Hey guys,
I would like to shape my first surfboard and I have a few questions.
Is it ok to make a surfboard stingerless (on surfersteve’s site it is recomended)? If not, why? Weight doesn’t matter to me, so i will just use more or heavier coating.
Has anyone worked with styrodur? It flexes less than styropor and is easier to shape. And its colour is green or blue.
Any advice of which coating and material to use and tips, would be grealty appreciated.
Thanks for any feedback…
Had to look it up but styropor = EPS and styrodur = XPS. Both are styrene based foams. Anyway, there's plenty of discussion here on the pros and cons of each one. As for stringers, EPS works fine with no stringer, but glass according to foam weight for best results. I've made a few with 2 lb EPS using double 4 oz bottom and triple 4 decks that have held up well. Personally, I wouldn't make an XPS board without a stringer.
Hi aviatorx,
yes you can go stringerless. Search this forum for xps, that name is more common around this forum for styrodur. Styrodur is a brand name, while xps is the name of the foam. XPS has a higher density than eps or PU. The board might get too heavy and might have no flex at all if you put a stringer in your board (depending on your glassing schedule as well).
are you using homedepot foam? or buying a couple of those 8" block xps foam.. If you are using surfer steve's webisite for your first board, He is set up to bend the board while glassing to get the full rocker. This technique does work, and you can stumble acrossed some magic rockers, but it can be diffiucult for certain people. But if you build a stringer then foil the blank down to desired foil and semi rocker, (is using Home deopt) Cut the blank in half and quick dry gorrilla glue the stringer in beding each blank to match.. . you will have yourself a little stronger board, with the exactish rocker you want...
you almost need to have more tools when working with a stringered blank though.. At least i feel this to be true...
If you do not know your exact rocker go for the bending technique. I built 5 or 6 boards using this and they all were surfable.
XPS works great without a stringer. Compared to a friend who did quite the same first board as I did, the stringerless method was easier to handle.
The only problem is that you get deep heel dents. That’s why I put one layer of carbon under the tail and center of the board. One 6 oz carbon patch prevents my XPS of all dents.
Carbon is pretty spendy. Do you think like a heavier deck patch would do the job like an 8oz or 10oz
Surely a heavier patch would also help a bit. In my case I allways use 2x6oz for my entire board. So it is much heavier than casual boards. But I have to say in my opinion the dents aren’t really bad. Looks ugly but you don’t get irritated, perhaps a good point to find your perfect stance again 
Got no delaminition so far on mine so I don’t care for my first board. But I would recommend to have at least 12oz under your feet.
In my shop I can order scrap pieces of carbon really cheap, thats why I tried it.
I don’t know how good 8 or 10 oz can be laminated on a board. I would rather use 2x6oz or 3x4oz so you don’t have to buy other fibreglass.
Thanks for advices.
I have ordered a 2100x600x150 mm 30 kg/m^3 (=2 lb) EPS block and it should be ready tomorrow. Today i am gonna buy some meterial for stands and try to put them together.
Now i have to make a decision which board to make. My last surfboard was BIC 7’3’’ mini malibu. I have attached two shapes ( volumes are 30 liters and 40 liters).
Which one do you recomend? And should I make an epoxy stringer or no stringer at all?
I’d defintly go for a board with volume around 40liters, and around 20"-21" wide. low rocker, easy paddle, easy wavecatching.
WTF are you guys taking about??
use #2 EPS, glass it with a 2x6 top and a 1x6 bottom. It will be as heal dent resistant as any board out there. Going lighter will be a completely disposable board.
As for weight, go light on the epoxy, don't flood the board. Make sure you seal the EPS foam. And sand the hell out of it once hot coated
Stringers, look strength in a short board doesn't come from the stringer...well maybe a little, but the entire strength comes from the deck and bottom laminate. Do a good job on that. tight laminate and properly mixed epoxy goes a long way. A stringerless board will be more flexy. Your issues will be trying to figure out where you want it flexy. Different types of glass, different epoxies all play into the design.
