Im going to start shaping my first board. Is freelapping easier than cutlapping? If so thats how I will glass the board. Also, when freelapping, after cutting the first layer of glass near the board, how long should i overhang the second layer of glass. One more question, when do you know to flip the glass onto the deck of the board. Thanks!
There is tons of info on cutlaps and glassing in the forums, i suggest just taking that journey into research land, you’ll be better off because of it if you plan on doing more boards.
If you’ve seen or read The Lord of the Rings, it’s comparible to when Gandolph comes back as the white wizard.
you must go NOW!!
Hey Snap,
I finished my first board a month ago, did cutlaps both sides and was pretty easy and trouble free, i can imagin that free lapping would be harder at first if you have not done glassing before.
I just went from oldy’s jouney of a quad thread and project frog thread… do a search as there are step by step photo instructions for the cut lap process, also youtube has tons of glassing clips that are helpful to get ideas…
Just my 2 cents worth form an amature…
Good luck
i find cutlaps to be easier than freelapping, and i get a better cosmetic result. but i’m no craftsman.
chances are, though, that your first few freelaps will be all over the place. with a cutlap, you always get a nice, easy, uniform lap to take down after you cut away the excess. it makes the preparation for subsequent layers MUCH easier than a wavy freelap.
ok thanks guys, looks like ill be doing a cutlap
another question, I want my dims to be 5’6” x 20” x 2 ¾, is there a certain “formula” to get the lengths of various points on the board. Thanks
at first all i did was clears and those are free lapped. ive done some clear cutlaps and thats mainly with volan.
freelapping is easy and gets even easier with repitition. just make sure you cuts are clean and your cloth is stright.
cutlaps are great till you get an opaque no pinline oh no then what?
oh the little things that can make or break your cutlap.
turn off all the light but one… the one under the board.
Im with Vader on this
just fee lap, its a lot less work than cutlapping
keep your # 1 simple
when its done you wont see the laps anyway
heres a pic of my #001
free laped… can you tell?
I personally find a cut lap to be less "Stressful" than a free lap. As a beginner, you wont have to worry about all the "Strings" and mess. I always use scotch 233+ tape for the tape off and then use masking paper to cover the entire bottom. It might be overkill, but I started doing it that way when I first started doing color. Now I do a cut lap on the bottoms only of all my boards because I like the clean look I get.
Just don’t forget to cut your lap after a few hours! I still forget sometimes, probably due to old age, but it is a pain in the butt to have to sand through enough to trim it.
Howzit Darth, Free lapping is so easy once you get the squeegee technique down. Where most people make their mistake is when they wrap the rails and move the strings out of the weave and onto the foam. Proper squeegeeing eliminates this problem.I love doing freelaps.Aloha,Kokua
when i do free lap clears, pining the laps and pulling everything clean is two different methods for me personaly.
freelaps i pin the middle off the board first in one downward motion to the deck then work out from the middle to band the rails keep the cloth tight. never really completely pulling it straight onto the deck. this helps eliminate the stringys.
cutlaps arnt so critcal unless your ding tints.
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Free lapping is so easy once you get the squeegee technique down.
care to elaborate Kokua?
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most people make their mistake is when they wrap the rails and move the strings out of the weave and onto the foam.
i did exactly that on my first and only lam so far.
thanks in advance for your help and wisdom.
Im with the freelappers. I find freelapping easier, and you cant really tell it’s freelapped if you do a half decent job.
Hey Leslie,
Do you use 233 tape on EPS and PU/PE boards alike?
Is 233 the best for EPS?
I use 233+ for everything except ding repair. I use it for bottom hotcoats, glosses, cut laps, you name it. Every other tape gets too goopy for me. It works just fine with EPS. Color tints and cut laps are no problem on EPS either. I sound like a spokeswoman for Scotch! Yikes! But it does work well. I've found a very good place to buy it with the cheapest price I've ever seen. Check out <a href="http://www.smartshoppers.com">www.smartshoppers.com</a>. They also have buffing pads, polishers, compounding materials, etc.