I have decided to begin shaping some boards for my family and myself and am looking for books and other resources to help with the materials list for each type of board types listed above.
I assume that fibergass / composite fabric, foam types and densities, resin types and amounts will all be different for SUPs, surfboards and directional kite boards but where can I find this info?
Is there a good reference book on the above questions or will it likely involve online searches?
Your best Source is this Site. Much info on materials, designs, construction methods and instruction. There are many DVD’s and books. People will chime in here and give you names I am sure. What you should do is have a Plan. Pick a simple board to do for your first. build. A “Normal” Longboard or Shortboard out of A poly or EPS blank that you can buy from a manufacturer. They are just not that expensive . US Blanks, millennium and Arctic all sell 2nds for about 40% off the norm. If you start a thread here on Sways that ask for the materials need for a specific type of board; I’m sure folks here will help you figure cloth yardage, resin etc. Take baby steps. A simple Poly or EPS build will familiarize you the materials and how to work with them. Lowel
McDing is right…your best source of info for everything is right here…this is the biggest and most informative source you will find.
I think I smell a troll?
Maybe we can discuss what kind of masking tape to use, resin pins vs Posca pens, or even Asian imports vs domestic hand shapes for good measure!
I remember that I had a hard time finding good material resources back in 2004 when I started shaping.
I’ll try to help you get started.
First you need to decide which resin you want to use:
Has a strong smell.
Cheaper (as far a the resin goes, but you can't use the cheaper polystyrene blanks)
UV catalyst possible, which cures extremely fast and helps reducing the smell when used indoors. (I love it)</li>
<li>**Epoxy**:
Very little smell.
Very forgiving to work with (I find it easier)
Longer curing time.</li>
After chosing the resin, you chose a blank:
The only option when using polyester. The standard surf industry blank.
Price and availability very dependent on where you live.</li>
<li>**EPS molded blank**:
Can only be used with epoxy.
Price and availability very dependent on where you live.</li>
<li>**EPS self-cut blank**:
Can only be used with epoxy.
Need to build a hotwire cutter.
Quite cheap anywhere in the world.</li>
<li>**XPS self-cut blank**:
Can only be used with epoxy.
100% waterproof.
Very prone to delaminations.
Need to build a hotwire cutter.
Quite cheap anywhere in the world.
Some people love it, most people hate it. I love it when glassed correctly (not easy) and it shapes nicely.</li>
Please share where you live, decide on the materials you want to use and then we can advice on densities, glassing shedule, …
I hope this helps,
Hans
Hans, Based on what I already know about materials, these constructions will all be EPS/epoxy.
I live in North Carolina
Thx for the help
Since these are the first boards you make, I’d advice on keeping it simple and not going the compsand route (yet).
Compsand is great for SUPs (for weight saving) and kiteboards (for it’s impact resistance, but little to none weight saving as they are not as thick).
This means that I advice on a 30kg/m3 blank, and use just regular fibreglass and epoxy. More information about the glassing shedule can be found here: https://www.google.com/webhp?ie=UTF-8#q=site%3Aswaylocks.com%20eps%20epoxy%20glassing%20shedule
Call Surf Source. They are the closest to you(off the top of my head). Greetlight is in Jersey. They have had some great deals on blanks lately.
In North Carolina if you are near Kitty Hawk / Outer Banks these folks are in your back yard.
well now that you mention compsand…which is a term I had not hear about until now; it seems ideal. Perhaps I should mention that one of my other serious hobbies is furniture & speaker design and building. I have experience with bent laminations using fiberglass and epoxy in my vacuum press as well as veneering experience in the vacuum press as well. I could probably handle it and would love to learn more about it.
It’s your lucky day!
Once upon a time a hero posted the most complete compsand build guide on this forum.
Here it is: http://www.swaylocks.com/file/bert-burger-vacuum-forming-sandwich-construction-thesisldoc
Thanks Bert for this great piece of information!
Thanks! That sure does look like a pain in the ass! Maybe there is a compromise somewhere…thinking I could have the blank cut on the cnc, then veneer it with bamboo or something in the vacuum bag; it just seems like a ton of work to form the rocker on a rocker table vs a more traditional or cnc route.
The rocker table is crucial, otherwise the blank will flatten in the vacuum bag.
For sailboards they usually use a counter rocker instead of a full rocker table. You can see how they do it in the following youtube series:
If just the blank and the veneer go in the bag (no table) then the vacuum will apply pressure equally in all directions and maintain the original shape. Spring back could be an issue if the top and bottom are not veneered at the same time and the veneer is thick. I think I have seen this concept in surfboard specific videos. Will try and find a link…
If there’s no stringer in your blank ,your statement is not true. While vacuum is equal on sides, the blank can twist axially while the bag is conforming to the blank due to wrinkles & varitions in bag thickness. On stringerless blanks, it’s always recomennded to use a table or at the very least place a strongback inside the bag with the blank.
That is a good point and I have had something similar happen when veneering. I was able to solve the issue by using a breather mesh on all sides of my project which allowed the air to escape evenly…I wonder if it would also work for an object like a surfboard?