Lolz, I surfed everyday this past week, sometime for only an hour but its been really good down here on the southern Oregon Coast.
I put the Balsa stringers 3 inches off center, more because I could than any real reason.
Like I said above, I have shaped and glassed about 8 of these and never had one flex out or break. If the board has some thickness and width )in my case at least 3 inches thick and 23 wide), I don’t see a need for a stringer.
My next board i think i will go with a parrabolla stringer.
This board although having its hiccups is coming along and i have a week to finish before the comp - and as a first attempt it is as much about learning as getting an end product that rides well. I have lerant bucket loads and am getting there.
The board is stiffening up well under a good glass job and wont need a stringer. It will be the last time however i use epoxy. I love the weight of EPS, the ease to get product and cheap cost certainly allow my shaping dreams to come true. Next board i will shape the board and then seal it before heading back to the easier ti use poly resin. Btter tinting and should be able to put together a cheaper board.
So next assignment on the agenda will be 'the sealing process'. I will pop all my photos on soon.
Anyone got some suggestions on injecting the epoxy into my lap voids?
My next board i think i will go with a parrabolla stringer.
This board although having its hiccups is coming along and i have a week to finish before the comp - and as a first attempt it is as much about learning as getting an end product that rides well. I have lerant bucket loads and am getting there.
The board is stiffening up well under a good glass job and wont need a stringer. It will be the last time however i use epoxy. I love the weight of EPS, the ease to get product and cheap cost certainly allow my shaping dreams to come true. Next board i will shape the board and then seal it before heading back to the easier ti use poly resin. Btter tinting and should be able to put together a cheaper board.
So next assignment on the agenda will be 'the sealing process'. I will pop all my photos on soon.
Anyone got some suggestions on injecting the epoxy into my lap voids?
If the voids are small, I wouldn’t worry too much. I have had a few early boards where I didn’t know to grind the lap and I ended up with a few small voids along the lap line. Cosmetically it sucks but as long as its water tight, who cares?
Why would you make a EPS board seal it, then laminate it with Poly resin? Resin costs 40.00 per gallon for the garage guy, RR epoxy costs $180.00 for 3 gallons or $60.00 per gallon. You get a hell of a lot more boards out of a gallon of RR epoxy, than a gallon of resin. So let's say your average cost increase on a board is 10.00 to 15.00 from poly to epoxy. Wow not enough to drive me back to poly unless I was in a big hurry, or wanted to make a super pretty surfboard. Is it a time issue? Heck go try the new Fast n' Furious RR epoxy.
epoxy is hard to use? What? Are you kidding be? If your getting bubbles and dry spots with epoxy....your in for a rude awaking when you try the so called easy to use resin. If your doing resin right you have no more than 10-15 mins to laminate. Resin is unforgiving, but i guess you find out that in a hurry. Epoxy gives you 30-40 mins of work time.
So your going to do a Stringerless EPS surfboard, then seal the blank with something that won't let the poly eat it away? What are you going to use.....paint, maybe 1/8 in of spackle? Can you say delamination? Then your going to laminate it with poly resin. Hey check the archives, we were doing that when Clark closed a few years back.....It doesn't work.
Do your self a favor, learn from our mistakes. Don't re-learn our mistakes. I don't mean to be so hard on ya, but keep similar board design with similar build materials. If your going to build a 2010 surfboard use 2010 materials, if your going to build a 1960 surfboard, use 1960's materials.
good luck.
Your Not being harsh at all - your right on the money.
I am doing a rush job and my laminating sucks. Next board will take my time - better laps, take my time and use purely epoxy.
All in all it aint too bad. And the board will ride well - it just wont last...
and then it will be time to do it the right way.
