Howzit oneula, I'm with you, I'm getting bored with all the threads being posted. Think I might do like chicksay and take a break and see what's up in a couple of months. Shapers are still bringing me shaped poly blanks and that's my thing. Why turn my back on 40 years of experience with poly when I don't plan on going to epoxy and styro. I can also make more $ doing repairs and there will be plenty of that to do.Aloha,Kokua
Kokua, even though I’m an epoxy guy I’ve learned so much from you! I know that its hard to constantly be on the giving side of things but… I think you would be surprised at how much of what you share is cross resin based. I think a master in one could easily become a master in the other.
yea tom i had overlooked that option …
if bluejuice is around …
he will vouch for this …
we have a guy down here (over there , west coast ), who builds sailboards and more surfboards lately , his brand is delta …
bluejuice will back the claims that he makes really good boards from a durability point of view ,and spheretex is one of his ingriedients …
one of his sailing team riders was the older brother of one of my team surfers , im around at my team guys house going back 10 years or so and i see one of martys superlight sailboards with this monster hole in it , like it had been hit with an oil platform drilling rig or something , i ring him up (marty ) a few days later and say " hey whats that stuff that looks like hessian fabric inside your boards?" he replies " o shit what the hell has he done to his board this time ?"…
obviously freaking out at how i could possibly get a look inside the board …
anyway he uses it with real success …
regards
BERT
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Howzit oneula, I'm with you, I'm getting bored with all the threads being posted.
There are a couple of things going on right now. One is Christmas holidays in the North and of course that’s summer in the South. More surf in the north, sometimes no surf in the south…and we all have seen what kind of craziness both of those can bring here.
The other thing is the whole Clark Saga and resulting upheaval. The straight media credits Surfer Magazine for breaking that story, but I do believe Kirk posted that here within minutes of it happening. Swaylock’s not only was in the lead on this story, but participants offered virtually immediate speculaton, confirmations, and the best, most experienced analysis in any media which I am familar with. To this date!
I would expect there will be an influx of new people plus more lurkers stepping out of the electroshadows. The kettle has been stirred. Should be very interesting.
Which would you rather attend.
The last supper, or a catered luncheon with the devil?
We’re just getting started…
Howzit Dan, I’ll lurk and check what’s posted for now and sign on and answer any questions I feel I can add to. But since I’m going to be busy with construction work I won’t have as much time to spend here. Wil probably cut back board work to 3 days a week. As far as getting into epoxy I have used it in the past and it never really impressed me enough to get in to doing more boards with it. You see after 40 years I’ve got acetone in my blood and it isn’t compatable with epoxy. Other than Rick Holt nobody on Kauai is doing much epoxy work and there’s still plenty of poly work to do here.Aloha,Kokua
Then maybe YOU ought to initiate the new threads about exciting new topics. I for one understand people asking questions that may be answered in the archives, because the archives are a vast, limitless territory, and sometimes I get a head ache trying to sift through all the material trying to find out something as simple as which respirator is used for glassing.
Wait a minute!
One of the things that we learnt at the Cerritos Get-it-the-F–k-Together was that you can do epoxy lam, epoxy hot coat and then a poly gloss - just prep by sanding.
The 2.5# and 3# eps is a whole different animal, not at all “cooler foam” and closer to the realm of weights that Clark produced.
Also there are warp cloths and impact 6 oz and impact 3 oz (airplane and aerospace) that can make a structure that can be dropped or thrown across the room without shattering.
Why I oughta…
25 years ago I was a polyester board builder. Suddenly there was this new sport, windsurfing, and the Euro sailboard community decided to make boards custom with urethane. Clark couldn’t keep up with the production so he had a choice who he would supply and who he would dis, the FL surfboard guys or the Euro sailboard guys. We were the ones who got reamed. Three months without foam in the middle of summer. Anyone who doesn’t think I know how this feels … well, I do.
From that day forward I chose change. EPS is freedom. Freedom of shape, freedom of supply and freedom from tyranny. I went to this material because I no longer wanted to be Gordon Clark’s bitch. I also wanted to make better boards, boards that I thought performed better. IMHO EPS does.
There are those who will stay with the old ways. 50 year old, dirty, toxic and environmentally consciousless, the government will hound many of those who stay till their dying day. Urethane from the perspective of technlogy is a done deal. Boards will never be better than they are today. On the contrary, without consistant foam supply from a reputable manufacterers there will be no uniformity and inconsistant quality. EPS alone holds the promise of vastly better boards in the future.
It’s time for change. The oppritunity is here to leave all the skeletons behind and move ahead. I’m sure some won’t agree but some builders learned a lesson two weeks ago and some others will never learn that lesson. The truth is staring you square in the face but it’s still up to you.
I wish you all luck with whichever path you choose to take.
Howzit Greg, You say tomato, I say tomate’. Any one who has looked at my profile knows I’m a semi retired glasser and at 57 I have other things on my plate to do and switching over to epoxy is not one of them, Good luck with the future. About the Clark sail board blanks,just goes to show what an ass he realy was, probably could get more $ from Europe.Aloha,Kokua
NM.
