You guys are making me wish I had the space to do more composites work. I don't even have a spare bathroom to stink up.
Select to expand quoteMark _australia said..Imax1 said..
I know , I need a vac system ! I only build a board a year or so for myself and a vac system is the cost of another board .,
ps : any advice on making a hand laminated board lighter would be greately appreciated . About to start one soon .
No its not, if you wanna pay post I'll send u one (minus pump)
I think I would need the pump , sounds like it's an important part .
Overner
Like everyone else I wet out on a table then transfer the glass to the board, there is no excess resin. When that glass is used to bond corecell to the EPS, it is sufficient to make a board that lasts. The micro areas of no bond seem to not matter if people are jumping it hard for a few seasons with no issue. So I ask - why would you fill? instead of your question why not fill....?
I see the argument with stuff like end grain balsa but part of the problem is then it sucks resin from the filler and you can end up with a powdery weak fill sometimes. As Hoops says its gotta be done in the same step - not fill and sand and then bond if you can avoid it.
The sealing blanks thing on Swaylocks seems to me that it came from people who only ever wet out glass over PU, then suddenly had EPS drinking up resin. Good glassing technique minimises that, or as we said wet out on table but surfboard guys were largely unaware of that 20yrs ago (and if you're making a lot of them it would be a nightmare to have a wetout table). Smearing wall filler on a blank is crazy talk yet it became popular. I agree the 3D glassing thing was just a way for them to sell their mistake lol
Select to expand quoteImax1 said..
I do use peel ply , for it is good 
Gives a great finish and sucks up a little resin .
Yes I use a ton of masking tape ,including graphics , around 10 rolls of cheap stuff $25 .
For those that are horrified and picturing me tipping a wheelbarrow of stones on my board , I should explain . This is for the bottom of the board with concaves. The top is mummified with tape . No sunken decks for me .
Firstly the blank has a layer of glass so is already stiff . I do half of the board at a time . On a bench I support the board very well then make a cardboard well tight around the board . Using a ribbed squeegee apply thickened resin to the 3 mm core and place on board . Cover in plastic then a thin blanket . Then I gently shovel on a 2 inch layer of clean small pebbles . Works a treat . Totally eco friendly as the garden gets its pebbles back when I'm finished .
On the topic of some resin seeping into the blank compared to a sealed blank , wouldn't the seeped blank have a stronger stiffer skin ? What would the weight and strength difference between a bogged and seeped blank be ?
ps: yeah , I know , " sucks ", " bottom " , " stiff " and " ribbed " was used in this thread.
pps : for Hooper , I also used " tape " and " cover in plastic "
You won't believe the ease and the luxury when you do finally get a vacuum pump and you'll be able to build to 55gr/litre. Fridge or car air con pump is all good and cheap and you don't need lots of pressure, 0.4 bar is heaps.
Select to expand quoteMark _australia said..
Overner
Like everyone else I wet out on a table then transfer the glass to the board, there is no excess resin. When that glass is used to bond corecell to the EPS, it is sufficient to make a board that lasts. The micro areas of no bond seem to not matter if people are jumping it hard for a few seasons with no issue. So I ask - why would you fill? instead of your question why not fill....?
I see the argument with stuff like end grain balsa but part of the problem is then it sucks resin from the filler and you can end up with a powdery weak fill sometimes. As Hoops says its gotta be done in the same step - not fill and sand and then bond if you can avoid it.
The sealing blanks thing on Swaylocks seems to me that it came from people who only every wet out glass over PU, then suddenly had EPS drinking up resin. Good glassing technique minimises that, or as we said wet out on table but surfboard guys were largely unaware of that 20yrs ago (and if you're making a lot of them it would be a nightmare to have a wetout table). Smearing wall filler on a blank is crazy talk yet it became popular. I agree the 3D glassing thing was just a way for them to sell their mistake lol
I think Mark Oz and Overner have valid points here. Weather you fill or not depends on the method you're using and what you're trying to achieve.
You don't even need to fill the whole board. I'll often screed areas where I think there could be an adhesion issue or an area that cops a bit of a beating. The rest will just be the resin in the pre wetted glass will be enough to adhere.
Or you could just smear the whole thing in 6 Ten. But please stretch your back first if you choose this method.
Cheers, Hoops
Yeah there is a good point
If there are areas that are not flat enough I do fill. Like if blowing blank off with air rips some EPS balls out 
but I learned that lesson
Yeah you don't want your balls ripped out, especially if you're doing it anally like Imax likes to do 
Be better than reading another word about back problems from the apprentice troll .........
Id like six pages of how or how not to get my balls got ripped out .Suggestions Hoops ?
Select to expand quoteaeroegnr said..
You guys are making me wish I had the space to do more composites work. I don't even have a spare bathroom to stink up.
You know you can leave the fan on for many months. Crack the door every few days and if it still smells, close the door and check after another week. Or something like that.
Select to expand quoteMark _australia said..
Yeah there is a good point
If there are areas that are not flat enough I do fill. Like if blowing blank off with air rips some EPS balls out but I learned that lesson
I've so done that more than once . You'd think I'd learn .
Select to expand quoteImax1 said..
Id like six pages of how or how not to get my balls got ripped out .Suggestions Hoops ?
Fresh, sharp sandpaper is a good way to protect your balls from being ripped out. Dull, blunt sandpaper pulls balls out all over the place.
Even though you're only cutting and shaping EPS, sharp tools are super important.
I'm not sure you're going to get 6 pages out of this.
