board making

it really depends on how like artistic and stuff like that, it takes time but it can be done
http://www.greenlightsurfsupply.com/surfboard_building_kits.html
copy that link and there is your surfboard making kit

 

I've made about 15 of them, and I'm sure quite a few others on this forum have built boards. Its really fun, challenging, and usually the first board is at least ridable, maybe even a little bit magic. You dont need a "kit". In addition to some basic tools, you'll need to buy a blank, 1/2 gallon of resin, 6-8 yards of fiberglass cloth, fins, and fin plugs or boxes. Do some checking around, and you'll find all of this stuff for under $200.

 

If you are in NJ, Tom Mahady of Mahady Surfboards will teach you to shape and glass in his shop in Wall, NJ and you keep the board at the end and the price is less than a surfboard in a shop.

http://www.mahadysurfboards.com

 

making boards is not the question?

the question is, has anyone on this forum had success using materials that are more firendly to the enviorment and that still function? and is anyone on here shaping alaia's?

 

Check out this guy:
http://www.swellinfo.com/surfreport/kapaau-hawaii.html

Sick Alaia Boards.

 

never made one from start to finish, but my shaper let me help while he did a few boards for me. that is how I learned a ton. if I would have started blind without help it would have probably gotten ugly.

hang out with a shaper. watch him and repeat.

p.s. the environ friendly materials have yet to work out for me. my shaper built me a couple weird epoxy boards and he has some other materials in other boards, but unless u r logging or something, the new materials don't tickle my fancy.

for high performance surfing, the old foam and fiberglass is the only way to fly. until the majorities of pros start riding alternative materials, I would steer clear.

 

Does anybody know where to get thick (5-6 inch) slabs of eps insulation stock for making blanks? Has anybody tried gluing up their own scratch-built blanks rather than purchasing one from a shaper or online source? Does the labor factor outweigh the cost factor?

 

im no shaper, but I would guess that the labor and hance u r taking is probably not worth it. im not sure what the going rate on shortboard blanks, but if its around 90 bucks or less, just get the machine blank.

after clark shut down, some guys out here started getting super cheap aussie blanks that supposedly worked well.

my last custom board made 4months ago was made with my shapers last clark foam blank.

best blank ever. solid

 

I would say if you're making a blank or two to shape boards for yourself then yea the time/cost/labor factor in setting up the equipment to do it right...hotwire jig, rocker template..would outweigh the savings in cost over just buying a regular poly or eps blank for $75. If your really into it, cutting like 20-30 eps blanks a year or more then the savings of making your own add up plus you can customize rocker template and hotwire the EXACT rocker you want.

btw, i have no idea where to get a 6" slab of eps...guys i see making eps blanks are buying the foam in 2 foot wide x 3-4 foot tall x 8 or more foot long slabs.

 

the oynes I alwas see for sale out here are the blanks that are already cut down. like 8 foot by 2 foot by like 6 inches. looks like a square funshape.

so I suppose they just slice down the blanks mitchell gets one more step and it makes them individual cut.

the large slabs r cheaper im sure, but I wouldn't have the equip to cut through a giant foam block.

 

i just finished my first eps/epoxy out of a us blanks superfused blank. super tight cell construction no filler needed. used three layers of glass on the deck and one on the bottom and the thing is solid. that board puts me around seventy boards. poly is easy to shape but a pain in the ass to glass, fumes suck. epoxy resin is so simple wish i listened to mitchell a year or so ago. it all comes down to how much time you want to put into it and if you are anal about every little detail. your board will not look like a show room board at first but thats a learning curve you will need to figure out on your own. i have some blanks i can part with and i am placing an order soon so shoot me an email if you are interested. c3boardwerks@hotmail.com

 

Nice. I live in wall. I'll have to check him out.

 

Design

http://aps3000.com/download

There was an article in i think surfing mag about this program, its really cool, its the program a lot of shapers use to design boards then they send them to the machines, its fun to design your own boards though. thought you might like this