Greg,
Weren’t you also involved 25 years ago in another little “revolution” just getting started by a few young 14-16 year old CFL groms, called aerial surfing? Guys like Matt Kechele, Jeff and Glen Klugel. These guys surfed for Ocean Ave. surf and skate team. You shaper for the OA team that started it all, didn’t you? Did they break boards? Were they forever asking for stronger lighter boards or were you thinking they needed them? What if any is the connection there with epoxy?
Could you tell us what that time was like? I’ve heard Bruce Walker say he felt like there was raw energy in the air. I mean just being there and so central to the gear and about 10 years older had to feel like you were part of something big.
And we all know the final results. Kech and Glen are busy shaping. Jeff is an ASP judge. You are an epoxy inovator and source. YOU all pushed Kelly to the front of the pack. And that the realization of his dreams were the culminiation of a lot of guys dreams and efforts. But what was it like being right there at the beginning of the air movement?
And what about the future? Now that it’s here where do you think surfing will go with so many new and improving products? Maybe you can spin this thread out of the bowl.
Some more thoughts…
This time, to do more so with the actual first post in this thread.
Oneula, you don’t come off as being grumpy, you seem to be speaking the truth as you believe it, and this just seems to simply be your opinion. I agree with you that some of the posts/ information as of late might be a bit redundant. I really enjoy the positive information on this site and abhor the negative feedback, as Swaylocks can be a beautiful place with plenty of enlightening information on it if we make the conscious effort to keep it that way. I still see Swaylocks as light years apart from other, how shall we say, less mature forums, and there are some people I would hate to see leave (Kokua, say it aint’ so), and others well…
I agree one hundred percent with everyone who has already resonated the sentiment that things come and go in cycles, and I would guess that as soon as some of the different and/or new PolyU blanks start hitting the market here in the United States on a widely available level, this site might see an increase in posts/ information relating to these blanks. Perhaps, almost guarantee it…
Oneula, I hope you stick around and see how things pan out and hopefully some new and interesting posts will pop up that will keep you and the rest of us interested.
I would very much like to have the choice to be able to shape and glass with a wide variety of products/ materials and will hopefully always look forward to being able to come to Sways to seek the wisdom and advice of the generous souls that are willing to share their knowledge.
Good shaping and glassing to all…
Regards, Tony.
I log onto this site to learn and have some fun. I like the pictures of homemade boards the most. As a hobby shaper I havn’t been this excited in a long time. I’m a novice using the Clark/polyester materials, but I look forward to the challenge of making a board I enjoy riding using new materials. I’ve already dabbled using epoxy resin. It’s just resin. Has it’s good points and bad. Oh well. I had a chunk of roofing insulation foam laying next to my compost heap. My daughters and I were shooting arrows into it last winter. Brought it back up to the carport last week. Maybe I can get a couple of fishes out of it.
I always thought the ‘check the archives’ guidline was bullshit. It discourages the new guys from asking the questions the regulars and experts get tired of answering. I’ve read most of the archives because I’m intensely interested. But, I wouldn’t expect anyone else to do that. It’s hard to find specific answeres to specific questions in the archives. I wonder how many future contributors we lose because of that one rule and the terse “check the archives” response they get to ‘regular’ questions. They don’t join and the whole thing gets kind of ‘incestuous’ and exclusive. Some of the threads are so technical and pseudo-scientific I pop in on them for a laugh. No offense intended. To each his own. We’re not building space shuttles, though. Anyway, keep having your fun,boys, I’m having mine. Mike
remember those days as a wide eyed grommet …
everything was a mindblowing new experience , new , fun , carefree …
but then the reality hits , the summer is over its time to either get a job or go back to school …
yep there can only ever be one summer or that one exciting period , where when you look back over time and you meet up with someone who was there and you say , remember when ? …
yep you had to be there …
you go off and tell your friends , but somehow the next time around the magic is missing …
hey the place you hung during that summer is still there , but when you go back its just not the same …
nothing will ever be like that one time and place hanging out with your mates and leaning new things and doing new things …
we grow , places grow , things change …
every now and then you get those magic moments , where the people , the place and the events just seem to fall into place and you couldnt plan it even if you tried …
i know the magic thats missing , i dont know why its not around anymore ??
all i know is that i was there and there was an air of excitement that seems to have faded …
its like that little country town with perfect waves and a summertime ratio of 5 girls to every guy , a few hundred residents and secret spots and new waves with every new track that was forged through the bush ,it was the hidden paradise that you and your mates had found , but now its a bustling metropolis , evey peak now has a name , the word got out and now there are more guys than girls , theres nightclubs , real estate developments , no parking , no tresspassing , no more inocent farm girls and none of your mates still around to keep count …
you just had to be there , hey horse you lurker …
remember those days ? try and create those circumstances again its just one of those magic moments in time …
things change …
you just had to be there …
im glad i was …
regards
BERT
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I think Greg said Lowe's type insulation was typically 2 pound. Clark ultra lights fell in th 2.35 pound range and on up. So, the newer availability of 2.5 pound and 3 pound EPS foams are right in the Clark range. But, this one pound stuff is very weak and needs consideration. Sandwich schedules make sense. But, which sandwich schedule?
Lowes/Home Depot insulfoam EPS is 1# class B beads.
triple 6, double 6 if you are not doing a sandwich and it will still be light.
the red and yellow cartoon egg at Cerrittos was triple/double 6oz on 1# Lowes foam.