Hey guys my friend and i have started this project we our shaping and glassing our own boards the foam is from lowes and now we are to glassing but can’t cut down on the expensive cloth and epoxy. first we were going to use resin but then a local fiberglass store told us it would melt the polystyrene foam.what should we do?
Quit now. and use it to insulate your house.
you will have to buy the cloth anyways… Why is the Epoxy that expensive? What does it cost? I think it’s 15€ a liter, do you think that is too much? Alternatively you can paint your blank carefully so that all the poly is covered and won’t get resolved… I never did that but from what I have read you should wait really good till it’s dry or the resign will still invade the foam through the paint layers (about 3) sell something and use epoxy… 
I actually had a similar question. I wanted to explan to some kids the process of building a surfboard based on products you can buy from local stores without having to go to ezfoam or stores like that. The materials don’t have to make the longest lasting best board in the world because the main idea that they could be, if so inclined, be built from common materials. The real question I guess then is, what are those common materials?
Haha… could it be you are teacheing something like Arts’n Craft at any Highschool. I do, and I am always in search of cool projects (and cheap ones of course). I did an Indoboard last semester out of old shelf boards for free and out of plywood for those who wanted to invest some € in a quality board. http://fluid.kajakworld.at/fluidworld3/indoboard/indo.htm sorry, it’s in German only, but the pix speak a thousand words [wink], scroll down for them… I love this 35$board thing. http://www.b2g3.com/boards/board.cgi?action=read&id=1057360490&user=oregonsurf Maybe you could built a really cheap board out of old wood, milled to strips, if you have the maschines… built it on a frame, make a hollow board and then just finish it with laquer. The wood would have to be fairly thick for that kind of board if you don’t sandwich it with fiberglass. Hm… Another thing that comes to my mind is EPP. They make modelairplanes out of it. I just ordered one of these EPP wings from Germany where they found a material to cover it. Something the German military covers there Tank-Hangars with. It’s a tankproof Florpaint…must be some PU thing. It is very hard but stays elastic in a way… Before that they simply straped the wings with Ducktape to give it support. Has anybody yet tried to shape a blank out of EPP and cover it with anything? I know this is not the answer you where hopeing for, I was just thinking a bit again. Maybe surfboard building is nothing for the really poor. 35$ is still much for a student. http://fluid.kajakworld.at/fluidworld3/indoboard/indo.htm
I was going to wait until I surfed it this weekend to say anything but I just finished a “35$” board. The total cost came out to be around $65. I went low ‘n’ broke style all the way. Used cardboard for squeegies (sp?) and all that cheap polyester evercoat resin and 6 oz cloth that you find at home depot on the cheap. Sweet fancy moses is the thing wretched looking. I am giving it to a friend for his birthday and I keep telling him to be prepared to look beyond the aesthetic value. Here are a few things that may help you. I bought a foam called Polyisocynaurate. It is at home depot and is also used as insulation but doesn’t melt when you use polyester resin like Extruded Polystyrene. It is only about 3 or 4 bucks more for sheet. But you save by not having to paint the board three times. If you do use Extruded Polystyrene you can paint the board with Epoxy Paint which is really tough and won’t let the resin slip in. I had fun making the board. I blew through it in about a week (glassing and all). It was kind of nice to make a few mistakes and not worry too much. But man, did I mention how hideous it is. In the end, as many have said on this site, it makes more sense to spend a little more money (which actually isn’t that much more) and make a board that will last and which you can be proud. Instead I’m sure my friend will cover this board with a towel and slip it into the water at the last moment. Extract your personal preference… Damon
Okay, this was a secret (this is my first board and will look like it), but I will answer your question because I had been thinking about making my own board, and the $35 post finally pushed me over the edge. Went to Lowes last week and got the 4x8x 2-inch thick EPS for $15.00. I cut it in half and laminated it with white Elmer’s to make myself a 7’2" that is 3 inches thick for a big guy board. Bought 8 yards of cloth at (2 layers on top, single layer on bottom) $5.50/yard, so that came to $44.00. Epoxy resin was $48/gallon, and I expect to use at least $40.00 of that. Going to make my own fin (s) (still debating single or 2+1 set-up). Throw in another $10.00 for sandpaper, leash plug and whatever other materials I may need like brushes and squeegies. Total for materials-$109.00 Downside-it’s going to look like a $109 board, but I learned a lot from my mistakes. I decided to go with epoxy based on comments I’ve read from Greg Loehr on this board, and I’ve got to say that epoxy is worth the extra money. It won’t melt the EPS; it doesn’t smell up my whole garage; I can clean up with soap & water; doesn’t drip as much polyester resin. It’s just much easier to deal with than polyester resin, not to mention the extra strength.
