Making a copy of a board that got buckled this past week.
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Backyard Build
- Thread starter GromsDad
- Start date
This shot was the first look after roughing it out and cutting in the rails. Some fine tuning was done and fin dots added.
The shape is now finished and after a little dinner I will do my routes for the FCSII boxes and leash cup.
I'm just an entirely self taught back yard hack who has been ruining blanks for 33 years now. Do not attempt what you see in these pictures.
If I'm feeling really ambitious tomorrow I will glass and finish this one. I also have some repairs to do from this week's carnage.
If I'm feeling really ambitious tomorrow I will glass and finish this one. I also have some repairs to do from this week's carnage.
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I've had shaping lessons (planer not software), also had full glassing and sanding lessons and even finish spray gun lessons. However you are more skilled than me!
Have fun! I miss shaping ang glassing my own boards, but I just can't do epoxy, and poly is way too toxic to do at my house. Looking forward to progress pics!
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Probably for some of the same reasons many glass shops don't . Way too fvcking tempermental.why? curious
The feel. I surf logs mostly(I'll surf my 5'8" Griffin when it gets over shoulder high) and epoxy can't match the feel, momentum and glide of a poly log for traditional logging, which is what I like to do.
I made my first boards in 1989. Entirely self taught. Back then just sourcing blanks and resin on the East Coast was a major challenge. There was no internet. I called information and got the number for Clark Foam and called them. Got a catalog in the mail and sent them a money order and the blanks arrived a couple of weeks later.
Here is board #1 circa 1989. I still have it. Used a Natural Art board I liked as the basis to make this one. Copied the outline using the same half pencil technique I used in this thread. I didn't get my bottom rail tuck quite right and I overshaped the nose a little bit but all in all it wasn't too bad. This board rode great. Board #2 was a pinned out 7'4 step up and that one looked great but was a total dog.
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Added some color and set the fin boxes.
On my FCSII installs I run the head of a large nail around the bottom of the box and a tool I picked up about 10 years ago from SurfSource (Lower left of the pic above. Tool no longer is on their website) that is made to create a channel half way down a fin box route. The two added channels add quite a bit of strength to an FCSII install. In the picture below you can see the two channels in the fin box route I've created. I do the same thing with leash plug installs.
On my FCSII installs I run the head of a large nail around the bottom of the box and a tool I picked up about 10 years ago from SurfSource (Lower left of the pic above. Tool no longer is on their website) that is made to create a channel half way down a fin box route. The two added channels add quite a bit of strength to an FCSII install. In the picture below you can see the two channels in the fin box route I've created. I do the same thing with leash plug installs.
Those are 9* boxes. The route and the boxes set the angle. I'm honestly not looking at the degree marks on the tool. I'm just using it to make certain the left and right fin are sitting identical. The routs are so tight there really isn't much adjustment available and I rarely have to adjust one or the other more than just a little bit.
10 or 15 years ago I used to use a fin system similar to Pro-Box and that system used that groove tool for added strength and with FCSII I figure anything you can do to give the box some added grip to the foam and to widen the base is a needed bonus.
I should mention that this board is 5'11 x 19 x 2.5.
Been busy with other things and we've had a run of surf here so glassing and finishing will probably have to wait until next weekend.
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Here it stands right now. Going to stash it out of harms way until I glass it next weekend.
Nice work! Do you add cabosil or something else to the resin for the fin-box install?
I use West System 403 Microfibers in my fin box and leash plug installs.
It's not. Where did you hear that? I've been making epoxy boards since Calrk closed and had no problems and I'm not a pro. It's really way easier than poly.I've eyeballed mix ratios (often, especially when doing amounts less that 15ml). No problems. If you want more time to work you can use a mix of slow and fast hardeners. If you want fast times there is Kwik Kick which is comparable to poly. If you are doing vacuum bagging you can use slow and have 30 minutes or more work time.There is even Extra Slow where you have an hour of work time. There is also a gel time when you can work the resin like Playdoh. The other day I did a lam and went to have lunch. Came back and a few air bubbles had formed on the rail. I could just squish them out. Also you can sand the fuk out of the lam and it doesn't gum your sandpaper.
It is stronger, better UV resistance, has a lighter specific weight. I think the bad rap it got early one was because people thought epoxy meant Surftech. And the pros used to poly didn't want to have to learn new techniques.
Only weakness I can think of- it's harder to get a gloss. You can but it's alot of work. Or you can use poly gloss on top of sanded epoxy.