I would like to try making a board with wood veneer instead of fiberglass. Here’s what I’m thinking:
An EPS foam core with two layers of veneer on the deck and two on the bottom, alternating the grain. And maybe a layer of 1.5 or 4 oz fiberglass covering it all. I will be vacuum bagging it.
Here’s my questions:
Where is a good source of wood veneer (I’m in Redondo Beach, but I don’t mind ordering from a different state)?
How thin can I get it?
Which woods offers the best strength to weight ratio?
Does it come in 7’ lengths, or will I have to piece it together?
I won’t be needing a real flexible wood as I’m not planning to wrap the rails with it, instead I will use a strip or two of fiberglass tape.
There’s a place in Chicago called Oak Veneers. They have a website that is quite good. I’ve looked it up on Google and it was easy to find. If you do perimeter stringers you can inlay with the veneer inside the stringers deck and bottom and the cover the rails with glass. The perimeter stringers will allow an attachment between the deck and bottom venees and create a VERY strong structure. Looks good too.
Hi Bert, on the subject of wood strength, I’ve bought some strips of balsa from Bunno’s and am going to use it on the hollow I’m working on. I’m planning to have the deck made from part ply in the the middle then the balsa on the outside edge to form part of the rails, using its flexibility to bend round the curve of the rail (it wont be going all the way round). This should get rid of the need to use as much cork and ply on the rails. What are your thoughts on the following:
What kind of adhesive is best to use in laminating the edges of the balsa strips together?
With the hollow chamber below I was thinking of one of the following solutions to strengthen the balsa, to avoid going thro it, but cant decide:
1.sandwich construction of 2 layers of 6oz below and 1 layer 6oz on top. (given that its not in the zone where my feet are going, the ply should take the load from my hoofs)
Same as above except a layer of carbon fibre below deck
Shape a polystyrene block and place in the chamber below the balsa at the rails and use 1 layer glass below and above for strength.
I was thinking about trying 1/8" thick sheets myself… Bert says 1-9mm will work depending on the application. What horsepower vacuum pump are you using? Do you have your own or are still using the lab at Cerritos? Have you ever tried infusion? I’d love to take a class there but I’m Japan for the time being and I can’t find any good tech classes locally. Thank you Professor Swaylocks. Thanks Bert. cheers, Brennan
I was thinking about trying 1/8" thick sheets myself… Bert says 1-9mm will work depending on the application. What horsepower vacuum pump are you using? Do you have your own or are still using the lab at Cerritos? Have you ever tried infusion? I’d love to take a class there but I’m Japan for the time being and I can’t find any good tech classes locally. Thank you Professor Swaylocks. Thanks Bert. cheers, Brennan
Thanks for the link.
I’m not sure what horsepower my pump is, but it will pull up to 29" Hg. I am not currently using the lab at Cerritos College, but I’m about to start a new project and will probably need their lab. We learned vacuum infusion in class, and I thought about trying it with a surfboard. You would have to use a closed cell foam, or it the foam would soak up too much resin. I think it’s worth trying with some closed cell foam.