Throwing Spaghetti On the Wall

General Discussion
1

This is exceprted from an E-mail I’m sending out to people in the surf industry. My commitment is to find solutions to the challenges facing us domestic board builders. The biggest problem locally is the lack of qualified production glassers. I wanted to share this with Swaylockers to get your feedback.

I’ve been hitting the message boards posting up my

thoughts about the negative effects of outsourcing

surfboard production to overseas manufacturers. My

message is resonating with alot of the general surfing

public. But it’s not enough to just bitch about

problems, I have to do something about them.

I understand the frustration that the large board

brands face in trying to get the volume of production

done locally to meet the massive demand in the surfing

market. I’ve been in the same position as Al Merrick,

Rusty, and Matt Biolas in struggling to get orders

done in time to keep customers happy. CNC machines

have addressed the problem of creating enough shaped

blanks, now our biggest challenge locally is getting

boards glassed. The problem is that there are not

enough trained airbrushers, laminators, hotcoaters,

and sanders to meet the demand.

So I’m just throwing spaghetti on the wall here hoping

something might stick, like getting the giant brands

to promote the Cerritos College composites program on

their websites. This would encourage local surfers and

workers who want to learn how to build surfboards to

take the class. Further information could be posted on

the big companies websites about which local glass

shops are hiring and would continue the training.

Glassing shops operate on tiny margins and struggle to

get by while the clothing brands have much bigger

profits and a marketing staff that could spend a very

small amount of time giving back to the local

community that spawned the original culture that they

are profiting from. As the construction trade is

slowing locally, there are guys out there who have

tool and hand skills that could work and make good

money in the glassing shops. Quiksilver, Volcom,

Billabong, Rip Curl, Rusty, Channel Islands, and

Lost/O’Neill could all put banners on their websites

about the program at Cerritos College, and the

magazines should get involved with this as well.

I’m going to sign up and take the Composites Class on

the next go around to see how good the program is. If

need be, I can offer real working insight and guests

to come in and help with the class. I want to see what

the program they present is like and see if there are

ways to improve it and help promote it.

Through dialog we can find solutions to the issues

facing the surfboard industry. My commitment is to

find a way to train more qualified workers to meet the

local demand. This will keep more jobs and money here

in the US and allow the authentic tradition of

surfboard building to remain here in Southern

California.

See ya in the water, Byron

http://myspace.com/byrondesign

New US Blanks we have in

stock at Basham’s.

2

im assuming if your gonna make a big push for laminating… you are gonna push in the right direction???

…did someone say EPOXY???

thats what we need.

3

At Basham’s we have an ongoing epoxy program. Greg’s Resin Research and F-additive has made epoxy production doable. We need workers who are trained in all materials. Consumers will be the ones who ultimately decide what processes and materials will be most used in the future.

Byron

http://www.myspace.com/byrondesign

4

Byron has a solid plan, and sticking by it. Great to know you’re doing that. I work in an industry where it pays good but fits me like a loose sock in great fitting shoe. But obligations must be fullfilled . . .

In anycase my personal experiences is its going to be both . People want the nostalgia and the feel of regular layups and ability to do ‘resin art’. Also performance and possibilities of epoxy are up there . . . things are changing, but one thing always holds true, a shaper / glasser / sanderwho surfs has more an understanding of the board than someone that does not.

I remember in 05 when Clark went down, many said the age of pu/pe was over. But today, boards are still done pu / pe. But experienced shapers are touting the performance and durability of epoxy / EPS . . .

5

With a few exceptions a lot of laminators are stoned boneheads or angry alcoholics that live in their cars in front of the glass shop. That why some SoCal glass shops started hiring imigrant laborers and paying them minimum wage. Some try to get around paying Unemployment, Workmans Comp and their share of Social Security taxes by calling each employee a sub contractor. This aspect of surfboard building culture in So Cal has to change first in order for what you want to happen.

6

maybe in the shitty shops – look at the quality places like diamond where pendo is finish sanding with no weave and amazing edgies or moonlight where the whole crew are surfers and able to function and make a living, the ones hiring cheap labor and losers have to fix their problems from the inside out,HIRE CHEAP LABOR AND WATCH YOUR QUALITY GO DOWN. I refuse to take part in a race to the bottom!

