Wakesurf Part 2

Outline cut out, those are not smudges they are dust particles on the lens of my camera.

Yes it's fat! Adjusting the thickness and the foil with planer.

Rails/Foil/Concave Nose pretty close to where I want them to be.

Sorry that I don't have a bunch of shaping photos but I'm a one man operation. I may use the GoPro camera for the next project. Gonna walk away for a day or two and then look at it again to decide if this is the final shape. Next Step is to seal the EPS with spackle before glassing. This is a step I normally would skip but this foam has very large beads and definitely needs it.

New Project Wakesurf Mini Longboard Nose Rider

Started a new project yesterday. This board is for an inland surfer friend. WakeSurf to be exact!

So these first 2 photos just show the main ingredients; 1lb EPS blank halves and a luan stringer. For those of you are are unfamiliar EPS is Expanded Polystyrene (styrofoam) the 1 lb measurement is a way to explain the density of the material (it takes 1 lb of raw material; polystyrene pellets, to make one cubic foot of "expanded" material so 2 lb EPS would be more dense and would weigh more. This particular blank was obtained from Greenlight Surf Supply.

In this photo you can see the nose rocker a bit better. This blank is 6'2", I want my finished board to be 6' so why a 6'2" blank? Well I don't want all that standard nose rocker for this blank so I will pull my template toward the rear of the blank to reduce the nose rocker.

So as I was getting ready to glue this baby up I thought I would go ahead and decide on a template. This way I could work on the template while the blank glue was setting up. 

So this is an existing spin template that I use to shape long boards up to 10' 2", I used some pinstripe tape so the outline would show up better in the photos. This looks good for the front of the board.

This is a pretty standard shortboard "Thruster" spin template. It picks up the back half of the board.

So this is the new spin template created to make this board I added some length to it so I can use it for future boards up to 6' 6"

Ok Now back to the blank:

Tape up the edges for the stringer, I'm using Gorilla Glue and it makes a mess. The tape will keep the glue from staining the white foam when it foams up. It will not just pull off, it will require that I grind off the hardened foam from the glue. The tape will give me a buffer or guide if you will. The second I see the tape start to deform I'll know to back off.

Spread on the glue with a 2" brush with the brstles cut down to 1 inch. Stack up the three elements as you go. I let it sit for a couple of minutes then layed it onto the table. Note the table has a sheet of wax paper running down the center of the table.

Clamp it up, I could have left it standing on it's side and weighted it down with bricks or something but then what would I do with all my clamps?

Clamps off!

So after grinding off the hardened foam from the glue, removing the tape etc. You now see the blank on my shaping stands and the outline of the template for the shape being cut out. Let me explain what's going on here. I use a router with a very long straight cut bit to cut out the outline. The smooth part of the top 1/8" of the shaft rides along the template. I use a full size router with a variable speed control. I dial it way down to the lowest setting possible to where it just cuts the foam clean. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! Do not try this with a skinny little router bit or with high RPM! One little bump on the bit to knock it out of perfect balance at high speed will cause it to warp and break in a split second, thus becoming a bullet! If you are thinking about doing it this way I would recommend most people not try it. I have many years of experience with this tool from my wood working days. Plus using a handsaw is just as good and makes you more versatile. I still cut many shapes with a handsaw and the ends get cut off with a handsaw.

HWS Part 11

The Fin Outline shape is done. Still needs the leading and trailing edge to be foiled but it has been sanded smooth with 80 grit sandpaper and is ready to be laminated to the board (if I put it on the board) still haven't decided.

 

The next few pics are of the board after laminating with 4 oz cloth. Before I laminated I did a sealer coat with thinned out laminating resin. No Styrene just acetone to thin it out. Wanted to make sure I got good adhesion to the wood. The lam came out nice and tight. Hot coat next!

HWS Part 10

Just a quick update today. Been laminating the D fin for the board. This picture shows the fin with 2 X 4oz ea. side and 3 X 6oz ea. side.  Going to let it cure for a couple of days, sand it level again and then I will start the graduated build of of additional layers which will help the foil shape of the fin.

HWS Update Part 9

Time to glass the fin:

 So here is how I start; I put my template on a piece of plate glass and trace the outline with a dry erase marker

Here is the outline

 This also gives me an easy way to cut my fiberglass cloth to size

 Now I go approx 1/4" outside the line and lay down my resin dam, I'm using foam rubber weather stripping

 Important to then erase the black line or it will smear into the resin

2 layers of 4oz cloth that I cut out earlier. This is a real important step because this cloth will bind the pieces together for the rest of the build-up of the fin

 The cloth is thoroughly saturated and the backside of the wood is basted with resin before setting them firmly onto the wet cloth.

Then the plate goes under the UV booth, notice the mirrors I want as much UV light hitting the plate as possible, I even put a mirror under the stand so the light can reflect up through the glass

After just a few minutes the tinted resin goes in, filled up to the edge and a bit more so it "domes". The foam rubber will soak some up so you have to let it sit for a few minutes and keep adding a little resin at a time. You want to keep that domed effect because once it starts to cure it will shrink.  Note: this resin has some milled fiberglass mixed into it for strength. You can use cut up fibers from scrap glass or fin roving to accomplish this. Not too worried about it being really strong at this point just want it to hold together for the rest of the process. This of course now goes in the UV booth for what feels like forever!  Good thing about UV it will cure thick resin without getting too hot and cracking.

Wow it didn't fall apart!  So anyway after it has cured under the UV I really leave it alone for several hours. Then just start wedging some razor blades under the edge and it will gently pop right off the plate glass. Now I'll leave it to fully cure for several days before I start to laminate layers of 4 oz cloth to make it structurally strong.

HWS Update Part 8

Building the fin tonight: Here is the mock-up and my template

Here is the plan:

This is how I got the wood together: I cut 1" sticks of Black Walnut and Curly Maple on the table saw

Then I glued them up

Then I cut them up to create a checked panel:

The rest is pretty straighforward I made little templates and cut out the other pieces:

Next comes glassing...stay tuned!!