So… I’m now living in the Southern part of San Jose. My garage is still packed with moving boxes, but I am optimistic that I will be able to clean it up soon. I want to start shaping boards again and was wondering where to go to get supplies. I looked through the archives and found references to Fiberglass Hawaii and RevChem. FB Hawaii has since moved to Ventura, and it looks like RevChem has moved from Gilroy to Stockton. I guess Stockton isn’t too far away, but I’m not sure if this new location has stuff for surfboard shaping.
Where does everybody go to get blanks, foam blocks, fiberglass, tape, epoxy, vacuum bags, leash cups, fin boxes, etc.? I know I can use Foamez for much of this stuff, but shipping can get expensive on some items (especially blanks).
You can buy blanks from the Pierson Arrow shop on Mission in SC. He carries US blanks and I assume they will do special orders. The Mels at Freeline carry Surfblanks Australia and some others. Freeline is where I usually buy my resin. Both polyester and epoxy. Resin and fiberglass are expensive using this route. I buy my fiberglass from Thayercraft back east. Good prices, good service, free shipping. I piggy back my blank orders from a shop in Monterey. I miss Fiberglass Hawaii and Fiberglass Santa Cruz… Mike
Losing Fiberglass Hawaii on 17th Ave a few years back really made this a lot more complicated. As mentioned above, you can buy blanks from Pearson Arrow and Freeline, but most any shaper who does volume in town would probably be willing to sell you a blank or two, or let you jump in on their blank orders. You can try calling the Pearson Arrow factory as well. Also, Haut on swift street might be able to help you out. Call around.
Freeline has a small selection of epoxy/PE resins, fin boxes, cups, tape, squeegees, etc, but expensive…I would consider mail order from fiberglass hawaii in Ventura - quick shipping up here. If you need glass-on fins, call Glenn at Rainbow Fin Co down in La Selva Beach - worth stopping in and seeing what they have. Great place to pick up some keels, and im sure they could work out some custom fins fo you if thats the route you want to go. I have had good experience with them in the past. Good luck! Im still baffled that no one has stepped up and opened a new fiberglass supply store up here, especially given the number of backyard shapers and DIY-guys up here…
My understanding from the Haut shop a few years ago is that RevChem does shop deliveries about once a week. You might be able to place an order directly and pick it up at one of the shops they service if you can get the shop to go along with it. For immediately needed supplies, Freeline has a good selection. I’ve ordered from Fiberglass Supply in the past, and they have really fast shipping, reasonable prices and excellent customer service. http://www.fiberglasssupply.com
Revchem is in Manteca. Hotline has blanks, probably a mix of leftover Surfblanks and Arctic. Fiberglass Hawaii did not move to Ventura; They simply closed the Santa Cruz 17th Ave. location, which was Monterey Bay Fiberglass before they were bought out by Fiberglass Hawaii a few years back. The crew at Fiberglass Hawaii are the best for customer service and shipping. Prices are very good. They just don’t smooch ass here on Sways the way others do, John Mel at Freeline has supplies. It’s too bad you can’t just jump in the car and run down to your local supplier the way we used to do at Monterey Bay/Fiberglass Hawaii, but times change. If you really are a boardbuilder; get a re-sale # and buy in larger quanities, even if you have to split your order with another builder. Lowel
I ordered a Marko EPS blank through Stretch a few months back.
The cool part about that, besides the great price, is that when I went to pick it up, Stretch stopped what he was doing to talk shop with me for about an hour. Got to pick his brain and ask a bunch of questions…
Hey new to shaping and relatively new to Santa Cruz, Freeline has been my local shop but they are closed due to remodeling I picked up a blank from Pearson on mission but they don’t have much else for shaping/glassing. Wondering if y’all had any recommendations?
Dave Collingham works for Rev-Chem and the last time I talked to him he was commuting back and forth from Manteca to Santa Cruz. Dave is a great connection. He knows pretty much all there is to know about everything Surf related. You might get him to drop an order for you. Whether he can help you get materials or not; he is a great source. Don’t have his # in my phone, but I bet if you called Rev-Chem they could hook you up. Since Rev-Chem started a division of the company know as Doug Surf they are really focused on anything Surf related that a builder would need. Lowel
I get my blanks and fin boxes at the Arrow factory on Thompson. They will order you want you want if it is not in stock. I think they will sell cloth and resin but I usually buy my resin and cloth from Shaper Supply.