hehe… now I want to see your sub 100$ boards. I just found out that Tom Morey aka Y (thats so funny) uses EPP as core material in his new boards. How much Epoxy do you really need for a 7.2? Really 3liters? Where do you put all that resign? http://fluid.kajakworld.at/fluidworld3/indoboard/indo.htm
epoxy is about 45 dollars for the amount we need. the cloth i can live with.
Oh brother, Marcus. Instead of laughing at and criticizing all of us potential garage shapers, why don’t you offer something positive, maybe a little encouragement, or even some information we could use? You obviously have a lot of knowledge. Like I said, I know this first board isn’t going to be pretty, but I’m having fun building it, so it’s worth $109 of fun to me.
After one year of building hollow wood boards, this is where I’m at… My website has the “How To”, if you’re feeling up to a challenge… Paul http://www.hollowsurfboards.com 
I am not laughing about anybody. “haha” should only mean I enjoy this talk [smile] I try to give advice where I can. Sorry if it came over wrong, maybe it’s because Englich is not my native language. cheers Marcus
Apology accepted. Most everyone in my inner circle of friends has told me I’m crazy for trying to make a homeade board. My response, “It’ll never fly, Wilbur.”
Ok… try going somewhere else for your glass. $5.50 a yard, is a lot. And at $48 per gallon of epoxy, a normal Clark Foam PolyU board is of competitive price. A ‘no-frills’ shorty can be done for $125-150, even less, and that’s without bulk pricing… and it doesn’t have to look like a $109 board.
Where can you get white extruded foam? WHere can you get water clean up epoxy, the stuff I used does not come off with soap and water?
E Glass Surfboard Fabrics, provide a good balance of performance to cost and are the standard in the industry for most surfboard construction. Per Lineal Yard. Approximate Roll Length C03-1039 Style 1522, 3.7 oz./yd.² X 27", E Glass, Plain Weave, Roll $ 1.92 165Yds C03-1040 Cut per yd., Up to 3 yds., 3.7 oz. X 27", E Glass, Plain Weave $ 2.96 Specify Yardage C03-1041 Cut per yd., 4 yds. to 15 yds., 3.7 oz. X 27", E Glass, Plain Weave $ 2.51 Specify Yardage C03-1043 Cut per yd., 16 yds. & Up, 3.7 oz. X 27", E Glass, Plain Weave $ 2.33 Specify Yardage http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/Product_Catalog/product_catalog.html
http://www.foamez.com/cf/catalog.cfm?cat=3&subCat=14 http://www.foamez.com/cf/catalog.cfm?cat=3&subCat=14
Let me caveat my soap/water statement because I learned a hard lesson today. I’ve gotten the epoxy off previously with soap/water well before it had set up. However, today I laminated in 94 degree ambient temperature outside and the epoxy set up quick and was drying fast when I got it on my hands. I should’ve washed it off immediately. I had a heck of time getting it off; soap/water was useless and won’t let that happen again. Will go back to wearing my latex disposable gloves. As for the prices I paid for glass, $5-$6/yard was the going rate everywhere I looked in retail stores, including marine supply stores, surf shop and auto parts stores. Same thing with epoxy-$48-$52/gallon was the going rate. As for the white EPS, only Lowes had it. Not even Home Depot had it. I called one of the larger insulation businesses in town, and they told me they get their EPS foam from, you guessed it, Lowes. If/when I ever build another board, I’ll do more research into pricing for all of the material. After reading the $35 post, I wanted to get started immediately; consequently, I paid retail for everything. The proof’s going to ultimately be in the pudding; will this thing fly (float and ride)or not.
I just now got back to this post but I wanted to thank everyone for the info. The $35 board site is a gem.
Most epoxies clean with soap and water, our does. But the soap is not your usual soap. Its GoJo or Fast Orange or another of the numerous “waterless” cleaners. They are in a class of emulsifiers, which soap is too, but these are more efficent than standard soap. They clean epoxy much better than solvents and are much safer to use.