I'm sure this has been mentioned before but just curious. Not being a board builder or particularly knowledgeable about materials it seems to me that with shaping machines being so accurate and glass and foam being consistent. The biggest hurdle for copying a magic board would be variations in the stringer: Type of wood, section of grain, # of ply etc. Why hasn't the stinger been replaced on poly boards with something consistent but a similar flex?
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Composite Stringers
- Thread starter tedshred
- Start date
US Blanks offers PVC stringers in varying thicknesses from 3-6mm in red, black and white
3/16 appellcore is the most consistent. The guy has serious wood knowledge and makes an excellent product
Cedar is the next best as it has a consistent grain pattern. Also the lightest weight .
Bass is nice and strong . May just cause a board to buckle above the fins instead of snap
Cedar is the next best as it has a consistent grain pattern. Also the lightest weight .
Bass is nice and strong . May just cause a board to buckle above the fins instead of snap
Good to see you post, thought you disappeared from the board.
The wood stringer industry "Big Wood" is a powerful enterprise.
They've been 'stickin' it' to alternative stringer tech for years now.
They've been 'stickin' it' to alternative stringer tech for years now.
i asked stretch about it 5 or so years ago. he had been playing around with pvc stringers at the time and said- no way. he wouldnt do it for norcal. bamboo only. which is what ive had in all my stretch including a buzzgun.
apelcore is great for small wave bords. i prefer double 3/16 bass reverse glue up for everything over 7-0 save longboards of course
apelcore is great for small wave bords. i prefer double 3/16 bass reverse glue up for everything over 7-0 save longboards of course
Surfboards are still very much a hand-made product, even the -gasp-machine cut/milled ones; same with glassing - in spite of all the fancy marketing n tech it’s still a hand made deal.
The PVC isn't as rigid as wood. One of my favorite 6'2"s has a three stringer PVC setup. I've also set up PVC stringers in a wedge configuration to supplement high density foam stringers. I didn't ride that setup, but the shapers team guys kept coming back for more of them and they apparently weren't breaking as easily as solitary HD foam stringers.
US Blanks used to have a synthetic that I believe were called Power Core stringers. They looked like a thin fin panel. They planned and machined fine, looked cool (a clear stringer that let light through it) and some people loved them. Alas they were a little expensive and people declined to pay for them. At least I think that's what happened. Net net, they aren't available anymore.
There are a lot of differences in supposedly identical wood stringers. The way the grain is run, and especially the density can be very different. Arguably a good portion of a "magic" board is the stringer. Luck of the draw with wood. High level surfers complain of old favorite boards loosing their "pop." Is that material fatigue, or is it simply the surfer getting jaded to his favorite board? Would a synthetic stringer help?
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I think it was Pendo who once told me that it's almost impossible to replicate a magic board because you can never duplicate the original stringer's grain, flex characteristics, etc...
In my mind a plywood stringer would be the closest thing to a solid wood stringer without being too far removed, but also being as consistent as you could be.
*Disclaimer: I don't know sh*t.
*Disclaimer: I don't know sh*t.