If you are looking to hold the rocker profile in with jigs and weights....well good luck. That way sucks, plus you are pre loading the blank, i.e., preloading it to explode, and F up your whole day. What are you going to vac bag it into place? or are you just going to use rocks and sand bags like Fred Flintstone?
If you are looking to go cheap, don't skimp on the blank? Blanks are cheap. And if you surf, that means that you are probably close to a surf shop. Most surfshops have access to blanks. Hopefully you are not located in some 3rd world country. But then if you are you have bigger problems than sourcing EPS foam....
Good luck
Ummmm maybe I really live in a 3rd world country because there are only two shops which sell surboards. And they definitely don’t sell preshaped blanks. I will not make rocker profile with bending the blank. Maybe I am going to use a hot wire to roughly shape a rocker profile and then sand it. Vacum bag is not excluded when laminating. I still dont know if i should make an epoxy stringer or not… Thanks for any further help
I would use 2x6oz. Top with 2x4 bottom and make sure to lap all layers of cloth. Much lighter if you vacbag yur project.
Mark
Ok 3rd World,
Cut the blank in half, then glue it back together with a 4oz glass & epoxy stringer.
Just enough strength to hold the shape, plenty strong, and easy to do. Or get some veneer wood and glue that between the halfs.
I was talking about heel dents cause he told us that he wants to use XPS/Styrodur and NOT EPS/Styropor in his first post…
Now he buys an EPS-blank. I’m a bit confused.
Aviator, definitely go for the 40 liters board. If you just surfed a BIC minimal you won’t have fun on the smaller one.
There is no need to be confused. After doing some research on both materials (XPS and EPS) and their availability I have decided to buy EPS foam. Tomorrow expecting EPS plate 
Boards that don't heal dent are pigs. Heal denting means that the board is glassed light. If you make a heal dent resistant board you are probably over glassing. That's ok for a pig of a long board or a heavy gun, but if you are looking for performance, performance comes at a price. Even the timberflex boards I have been making heal dent. They are very strong, flexible, and lightweight.....but they are not bullet proof.
#2 EPS with 2x6 cloth top is plenty strong and light weight. use 2x4 and the board will not last as long, but the performance factor will go up about 25%.
Tough decisions........we all want our homemade boards to last forever, but then if that happened you would never make a better, newer board.
Heres what the 40 looks like finished!A solid 3/8" cedar stringer with 2# eps foam glassed with a tripple 4oz deck and a double 4oz bottom with all 5 layers wrapping the rails using greenroom epoxy and a 5 fin probox setup weighing in at a whopping 9 1/2 pounds,built to last.I’m hoping it provides the intended early entry for the rider but having a bit of weight to help stick to the wave in punchy beach break.It has been flat for like 2 months now since the owner picked it up.
resinhead my XPS didn’t only have normal heel dents I would’ve even called them heal crevasseses, thats why I mentioned it. The tail was pressured to half of its thickness and that after one month of surfing. That’s where I thought it will case me some troubles perhaps delam etc. …
But as aviator goes EPS this won’t be a problem.
As long as he isn’t a good surfer, in my opinion he will never feel the difference of 2x4 or 2x6 on an 1:1 exactly same shape.
Just try what feels good and have fun with it. Even if a board looks totally unsurfable it can be fun for everyone (except the Slaters and Co). And for the second board you’ll know what to improve.
Now I;m just saying....This isn't a jab at you or nothing...but Are you sure you did a proper glass job on the heal dent crevass model? I ask because I've gotten golf ball boards out of 3 surfs. And I know what the problem was.......It was all about the epoxy. Either too cold, or mixed ratio wrong, or I didn't post cure it properly etc, etc..
A stringer is a good thing on your first board. I don't "post cure". All my epoxy glass jobs are done at temps over 65' F and cure for 5 days at temps over 65'F. 75 is best
Maybe that is a post cure...a Low Tech Lab cure for sure.......
...And...
Listen to Mr. Resinhead...proper mix and proper temp , plus proper everything else..... like a proper lam...nice and tight...
and third world epoxy resin is not so good.....
