. Any ideas on a decent planer? Not something too difficult or too expensive to get, just for the fact that I am just looking to get the feel of the process right now. One last thing, what was the foam block that you recommended that I get? I checked the website but I wasn’t sure of the block that you had recommended.