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General Discussion
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So i have shaped two boards now and the first board i got was a US blanks 6'8" that came out a little thin and kinda odd looking, but for my first board i am happy. However it as like 100$ for this. I now realise that 100$ and up is a normal price to pay for blanks. But here comes the curve ball, i heard about Vec surfboards and called em up. I was greeted well and drove down to get another blank. Upon arrival i asked jokingly "so how many of these things do ya got here? A couple hundred?" and he replied simply, Yep. I was like           0.0         And took my blank home. So my question is, that would be 10,000$ or more in foam. So how did he get so many, and how did he afford all of them. He said he gets bug discounts and stuff, and orders like 50+ at a time. Its some pretty crazy stuff. I just cant seem to wrap my head around it. HOW?

Now this is another big confusion for me, how on earth do people glass boards cheaply? i mean i am going tpo be spending like 50$ on UV resin 10$ on tints and other small things, then like 40$ on glass to finish my board. Its kinda nuts. 

Lastly this might sound stupid but....well just but. So my little sisters birthday is coming up and she really wants a SUP. So i was all excited and thought i could make her one. The problem i run into is that i cant find anybody who stocks SUP blanks. However i did find sombody who stocks longboard blanks. So my plan was to get a longboard blank make a SUP style outline and leave the blank thick. But i just thought i should run it by this croud before hand just too see if it could work or not. FYI the blanks are like 9'-11' and my sister is turning 11. in case that helps.

As always thanks for all consideration and posts.

Angus--

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Hey, Angus;

Being unemployed and not drinking beer isn’t bad…at 16. When I was 16, I was working a full week and drinking quite a bit and take my word for it, you’re doing it righter than I did.

In any event - me, I’m not nuts about Makita stuff, it doesn’t fit my hands too well. And Bosch doesn’t really make a sander/polisher that does what you want it to do.

On the other hand, Hitachi does. See http://bigskytool.com/ , they carry ‘Remanufactured’ stuff which you want to look at.

What happens is that, well, let’s say Knumbknuts has a birthday and his wife ( Mrs. Knumbknuts) gets him a tool. And then ( lets say he has one already) it gets returned and maybe Knumbknuts tells them it ‘doesn’t work right’. It gets sent back to Hitachi USA and they go through it, check it out, and then they sell it off at a fat discount. And it’s a perfectly fine tool.

I’ve bought from them before, been happy with what I got and have been using it since. They are out of stock on those particular sander-polishers just now but keep an eye on 'em.

The company also carries Makita and DeWalt - I’ve said what I think of Makita and I wouldn’t set fire to a DeWalt ( Yellow and Decker ) &^%$#@ sad imitation of a tool. DW is a cheap line of stuff compared to the Hitachi, and if you’re gonna go lowball there’s a better way to go.

http://www.harborfreight.com/7-inch-variable-speed-polisher-sander-92623.html - they’re cheap, they’re available, Harbor Freight has stores all over so you can pick one up and handle it and get a feel for it. It’s not the Milwaukee, like the one I have and like, it’s not the Hitachi ( though it’s close to the design) …but it’ll get you started.

Now, one suggestion was to build boards for your friends to get a little cash flow going. Me, I’d steer away from that, sounds like a good way to have ex-friends and a few not-so-hot boards you’re sitting on 'cos you can’t sell 'em. I mean, hey, your first few of anything are gonna be awful. However, doing dings for fun and profit…there you have something. No big materials expenses, quick turnover, it’s all good.

hope that’s of use

doc…

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Hey hippo,

See if you can get your friends to buy the materials and you build them boards.  Get some practice that way. It’s good there are young guys getting into board building. I wish I started when I was 16. Glad your not drinking beer yet, too.  Mike

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To doc, the offer appretiated. However i am 16 years old so no beer fo me. ( i am also unemplyed so thats why i am being so cheap.) kinda a topic changer but anybody got any ideas as to what is a good powersander BESIDES the millwaky. Again money is an object to i was thinkin somthing like a small makita or a bosch, i swear by bosch after i git my planer. Hours of shaping and i planed my parents defk with it. No problems what so ever. 

Suggestions?

 

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Surfboards should cost a bunch more. It’s true.

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What S’Ray says. Spot on. That is one reason there is no money in surfboards…surfers are too cheap and don’t want to factor in labor cost as well. Also, they will drop $500 to $600 on a wetsuit and expect the board to come cheap.

