Check this out. My bud and I just established a bet. We have a $1000 dollar bet that I can make more of a profit then him by outsourcing all of the processes on a board. I have no experience past the shaping. I just need to glass the deck and get fins and a plug on it and it will be good to go. I am not doing this as a business opportunity. Just want to finish a board 100% having it be cheaper and as good as quality as his. I want to prove a point that 100 percent out sourcing will be cheaper. Does anyone out there know how I can complete this process of finishing the board by doing it as cheap as possible? (FCS vs Glass on, where should I get it glassed or get epoxy etc.) It has to be good quality board with all processess done on it are out sourced. All original blanks were shaped on CNC and are about 6’2". If anyone out there has suggestions please respond. Right now after shaping on CNC and purchasing blank from Foam EZ I am at 52 dollars per board. I can install plug and fins myself if I choose. Should I??? I would like to try and keep entire process under 200 dollars.
I will keep forum updated with outcome. Currently I am in the lead by two days due to the quick CNC to his hand shaping
No help here…$238 for a clear, sanded gloss, 4oz bottom, 6+4 oz deck, Futures on the side, Bahne in the middle at Aquatech. You lost the bet as soon as you forgot about labor…you are going to pay for it and your do-it-yourself buddy won’t. Actually, you are going to pay for his labor; $1,000
Unless you are going to leave the board in your shop over night and hope little elves are going to come and finish it, someone is going to have do some labor. And they will probably want money in exchange for that labor.(Unless they are magic elves) So therefore you are going to be paying for materials PLUS for some ones labor, VS. your cool buddies materials cost only. Looks like your screwed. I’m stoked your buddy will be able to build a few more boards with that 1K… maybe he’ll be cool and hook you up a deal on one? -Carl
The labor is the killer cost there - and if your buddy can shape a decent deck, he will come up with something of comparable quality for WAY less than what you end up paying for a glass job as well as board materials and any painting as well as shaping.
If you do everything other than the glass, you are looking at around 300 bucks minimum. That’s assuming you already have the tools needed to shape as well as all the materials.
The 238 dollar glass job Lee mentioned would be considered a deal at most places.
OUT SOURCE…nuspeak…skilled labor cheap=crossing the border…ho ho ho you are goin to Mexico or vancoooover or puerto rico or the dread socially dubious CHINA…where only springbok wunderkind dont get slammed for taking work away from hardworking red blooded americans …now we get to the 220 volts electrical current…see thet guy over there by the exit from the parking lot by the peir? He is holding a sign…slow down read it it says …WILL GLAS SAND PLUG AND GLOSS FOR FOOD…he is your man…he will eat a lot but it wont be money so you can keep your cash costs down and if your mom/sister/girlfriend makes good deserts you may have a factory crew assembled in a matter…of days if neither mom,sis,or girlcooking have you ask if he eat jack in the box…if sombody already picks up the guy at the peir before you get there try 7/11…and speak spanish…youre foot will taste better the more you chew…outsource…euphamism… exploit with substandard wage…only would have worked without a time limit giving you oppertunity to send out for bids on multi board deal…e con no mix…good lesson…ambrose…Velzy told russell , russell told me “glass your own boards” followed by a knowing nod
Eric. didn’t it cost you around $200. to get a board scanned? then a charge to have the blank mild? that’s going to be mighty expensive board/bet
I don’t glass my boards. for a board under 7’-0" my total for everything (blank, professional sanded finish glass job and fins) at the end comes to $190 to $210.00. I figured if I did the glassing I would only be saving about $50. so it is worth it for me not to have to do that toxic labor.
i think there was one thing left out in your bet… who could get the most money for there board when it was finished… the home builder or the outsourcer
Thanks!! So it is possible. That is what I was interested in. I have the CAD capabilities and the board was shaped on a program at my work. I sent it to a local company who cut it on a 5 axis for me. It came out great and now i just need to glass it and get the fins on and plug. Do you have any suggestions??
Let me make this a little clearer. The bet is that I can produce a board, good quality, faster and less expensive then him by out sourcing (labor+materials) all finishing processes on a deck. I did not say that I would not pay for labor. I said what is the least expensive route to go. I am a mechanical engineer so I shaped the board on a CAD program at my work and cut it on a CNC. This took me far less time then his hand shaping and for the deck plus the cut cost me far less then his time hand shaping, cleaning etc. So I have already beat him there!!! Now I need to pay for labor (obviously) and materials for the rest of the process. Can anyone help me there. Instead of knocking the idea can someone be more helpful?? I was more interested in the least expensive ways (FCS vs Glass on fins, epoxy??) Ill tell you what if you help me win I will throw part of that 1k to keep Swaylock up and running.
Speaking of Surfboard Elves, I had the total jack-off sander, fin guy in Fla. He would go of clubbing, eating X and not show up for days. When his miserible ass finally arrived, hed be pissed there was no work for him. “who did those boards?”, would dribble from his lips, my reply was “must have been the Surfboard Elves”, they misteriously arrive late at night toiling double duty, when not working for Santa (jack-off boy went to prison for date rape, selling blow, X, oxcy, ruffi’s, weed, it was my fault for the Elves doing his work)
Can anyone help me there. Instead of knocking the idea can someone be more helpful?? I was more interested in the least expensive ways (FCS vs Glass on fins, epoxy??) Ill tell you what if you help me win I will throw part of that 1k to keep Swaylock up and running.
