Howdy Gents,
Im curious; how many surfboards have each of you infused?
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Howdy Gents,
Im curious; how many surfboards have each of you infused?
Kool, an infusion thread!
i think infusion has huge potential in surfcraft myself
once you think it out, it makes sense
but yeah
love to see some examples of successes and failures
all in good time…i have been playing with infusion too… i will show you when im happy with my results… might take a while i have a few things on… but i promise i wil show and tell when the time is right
I’ve only made 4 boards, 3 by infusion. But I have infused boats! Have a look at my posts. There are many pitfalls and I’ve not ironed them all out (no time!). Resin infusion really comes into it’s own when working with moulds and I’ve no board moulds to play with, hence my suggestion to lpcdefg. Looking at your post I guess you’re into infusion as well?? I have great hopes for Feraldave as he’s way ahead of me on this.
Rik
Thats good to know. Gives folks who are interested hope.
However, Im not interested in infusion for infusion’s sake.
What Im interested in is a simpler way of laminating a complete board without having to sand the deck or bottom. Or put another way, lamming/finishing a board in fewer steps. Ive got an easier hybrid approach in my head that I may try this year. Using non absorbing core mat’ls makes it far more doable. I dont hotcoat or sand my decks anymore; no need. The main issue I have with VI is doing both sides in one hit and limiting it to one intake and outlet. One intake and outlet seems doable. Saturating both sides seems like the challenge. Im sure with good patience, preperation is the key. Maybe FeralDave will shed some light on this someday.
Hi Craftee,
The reason I did the infusion on my second board was to get away from the sanding of edges and rails before doing the next side. I’ve spent what seems like years of my life sanding boats and bits of boats and am desperate to STOP sanding anything!!
So far my infused boards have steadily reduced the sanding to zero. The first one was a really steep learning curve. The infusion was a doddle, using a kevlar/ glass hybrid cloth was crazy. I’ve used the same cloth since but, learning from the mistakes (that’s a relief anyway!), buried it beneath glass in case sanding WAS neccessary. Preparation is everything. I have always used a layer of peelply next to the glass so have ended-up with a textured finish. Then I’d put a gloss coat on, then wet and dry and polish.
If I could only get my hands on a board I could take a mould off then I’d try all sorts of stuff. However taking a moulding off somebody else’s shape seems a bit cheap, trouble is I’m not a good enough shaper to know what works and what does not and so have not devoted the time and money to taking a mould off one of my boards.
If anyone wants to go further with this and would donate / loan an board I can take a moulding off then let’s go…
Rik
Ahgg editing and lost the lot will repost later
Mark
infusing a board so you dont have to sand seems pretty pointless to me
sanding is a fast and easy step while make a compsand
infusion should be approached as a method to save time or for increased production
and if you cant do it under 30 minutes then it doesnt achieve this
i think the most useful purpose for infusion is for a a better seal and void free laminate
if you need to use disposables then it becomes a problem
not giving anything away at this stage sorry
There are other benefits to infusion. Yes a void free laminate, better fibre to resin ratio, fumes released to atmosphere are greatly reduced, more consistant product, the chance to stand there and say “Wow, just look at that!”, no glassing of laps (runs etc), and reduced sanding. All these things make infusion good for me.
Do you really complete a glass job, top, bottom and laps in 30 minutes? I am just an amateur at this board building and do it 'cos I like it and get a buzz out of riding my own stuff, also when teaching students about infusion it really grabs them if they can bring in a blank and do the whole business using a method they will meet in the boatbuilding industry…
And it’s fun!
That’s probably my biggest drive…FUN!
Cheers
Rik
no thats just the sanding part
but what im saying is the extra time to setup the infusion system and the disposables
would seem that the whole exercise would take longer than a standard layup and sanding job
im actually going to try polyester suncure on my outerlams for a bit
theres no reason why the compsands have to use epoxy resin on the outside
its expensive for start
persoanlly i dont really care about the fiber to resin ratio
doesnt make any real world difference other then weight
and even then your talking a few hundred grams overall at the most
not much when peole are telling you your boards are to light
but wrt to the fume thing
surely the fumes from epoxy are negligible anyway
but all in all
im really keen to see some video or photos
for me the primary reason for infusion is for a better seal/no pinholes
No discussion of this type of tech would be complete without mentionioning Kirk and Eric Brasington’s
!5 years of development invested in Coil Construction.
The Coil process doesn’t fit into any of the composite industry’s existing terminology; i.e., it’s not exactly
‘‘infusion’’. But it’s certainly related. And it does some of things you’re talking about, all-in-one-shot ‘‘lamination’’,
incredible fiber/resin ratios, minimal sanding, etc. It’s a very unique and proprietary technique.
We’ve got a fair number of boards in the water down your way, craftee. Maybe you’ve seen one?
BTW, you’d love the humpback foil 6’0’’ we did last week with a carbon/spectra hybrid knitted fabric.
Target weight was high 3’s but it came out at 4lbs dead. Took it to the show where it was mauled.
Mike
Are you gonna post pics of the 6’0" humpback foil Coil, Mr Daniel??
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Are you gonna post pics of the 6’0" humpback foil Coil, Mr Daniel??
We’re get to work on that, if you’d like. In the meantime there’s a nice shot of Blake Jones on a more ‘‘normal’’ Coil p.106-7 of the brand new
SURFER mag. Someone also told me of a clip of Blake talking about his Coil on Surfing mag’s website.
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BTW, you’d love the humpback foil 6’0’’ we did last week with a carbon/spectra hybrid knitted fabric.
Target weight was high 3’s but it came out at 4lbs dead. Took it to the show where it was mauled.
Mike
That thing was sick. Def. the highlight of an otherwise “lamest show ever.”
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I dont hotcoat or sand my decks anymore; no need.
please do share your method…
The Coil process doesn’t fit into any of the composite industry’s existing terminology; i.e., it’s not exactly
‘‘infusion’’. But it’s certainly related. And it does some of things you’re talking about, all-in-one-shot ‘‘lamination’’,
incredible fiber/resin ratios, minimal sanding, etc. It’s a very unique and proprietary technique.
That’s gotta be the biggest prick teaser of the year!
Youre giving Bert a run for his money there Mike.
4est, HCs are primarily sealers and smooth surface finishers. Good for selling boards, which Im not into. I dont need a perfect seal thus theyre just a cosmetic option. Besides, textured surface looks cool and is less slippery. When I wax the board you dont notice the 'imperfections"…and if I/you did it still doesnt matter. Most custom sailboards in the 80s and 90s had textured decks, too rough tho. Oh yeah, I only wax the deck.
Hey craftee,
Bert’s fine company, from what I hear. I gotta go up to work to shape a couple of customs,
but I’ll try to add more later. Might start a new thread with pics of the carbon/spectra board.
Mike
Like the idea of using spectra. What benefits do you think it gives, something like kevlar? Spectra is a high molecular weight polyethylene and therefore quite stretchy compared to carbon. Good at resisting impact, poor in compression? What’s it doing in your boards? Ok and while I’m at it, what the hell is the Coil process? Now you’ve got me intrigued and hours of searching is ahead…
Rik