Hollow wooden surfboard

Thanks WOH.

I meant to ask about adding vent holes. I've got one on a firewire and get the basic idea and since it will be significantly lower temps when I'm glassing vs. this summer I think it makes sense to have one. Anyone have a quick and dirty installation or ideas on where to get them or how to make them?

 

Yup, really enjoying working with the sapelle... I finished a small piece with some 1500 grit sand paper and you could really see how the light plays with the wood.

The wood was pretty cleaned up when I bought it but I ripped it into 1/4" strips then ran it through a thickness planer. I'm going to leave a little more thickness on the top deck.

Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to put a good chunk of work into this. I'll post more pics along the way.

 

Update!!!

I've been taking my sweet time on this but making progress little by little. The rocker table confused me for a long time becuase I was trying to make everything too perfect. Simple is better.

Anyway, pics show my rocker table, rocker table with bottom deck on, deck and board clamped down and the board with the bottom deck all glued up.

I'm gonna work on the rails and top deck this weekend. I'll keep you updated.

As usual, gimme feedback both positive, negative or other ideas.

 

So... I bet you guys never thought you'd see this thread again. Well between a baby that has recently turned one, buying a house and moving across town, I have finally come closer to finishing my "Medium" minisimmons.

The board is built more or less but I have to figure out this glassing thing. More like I have to decide on what I want to use. I've been searching the forum and found someone who said they liked this guys stuff on youtube and he was using Solarez.

What are the pros and cons of Solarez?

I called Greenlight this afternoon to ask about the glassing kits and they said for a hollow wooden board I'd want to use epoxy. I'd basically made up my mind already to use it so we're good on that. Are there epoxy products out there that superior to Solarez in a lot of ways?

I'm drawn to Solarez because it is UV activated and the waste is minimal. That being said, I can easily be swayed as this is my first real glassing experiment. All my other experimenting was with the fiberglass cloth and resin you can get from Lowes for big ugly repairs on my canoe.

I'm looking for help from one and all but I've got a couple of you that I'm really hoping chime in.

THanks!

 

Yeah, it was my first build and I learned a lot through the building process. I'm excited about glassing. I've heard the west system is good but rock hard when it comes to sanding. Any thoughts?

If you've built a kayak you should be able to make a board pretty easily. Go light with your wood. I used 1/2" poplar in the frame and you can tell when you pick it up. I'm going for lightweight, cheaper materials next time.

 

UHhhhh.... bump.

Come on. I need some glassing guidance here too! I appreciate the resin research comment. Still interested in solarez though. Pros, cons or other ideas out there for glassing on wood?

 

Thank you Sir! That's the validation i was looking for.

 

No telling man. I made my first cut a year ago. But like I said, I e had a baby bought a house and moved during this time. I also worked in my shed, living room and my brothers garage before I moved. It was not efficient to say te least.


That being said, if you have all your tools, space and know how you should be able to comfortably put one together in a month. That's what I'm planning on for the next build. You could do it in a couple of days to a week. There is a lot of time watching the głue dry.

 

It all depends on what you want to build with and what tools you have. A skill saw or band saw help a lot. I wouldn't want to do this with a jigsaw. You'll need a table saw if you're gonna rip your own wood for the deck. . I had to buy a lot of clamps and glue. You can go cheap or as expensive as you want on wood. Sapelle and poplar cost me $120 I think. I was advised against gorilla glue but it helped in a lot of uses. Titebond III was good for making the deck.

Glassing looks like its gonna run about 100-150.

I built up the rails with 1/4" strips. One by one. This is where you watch all the glue dry.