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Cheap Bastard. Drive down to the local Mercedes-Benz dealership. Count the cars. Nothing on the lot worth less than $50,000. Total inventory...$$$$$$$$$.

Surfboards are cheap. After you hot wire a blank and glue up your own stringer you will see that $100 is nothing....Guys cry to me all the time.....I can't aford a new surfboard....and then take the whole family to Hawaii for a week.....

Surfers are cheap. You are being cheap. Want a better deal on blanks? Move to California. Pay higher taxes on everything. Get your supplies for less.

Stingray

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oh i am a backyard shaper, these boards are for me and family only. I have no plans to ever sell my stuff, just because it is a piece of me every one i shape, and to let it go would be too much.

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Hey, Angus

As the old cliche goes: “How do we do it? Volume!!!” which is the only way to fly, here on Cape Cod which is out at the tail end of the logistical pipeline for everything except clams. Food costs more here, gas costs more…

Now, what kills you on blanks one by one is shipping. If Vec’s getting fifty at a time, he’s probably paying half that hundred dollars and it’s worth it to either have them deliver or go pick up a truckload…which in turn is gonna be a whole lot cheaper than, say, UPS on one of 'em.

Next, resin. Let’s have a quick look at http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/Product_Catalog/Polyester_Resins/polyester_resins.html for Silmar laminating resin plus do a wee bit of a search.

Pint of resin is about $7.50, figure about $60 a gallon and we’ll ignore shipping.

Quart of resin, about $16, and that’s about $64 a gallon.

Gallon of resin, a little over $44, the unit price starts to go down

5 gallons, a little under $160, more like $32 a gallon

55 gallon drum, saw a price ( in a search) of about $1000, and that comes down to a little over $18 a gallon.

And he’s probably not dealing with a middleman, he’s likely going direct to a distributor or Silmar ( actually Interplastic) for the best price which could well be a good deal less, especially as he’s likely to be ordering more than one drum at a time.

And for cloth, color and what have you, same deal. Go to a big wholesale distributor, order a mile of it ( literally) and the unit price goes way, way down.

You see where this is going…

Anyhow- as to the SUP thing, something you might want to think about is that this might be a good time to try epoxy and then whittle a blank out of a big billet ( 2’ x 2’ x quite long indeed) of polystyrene foam or maybe do a search for somebody in the area who does or sells great big pieces of polyurethane foam that you can use with plain old polyester resins. Lots of 'em in Massachusetts.

hope that’s of use…and if you’re down this way again, let me know, I’ll buy you a beer

doc…

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Herb seems to have it right…

 

As for the SUP blanks…

http://greenlightsurfsupply.com/us-blanks-112A-SUP.aspx

They’re out at the moment, but there you go!

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there's really not much profit it surfboards/mfg.

it's all about movement, and volume.

the more movement,,,,,, the more volume,,,,,,, the more profit.

the surf industry was always a tough cut business..........no doubt.

it's even tougher these days w/ all the new e.p.a. laws,,,off shore cut throats,,, etc.

if you are doing it for profit..........one or two at a time isn't going to bring in much,if any profit(s).

keep it a hobby,,,, ,a love of the sport, and craft..................you'll be better off.

or get a job at,"" jack in the box"""...................you'll instantly double your earnings!

herb

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yeah i think i grew up woodworking but fiberglass was kinda a grey area. I am most likey going to get a cheap makita or somthing. Ill cross that bridge when i come too it. I those pics u see on facebook and was almost immidatly offered the price ot costs to make em for a couple of dudes. 

 

On another note entirely, anybody ever made finbox templates? i Mean the jig things. I have searched to forums and only found one or two users around here who have done it. Hopefully larry will get involved here, but i was oping to make them myself. 

I would enjoy to use thr ProBox system, but the fins are rare around here. So i was going to make a FCS Fusion or Futures Jig. 

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Fcs fins fit probox and futures can be cut down to fit.

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Fusion Jigs are easy. X-2 jigs are easy. Futures is easy IF you are decent with a router. You can buy the donut by itself and thats the easiest way to build the jig.

Probox is your cheapest and easiest install.

 

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i looked around for a good sander. I am not sure what is a good amperage for the tool and what is nessesary versus usless. I have seen the sanders from 6amps all the way to s whopping 30 amps with all different options like RPM’s and horsepower and all this stuff.