I plan on building a 5' 6" and 3" thick surfboard base on the template of this board http://www.thaliasurf.com/kodttwsu2.html. i have no experience in surfboard shaping so i was wondering in anyone had any adive to give me. I plan on using 3, 1" thick xps foam from home depot and adding 3 layers of fiberglass. I want the board to be good in shorebreak, something i can really beat up. I'm basing this idea off catch the surf's orignal 54 beater. A simple no stinger foam board. Thanks for any advice
if you've never shaped before, i would look into greenlight surf supply. they have kits to help you build your first board, all the tools and accessories you will need, as well as dvds that give you dummy-proof instructions from shaping to glassing. also, i would suggest looking at shaping forums like swaylocks. you can find answers for anything involving shaping boards on there. i'm in the process of finishing my first board from a kit off greenlight. good luck with your board, whichever route you choose.
if your close to Philly you should check this out http://www.nynjsurf.com/forum/shape.../syob-is-back-and-now-in-philly-t29793.0.html
Even with 3 layers of glass, I think it will be too weak/flexy without a stringer. I would start with a blank if you can, or if you don't have the dough for a blank, find a worn out beater board from someone and skin it. I think that would be easier, but guys have made them from HD foam. There's actually a lot of info on guys doing it from the HD foam if you google, or search on swaylocks. Here's a link to a long thread with pics of one. Was the guys first shaping attempt also. Came out pretty good http://www2.swaylocks.com/node/1020650 No matter what, it will be a learning experience. I say go for it.
If this is your first time just buy a standard blank from a distributor. Trying to glue up your own blank can be disastrous when getting the right rocker and foil. Greenlight has a shaping room you can rent to try and shape your first board, which is a good idea because having the right tools and room makes it so much easier.
I have heard of ppl using cotton Rope as a stringer. I think what they do I cut a deep groove down the middle of the board . Then the take the Rope in soak it in resin then put in the the grove. when you glass the board it will fill in the rest of the groove. LegendJim or Greenlight would know better than anyone what you could do instead of using a wooden stringer
its to cold to glass , unless you have a heated garage , and if thats the case you want to share some space if your in Va , i have done about 10 boards still a rookie but have made enough mistakes to know what doesn't work .
I've made a 5'5" EPS board with no stringer...just a 3" thick block of foam. I glassed two layers of 6 oz cloth on the deck and 1 layer on the bottom. Based on two years of use, it is plenty strong without the stringer. With rails that thick and three layers of glass, the rails provide enough strength. The problem your going to have in shorebreak is lack of rocker, unless you bend it in like i did. A 3" thick flat chunk of foam is going to yield no more than 2.5" of nose rocker and that will be a handful in dredgy shorebreak. You can bend in rocker in a few hours with the right combination of heat and weights.
http://www.surfersteve.com/introduction.htm Check out this site. It discusses foam bending and a whole lot of other building techniques using household/hardware store stuff as opposed to surf industry materials. There are also lotsa videos on the youtube showing board building techniques.
You can do it, but you're making a lot of extra work for yourself to save money. But if you have time and no money, it can be a fun project and you'll learn a LOT. Bend in your rocker when you glue up your foam using a rocker table. XPS can be tricky and prone to delam. Do your research and read up. Cut your losses by learning from the experiences of others. You'll get great satisfaction from it when you pull into that first double-up dredger and come out smiling.
First time builds are always fun...you learn plenty and have a ton of fun. Whenever people are interested in a first time build and going route you are headed...I always reference the following thread from swaylocks.com (BTW...you should be reading as much as you can on that site...it wil help). Here is the link: http://www2.swaylocks.com/node/1020650. This build would provide a lot of perspective for you in light of the direction you are going...the rest you'll learn by experience. Have fun!
i based my entire board off that swaylocks thread. hoping to make another board this summer. what i learned? a lot. mainly to not try and make a shortboard.