I’ve said it here before

GOOD SURFBOARDS NEED TO BE BUILT BY SURFERS - THEY GET - THEY CARE. PERIOD.

the next step is for the core shops to cultivate sophisticated customers as grubby said and earn the business of the customers who matter and who may retain some sense of loyalty. as mickey d. said in “the surfers” we’ll just ride this latest popularity wave out and let the body boards goat boaters and other random kooks wash off our backs until they give up and go back to rivertucky or wherever the fuck they came from

7
Quote:
HIRE CHEAP LABOR AND WATCH YOUR QUALITY GO DOWN

You’re Damn Right about that!!

And there quite a few shitty shops in this area but, I won’t start mentioning names.

8

Wait, are you saying there actually is a demand for glassers? I love glassing (albeit not a pro at it). I like shaping, and sanding is okay, but glassing is where it’s at for me. I’ve got to get practicing. Thanks!

9

notice where everyone is from on the thread Monkstar…not much demand for glassers on the east coast…unfortunately…sorry to burst your bubble

however, how about the swell lately?!

10

Good points from everyone regarding the state of affairs in the SoCal board building community. The market is strong enough now to make lasting changes. We’re at a point now where we can have year round work, this makes it easier to plan and pay for things like long term training programs, health insurance, and R&D programs. In the past there were stoners, speed freaks, and alchoholics who lived in thier cars that would put up with no work in the winter so they could complain all summer that there was too much work and no surfing time.

S.A. makes a good point about some of the shops that only hire cheap labor, fixing evrything as they go along, better off to pay correctly and build a quality team. Gordon Clark made the point over and over that lazy disorganized shops won’t benefit surfing, and now that there is real, aggressive, organized competition coming at us, it’s time to tighten up on all these fronts.

Byron

11
Quote:
With a few exceptions a lot of laminators are stoned boneheads or angry alcoholics that live in their cars in front of the glass shop.

hahaha…

When I surfed for Bing back in the 70’s the sander there - I forgot his name - used a lit cigarette instead of a dust mask. He said it burned all bad stuff before it got inside him. He’s got to be dead by now.

It’s survival of the fittest. I’d hate to try and run a glass shop. Finding talented, reliable labor is next to impossible. The guys who are skilled, motivated, and intelligent can find higher paying gigs doing other stuff.

How many times have you gone in to pick up a custom order and discovered the glasser bailed because of waves, a bender, girl issues, a better job offer, or any number of other distractions.

Frequently, surfers make terrible employees. The surf industry still runs on a garage mentality. There are those who treat it like a business, but many are just looking for a job that lets them surf whenever they want… not that the two can’t be combined… you just have to find motivated and responsible people that take pride in their craftsmanship and reliable delivery.

I’ll leave that task to others with more patience than me. When you get your shop up and running, doing quality glasswork, on time, and for a resonable rate… let me know and I’ll bring you all the boards you can glass.

12
Quote:

Frequently, surfers make terrible employees. The surf industry still runs on a garage mentality. There are those who treat it like a business, but many are just looking for a job that lets them surf whenever they want… not that the two can’t be combined… you just have to find motivated and responsible people that take pride in their craftsmanship and reliable delivery.

That pretty much says it all right there for me - those words… Pride of Craftmanship! - whatever your trade is (day job for most of us - professional 9-5 stuff) Like Hicksey with the BSE - or the rest of you showing off your stuff, if that aint pride well I am preaching to the choir If you do not have pride in your work/ craft then you do not have anything. THAT my friends is the SOUL of life!

13

The problem is… pride alone doesn’t pay the bills. There has to be a paycheck at the end of the week. Because of that, guys who are motivated and take pride in their work (and other aspects of their lives) can find higher paying and more rewarding gigs than working in a glass shop. Too bad for us folks that need to have our boards glassed.

14

Kendall,

I agree with you that pride does not pay bills.

But if one can awake in the morning before the alarm goes off - can’t wait to get to work - and enjoys what he/she does - they have it.

The bosses will notice it and give them a raise! - albeit in a perfect world.

1-2% of the work force is doing what they want. That means 98%+ is doing what they hate.

You can still have the pride if you choose to do so. it is just harder to do.

