I am super jealous of your vacuum pull down time and vacuum holding ability. Could you please post a picture of your vacuum connection at the bag end?
I normally do things a little over kill. I'm constantly crictized for having too many tools or jigs. It's nice to hear someone say something positive.
My wife was kind enough to give me her art studio to do vacuum bagging. No Joke a real studio. OK I have to build her a new one with more natural light but still pretty cool for her to give it up. Since I will vacuum at home I could not afford to have a pump that ran non stop. It cost more to do it the way I built mine however the pump will be quite while also lasting longer by having automatic controls plus it's more energy conserving.
I've found that an epoxy q-cell prime coat , left overnight and sanded the next day will prevent any crush of the EPS - I pull down to minus 80 to 100 kpa normally . Its an extra process , but the results are worth it.
I didn't have any crushing of the EPS however I use 1.7 instead of 1.0. About 4 years ago I use to do a epoxy q-cell coating. However with the new eps I just buff it smooth and no need for any type of coating. The fuse is much better these days. When we first started with EPS it was really porous and had to be sealed. For over a year now the quailty of the EPS is much easier to work with. I'm too busy to have more steps than required. I don't see what there is to gain by sealing the blank first these days? I did 100's of them after I shaped. It's one step I'm more than happy to skip now days.
Some glassers also do not like to work with anything but polyester either. I have heard that pressure will make ResinX cure quicker so no pressure with the squeegee? Matt Campbell would/should be able to confirm or deny.
I'm hearin you Surfding - I switched to a higher density foam about 6 months back , but kept the same process . Maybe its some thing I don't need to do now . I will investigate. Lucky that I don't work to deadlines !
Thanks for that little gem. I took a chance and didn't seal a 2lb marko prior to glassing the bottom. Board didn't take an ounce of extra resin and no bubbles or weird out gassing. Its been so ingrained in me to seal the eps I didn't think it was possible. Thanks!
Cool! I hate to SPACKLE. We haven't spackled for over a year. The EPS for building boards is so much better. When we were using the construction grade EPS we had no choice but to spacklle. This week-end working on some ART WORK for a line of boards. Monday it's vacuum city. With all these good waves it's bring out all the core surfers in our part of Southern California. Customers I haven't heard from for nearly two years are ordering boards again. I hope I don't get too busy doing board orders. These proto-type builds are more interesting than standard Poly/PU. This week I will have 2 different cores to bag. Hope to have at least 4 boards done by Friday.
Where do you get your EPS from if I may ask Surfding? Are you using the moulded EPS blanks as oppose to cutting your own from the construction type foam?
I use to hot wire on all my own blanks. However it's a waste of time and time is money for me with my tight schedule. I just get Marko or US Blanks - They are molded. I like the 1.7 denisty because you do need some core strenght and I can get closer to my target weight than I can with 2.0 or higher. 1.0 is way too fragile. If you do make it strong enough you loose the flex because the skin gets too stiff and you gain the weight back you were trying to save. If you want to go the stringerless route just ask for it from one of the blank companies I mention. To nickle and dime building a board of research defeats the purpose. I use to have big billets around that were 24" wide 36" tall and 12" long. I could make blanks so cheap. Whats the point? Storage, Hassle, Time!
Concentrate on the build.
The only thing I hot wire is my XPS combinations. That is manageable because the billets are smaller. Just don't inhale!
Build the magic!
I don't have any answers whatsoever just options and you know what they say about those?
Just wondering surfding…Here in Australia the only moulded EPS blanks are imported as are good Epoxy resin (that I’m aware of) which makes them not particulaly competitive price wise to the big PU manufactureres. I’d like to get into EPS but for these reasons I think OZ is a bit behind the US.
I’m far from an expert on these things but as I’ve found out I can get imported XPS blanks at nearly double the cost of PU for small amounts…unless you order a container. Otherwise I’d be getting insulation grade XPS from foam suppliers and cutting my own.
I buy plenty of blanks however I still make my own if I want to make some thing different. If you have a low grad EPS hust use the XPS to reinforce where needed. I like the weight savings that you acheive from the EPS. Use the XPS for strenght. Notice how smooth the rails are. No need for spackle. The board as a new rocker so I have to make a new rocker table. Vacuum tomorrow morning.
