making longboards

[bluesnowcone]

if your a first timer, how hard is it to make an glass a desent longboard?
and does anyone make their own longboards?

[IdRatherBeSurfing]

Roy Stewart makes longboards

[tomcat360]

shaping a longboard is apparently not too bad. Shortboards have very sensitive spots, and a small dip or something, you will feel it.

Longboards are quite tolerant to it. However, glassing a 9 foot board is a huge task. And you can't spend hours upon hours fixing your glass job like you can shaping. You have to get it done quick.

An egg shape or a funboard is what has been suggested to me (working on an egg now). At first, I really didn't want an egg, but now I'm really stoked to have one. You can still do floaters and cutbacks, but you catch waves so easily.

Look around and do some searching. Go to surfersteve.com. Ten minutes on google is more worth your time. If its not then shaping's not your route.

[Driftingalong]

Hey tomcat, did you get the stoke for that egg from surfersteve?

I was checking out that site a little bit. Really cool, from what he was saying it should be really good for small waves and junky surf (what we get a lot of, right? ) hope it turns out well for you.

[tomcat360]

No, I kinda got the egg stoke from the "1977 design and construction manual" or whatever that is. It floats around on swaylocks from time to time. I guess that and mixed with the merrick MSG, I really want one now

yeah, we do get that mush a lot did ya'll get any good spring swell up your way?

[Driftingalong]

Friday was great - waist to chest and really clean
Sat. - around waist not as clean
Sun- around knee mostly clean

...and it's been flat, flat, flat since then.

[kitesurfer]

Shaping a longboard wouldn't be too hard if you have a big enough garage to do it in. As a first glassing job i think you'd find it quite a challenge. Remember polyester resin gells between 8-15mins depending upon how much hardner you use and the air temperature. This is the length of time you have to get the glass down and onto the board before it starts to cure. If you're not quick then a longboard will present problems.
Also sanding a longboard, ohh the very thought makes me shiver, unless you have a good power sander that's alot of hard work.

Cheers KS

[tomcat360]

I'm getting out easy on that part, I'm borrowing some pneumatic sanders and pads

I would suggest epoxy instead of polyester. Less mess, less smell, less lost brain cells, and a whole whole lot less toxicity.

Plus it doesnt go from slightly gelled to hard, it slowly goes off, and if you are running behind, you can just add more pretty easily.

Kitesurfer, what blanks/resins do you use?

[kitesurfer]

Hey Tom
I'm a polyester junky and i get my blanks from a company here in the uk called homeblown at the moment.

Cheers KS