Is this a solution to getting more glassers - nope. I was just happy to see someone else state that pride is missing.

Whatever it is that you do each day to pay the bills you should give your all to.

Its like a Brave New World. At the end of the story the guy asks how come they did not make everybody the best, A1, tops?

The answer was those at the top did not want to pick up the trash. So they went back and modified everyone to be what they were going to be in the test tube.

                           drop drop - shes a CEO 

                           drop drop - hes a nurse 

                           drop drop - hes a glasser 

                           drop drop - shes a sanitation engineer

Pride does want to make you do the best.

Drive through O’side and look for the guy walking the intersections with the sign board for the different fast food joints.

He has a smile on his face the whole time. He has the pride of craftmanship in being (IMO) the best sign guy I have seen. That includes all of the Elvii I see here in LV hawking houses.

He would probably be a great at whatever he does…

Thanks Kendall for giving me hope for society on a whole

15

hope, I place mine in something that is intangible, that is unattainable, that is everlasting, and immortal as my own soul. A thousand uber skilled army cannot touch it, nor can that one called from the darkest depths whom transcend both physical and spirtual.

this hope makes me laugh in the true life example of Office Space (movie) that I live in when I work. It kept me grounded in the low budgeted SD police dept, where men and women did much more than what they were rewarded, amongst the greed and scandals so I wouldn’t fall with the SDDPC.

It keeps me alert in the cases when I get lazy or let the server times drop into the seconds as opposed the milliseconds and my mind echoes ‘I’m only doing this for money. I feel empty when hammering out commands or triple clicking on my mouse. the only thing i can say is Oh Brother,’

this very same hope blankets the confusion that I should be in a different place, maybe wielding my dreams racing in some flying war machine above a hostile nation or lending my voice, sticky hands smoothing out the steel strings with s gang, blitzing the canvas with some splash that one thinks its a mistake, but turns great anyways . . .or flying off to far away places to get inside water tubes that last more than just 2 seconds . . . maybe but . . .

This hope also draws from the good people I know . … some where I can see them, others have gone to better places we know exist, but rest upon the edge of our imagination. For though bound in the divine … . it also is life giving and participates in life . …

This hope keeps me check when the customer service manager gets angry for a customer service call transferred to his department. Maybe if he would log off of mlb.com a few hours at a time or practice something called tolerance he would have his staff still around or maybe cough up a few minutes to help. But turning the net logs to his uncle, the VP, wouldn’t really help.

Hope can also be generated . . .

But I believe a man or a woman, who finds what they were born to do, and makes a living at it is very happy. And happy people

They have the ‘just caught the set wave, dude did you see that turn’ wave stoked faces us surfers get when paddling back out.

And the patience . . . for long time has the ink been dry, and days of tearing when the calander approaches, the contract in papyrus will crumble.

Hope brings me a smile today.

16

Great subject… but if no one thinks about doing it differently it’s bound to fail.

Glass shops, shape shops, blank manufacturers … driving lightweight foam through SoCal traffic at $4 a gallon so no one can make any money.

Revamp the entire system. Cerritos will tell you a lot and open you up to new ideas and processes, ones you need to think outside the box. But no one there will outline what business and processing advancements you’ll need to get what this industry so desperately needs and that is creativity. Using the knowledge creatively to reinvent what we do.

And while your there remember, low tech is high tech. Keep it simple, stupid.

Pride of workmanship is mostly something inside. But it’s also an expectation in quality businesses. Quality managers who take pride in what they do can effect everyone around them. Quality starts at the top.

17

“when the customer service manager gets angry for a customer service call transferred to his department. Maybe if he would log off of mlb.com a few hours at a time or practice something called tolerance he would have his staff still around or maybe cough up a few minutes to help. But turning the net logs to his uncle, the VP, wouldn’t really help.”

I know EXACTLY what you mean…that’s why I’m back at school…but you know what? It’s the same thing, just slightly different rules and playing field. This attitude is unfortunately everywhere (to some degree), and your hope and mine are what gets us through most days…

You sometimes wonder if anyone at work/wherever gives a damn (other than collecting a check)…but some do, you just have to look harder in some places to find them…I have found that one of the hardest things in life is finding competent people…

JSS