Here i am spamming again on Swaylock’s, i’ve begun board number three yesterday evening, with a new EPS block, 35Kg/m^3 which i guess is over #3 in imperial measures.
The board will be again a 7’6" 21" 2.75" like the one i snapped the last year, but this time with also a stringer in it, marine plywood 5mm.
So first pic, cutted the two halves out of eps, took about half an hour, with the help of a friend.
If someone is interested, i use a really cheap Eps cutter.
The power source is a AC transformer, the secondary is dual 12V 1amp, so i connected the two secondaries in line, 24V 1Amp, used a fishing wire, mounted on a wooden frame and tensioned with a rubber band, today i’ll do a pic of it, total cost 10euro.
Doc thank you very much, but i’m really satisfied also with this stainless steel thread, it’s so cheap, 1 euro for a hank, guess it’s 25meters.
Any way, this is the jig, nothing new, i’ve copied it from the net, done with some garbage, as you can see the rubber band is opposed to the hotwire so you can set the correct tension, also the temperature can be modified by running the electric wire up and down the hotwire.
Added also a quick electric scheme.
Next step: cut the stringer and glue it beetwen the two halves.
Hope this thread is of some interest, if not ecxuse for the spamm, i’ve seen so many advanced topics here lately, am i the only rockie here?
Flavio, nice work. I like the cutting from a 1’ thick billet to make two halves. That’s a good way to use your materials…
Your hotwire cutter is good too. No need for frills, its a lot like mine. One tip - fix one of the arms so it does not move. Its easier to keep your wire straight & tight if only one arm is moving. If both move, you run the risk of your bow becoming a parallelogram & loosening your wire. Your rubber band - called a bungee in the US - is what I use too
Benny thank you very very much for tips, i’ll modify the jig as you said.
JD i’m really glad to know i’m of some help, seems we’re doing a parallel project, here’s my update, yesterday night i cutted the stringer out of 4mm thick pine plywood (3ply) and glued it with epoxy, think next time i’ll take a try with vinyl or with PU glue as Benny suggested in an other thread.
I was thinkin’ to glass procedure, it’s a 7’6", with a so dense EPS (35Kg/m^3) think i might go lighter than board #2.
26oz top with a patch on tail and 16oz on bottom with patch for the fin slot, is it enough?
Si meglio in inglese… al massimo poi ci sentiamo via messaggi.
I bought it from a local manufacturer, they usually do not sell small quantities, minimum is 4m^3 in a block 411m, it’s a bit too big!
But fortunately they was really kind and put my request with others, after a couple of weeks they had a big order and put mine in it. 90euro for a block, i’ll obtain 5boards from it, quite expensive i think, but i had no alternatives, it took me a long time to find it.
Simply go on www.paginegialle.it and search for Polistirolo in you town, as an example i’ve found a seller:
Update, cutted out and almost ready for the shaping part.
I’m progressing a bit, just a little bit, but i still can not obtain a smooth soft outline curve from line to tail as you can see in the last pic, is it just a matter of practice or can someone suggest me some tricks?
If your outline cut is square, you can use a planer to smooth out your outline, just set your cut depth very shallow to start with. The planer basically knocks off the high points as you run it around the outline.
