hi everyone!
i just shaped my first blank (atua.cores stringerless EPS 1.9lbs) and it went pretty well. it wont be my last for sure.
since i live in austria, far away from the ocean, theres nothing like a surf scene or industry here around the corner, which makes it very hard and expensive to get everything together for shaping and especially for glassing.
i found a source for PU blanks in southern germany, which is perfect cause i can drive there and pick them up. they sell burford blanks and techblanks from spain (anyone use those tech blanks? are they any good?)
so thats good news for the blanks.
i`m so torn apart by the whole glassing thing tough.
when i first started to think about shaping, i was like all epoxy over EPS, because i dont really have a place to glass with POLY where i wouldnt stink everyone out (is this english? guess not.)
but the epoxy for one board (just the resin) would cost me a lot of money, really a lot of money. with everything else i need to glass a board its like almost as much as my last new custom 6`2 shortboard.
so i`m not quite sure how to go on.
since i guess the glassing is very very important for the performace of a board and its looks, i guess i would prefer to pay a bit more for a professional poly glassjob, than saving a few bucks and doing it myself with epoxy nowhere near the quality of a professional job.
so if you know anyone who does glassjobs in europe, the nearer to austria the better (netherlands/germany/france/italy/…) i would be very happy if you`d let me know.
i am well aware of all the shipping costs and hassle but i have those issues anyway with almost anything i need and cant build myself.
another thing im really not sure about right now is the famous planer issue.
whats the deal with the clark hitachi here in europe? i ve read that its avaliable from seabase and i guess viral surf in bidart. do you get it 110V only? is it worth all the hassle or should i go buy a bosch and kick those little metal plates out of the knob to make it rotating clickless? with what do you fill the V grates in the front shoe to make it even?
opinions on that one would be very much appreciated too.
ok, enough for now. thanks a lot for helping me out,
greetings from the f***ing cold and rainy austria.
chris