Hi, i want to get practice doing cut laps (on clears) so when i want to work with pigments ill be able to cut lap decently! i was going to start cut lapping but i was talking to someone and he said to get my free laps down first, and you’re always going to see a cut lap. so ive just done free laps, but that leaves me unpracticed with cut laps… so i just thought last night, i could cut lap a board, then sand down like a free lap so it wouldn’t show!
Mr. Drysdale? #53 Dodgers? 1960’s A voice from beyond?
All seriousness aside, you don’t have to be doing a whole board to practice cut laps. You can do it with scrap materials, bones (rail cut offs) or shorter pieces and left over glass just to get the hang of the process.
The problem with my pinlines are they leave a bump that has an unsanded strip along the edge of it that you can see in the right light. If I try to sand it down and get that strip, I’m afraid I’ll rub off the pinline. So I go real light over the pinline, and the pad never touches that strip. I try to ignore it, but it drives me crazy just knowing it’s there.
I’m not very good at cutlaps so I cutlap every board I make,it seems worth it because it still cleans up faster and easier than a freelap.I also use epoxy and on clear boards with a double 4oz bottom and a tripple 4 oz deck it leaves me with 5 layers of glass on the rails so there is a good amount of resin on the rails leaving a 2 toned finish at the lap line.Pinlining the cutlap is a good idea also,my pinlines are kinda wavy but they get better with every board along with my cutlaps.
I glass my bottom first then cut the laps on the deck.I retape the line to cover and protect the foam and sand it lightly.I pull the tape then lay my pinline using pinline tape from the auto parts store.You can pull it up if it gets to out of hand and relay it.once done I glass the deck and go right over the pinline tape.This is with epoxy of course,I’ve never used the tape with poly.