Well either you’re not explaining the situation properly, or it’s an insane situation that deserves to be made fun of. It seems you’re claiming that you can make a board, through CNC and outsourcing, faster and cheaper than your friend can make one, by hand, himself. Sure, you might make it faster (if you pay a lot to someone who will do it quickly), but cheaper? Assume that you pay about the same in materials (subtract the cost of materials from your outsourcing costs), you still have the fraction of your outsourcing costs that goes to labor… you’re friend doesn’t have any other costs. So are you claiming that you can find materials cheaper than your buddy?
Your Buddy already posted on here and put up the same deal. He said if we help him win he’ll donate half the money to Swaylocks… what are you offerin?
Assuming you are both hackers like most of us here, you will likely end up with the better quality stick but it will never, ever, be cheaper or faster due to the aforementioned labor cost and the dreaded middlemen. If your buddy actually knows what he is doing, you’ll lose on all accounts.
The cheapest way to glass a board is polyesther, clear, no gloss, sanded finish with a single, glass-on fin, one 4 oz bottom 4oz top with a 4oz deck patch.
everything else outsourced to 1 shop: 200.00 - 240.00
your cost: 252.00 - 292.00
because the “everything else” guy is not going to do your work at wholesale. And guess what…unless you put a substantial load of cash into his palm beforehand, it is not likely he is going to do your work before the work he already has in line. so include your “tip” for this in your costs.
If you locate several “everything else” guys who will do separate operations cheaper than the 1 shop, you have to factor in transportation costs at 2.00 (?) a gallon for gas.
my cost ( or your bud’s):
clark reject blank: 35.00
1.5 qt lam resin: 7.75
1.5 qt sanding resin: 7.75
4 yds glass: 12.00
FCS cups: 12.00
misc.(MEKP, sand
paper, acetone,
poly spray): 10.00
total: 84.50
so, presuming equal skills, he can get an easy $200.00 for his board. Meanwhile, at $200.00, you are in the hole a minimum of 52 bucks.
and faster?
i’ll start at 8 in the morning, and you can pick up the finished board at 5 that evening. if you want to put 1K on it?
and trust me, most of the guys on here are competitive in quality with any pro shop or board maker…hell, many of them ARE the pro’s
so, i think you have a losing proposition with your pal. pay him.
the nobility of the Individual effort as represented by the chahacter John Henery in amercan folk literature…is being rewritten here with the cad machine tech ego possibly about to experience defeat at the hands of a crafts man representing our dematerializing 20th century…The Inky Poo ,named for its audible steam drive ,was defeated with John Henry’s last breath of life …the railroad track "linin’ track " songs preserved in our folk music have taken on conotations beyond their literal meaning and repopularized by the folk singing community and crossover artists like Taj Majal. The fact that you are confounded by your dire circumstance is entertaining to this group of hand crafters that create surfboards for pleasure as well as an illusion of independence…if you look at the cartoon of John Henry and the Inky Poo,a george pal puppetoon by the way, the people cheering for John henry are the working class people who derive a sense if satisfaction from toiling and completing a job that engages the true depth and breadth of them selves…if you are looking for sympathy for your plight it may be better achieved by communicating with some industrial engineers that thrive on the satisfaction of tucking a status pen into a pocket protecter and thumbing their noses at the John Henry’s on the factory floor that will soon be displaced by the glassing machine…much aloha but until you make the $685,000 dollar investment in the Glassing Machine and the $50,000 FCS setting machine and the 40,000$ polishing machine and the 20,000$ schmoozing video you lost horribly to the last of the self respecting surfboard builders even though he is risking death to rise to this competition You on the other hand will lose only money and suffer temporary ego dammage that will stir the angst whithin you to design the glassing machine to revolutionalize the world as we know it and in old age you can look back on the experience that made you the captain of industry that evolutionalizes surfing and leaves all those scoffers like me in my rightful places back there in the surfing stone age having fun.good luck and make an appointment with a good Psychotherapist …ambrose… I get a kick back from the shrink give him my name
Howzit erik, Think you better check your check book balance. I charge $ 185.00 to glass a 6’ 2" with FCS included, but with the $52.00 blank adde in it comes to $237.00 . Not the smartest wager. Aloha, Kokua
I am concerned that you think taking advantage of your work situation - free access to computer and shaping machine - has any bearing on the greater reality those who frequent this lovely universe called swaylocks are part of. How does it fit? Besides, as most pointed out, how do you expect to pay someone to do something for less, than your freind will do it for free?? I don’t know, I’m just asking.
Too many variables for me to contribute much. However, I have been to China on biz and worked with mfgs there. The average MONTHLY pay for a chinese worker is about $100. They also get room and board. Most line workers are young females.
I am against outsourcing but the economic forces are just too great. There are soooo many people over there its ridiculous, and most will jump at the chance to work for a hill of beans.
The worst part of my visits was having to eat dinner with those ‘partners’…I’ll I could eat was boiled shrimp, rice and beer.