Hi,
I want to build my own surfboard this summer and I though that plywood would be fine for cheap stringer. Someone told me that MASONITE would be easier to shape and cheaper. I never read about anyone that have done a stringer in MASONITE.
Would it be a good idea ?
Thanks.
if you wanna go the cheap route, you might want to check out bender ply. it's 1/8" and easy to find. i've been told that it's easier to plane on edge than regular ply.
easiest tho is to get a premade blank...
where are you located?
I would not recommend Masonite for a stringer material. It does not offer any of the qualities you want in a stringer. Its heavy, doesn’t cut well, its ‘inflexible’, and brittle/weak. You can use a thin plywood no problem. Poplar bending ply comes in thin sheets and can be sourced from most lumber yards. If you have a good bandsaw and thickness planer you can resaw some solid wood.
I’m in Montréal, Canada. I speak french so i’m gonna check out the translation of “bender ply”, never eard that. I checked at a shop like “Home Depot” today for MASONITE and it’s 3$ for 8’ x 4" x 1/4’, and 5$ for plywood. It’s more for the ease of use than the money that I was asking for MASONITE. I’ll check out for “Bender ply” if I can get some.
And for premade blank, it cost a lot for shipping because i’m in Canada. So I was considering buying pink foam from Home Depot.
By the way, do you know if the pink color of the foam will me visible if my first layer is epoxy mixed with white tint ?
Thanks a lot.
Bender ply is called that because the grain of each ply is oriented so that the plywood can wrap around things. 1/8" is good stuff, easier to find is 3/8" thickness. Make sure the grain is running the length of the ply, in other words, it’s meant to create a column 8’ high when bent. Someone posted above about planing it and they are correct, it’s very easy to plane with a mini block or spokeshave especially when compared to regular 1/8" luan ply. I just used a variation of baltic birch 1/4" thick but 8’ long, planes very nicely, but very hard on the tools. I’m going to look for an 1/8" version of that.
Masonite would be a disaster, don't do that.
Thanks a lot for the comments. Really nice this forum seriously.
Anyone nows if the pink color of the foam will me visible if my first layer is epoxy mixed
with white tint ? If yes, is there a better way to make it invisible ?
He Simon, comment ca va? I’m in montreal as well.
Not sure about the bending ply around here, never even looked for anything like it as I can mill my own stringers out of wood. But you could always look for any plywood that has layers of even thickness, as opposed to the cheap stuff that has a soft thick core with thin veneer on either side.
My advice would be to not use the pink or blue foam. I did my first board out of it, and it outgassed really badly, and that just while sitting in my living room over the winter. You could hide the pink using white pigment, but it won’t make delaming any less of an issue I think.
If you have to get it from Home Depot, go for the white EPS sheets and glass it heavy. You can also get better EPS in town if you want. Look up Le Groupe Legerlite. They make EPS foam on the west island, the 2# stuff is pretty good. I’ve never tried to get real small quantities from them though, the smallest was a 12" x 24" x 120" block.(about 5 boards or so) Normally I would get a 12" x 48" x 120" block. (about 10 or 12 boards) They will charge cutting fees on smaller orders I think.
If you want PU blanks, you could try and order something from Stefan Aftanas in BC. He is distributing Surfblanks America foam in Canada. I got a quote for a box of short blanks ( anything 8’ and under) for about 80$ to Mtl. Longboard though, very pricey … 250$/box
I do know a few guys who are wanting to shape some board as well. One idea is to have everyone chip in and get several blanks at once. Might be cheaper to get them from a US supplier, as at least one of the guys want a longboard. I think its about 130$ for up to 2 boxes of blanks, sent to Plattsburgh, NY.
If you do go the route of making your own blank, I think that I have a milled piece of Basswood left. Its 1/4" thick, ready to be cut into a stringer.
Dude thanks thats nice for the stringer, i’m interested. My email is pais_nain@hotmail.com. We could arrange a pickup for the stringer.
For LegerLite, I called last week and it’s 67$ the piece of foam + 50$ mandatory. So it’s really not worth it. For the pink foam I eard a lot of people that had success with it like “surfding”. He gave tricks to avoid delaminating in other posts in this forum.
As for the with foam, it realy looks fragile. When you say “glass it heavy”, can you give me the specs of your glassing that went successfull please ?
I’m waiting for you to email me to come get the stringer.
Thanks again,
Simon