am a bit slow on the uptake here,just my input into the scratching of the stringer business.my views are that while scratching or gouging the stringer for better bonding results might result in a crappy looking finish , it does help.nearly all materials that are keyed sufficiently provide a better bond.wood being porous in the first place and then being roughed up does bond better.nothing new really but like some other crew have done in the past, so as try and achieve better strength in our boards we have been ( for a fair while now ) been running a length of roving on both sides of the stringer,top and bottom with good results as far as reducing incidence of snappage.also from time to time and more frequently lately doing same approx; 2’’ off the rail on the bottom only.i’m not saying that boards don’t snap or crease anymore but certainly the numbers have shown an improvement.cost and effort are not much more." maybe" it helps.give it a try.
thanks mate , it’s good to hear from you …you’ve been getting some good surf down south lately , eh ? [I heard saturday was “all time” ! ]
“Noddy” here in perth does what you mention , on his personal boards , with kevlar roving either side of the stringer , and says he has snapped less boards as a result . [One of these days I really should get a photo of that , I reckon]
cheers
ben
Can you explain Roving for us who don’t know what it is exactly? Thanks.
(Do you guys in the Southern Hemisphere have to do everything?)
Doug
hello doug and chip; waves have been great and had a few smokers today at my local.doug rovings are simply fin rovings (as we call them).they are the basis of chopper gun spray procedure.they are generally sold ( here) in a roll ,called a cheese.a bunch of strands combined in rope form on a roll.various weights are available but generally 450g/sq mt.or there abouts.a roll lasts a long time even if you do a few boards.for what its worth ithink that they are better used closer to the rail.my reasoning being that i believe most if not all boards break from the rail and not the stringer.hope that doesnt sound weird. regards bubbles/by crikey