Board Builders

" carbatec " supplys vac bag systems ( same type as seen in concrete wave )
they have offices Aust wide , presses will produce better boards as the presure is spread more evenly across the board than with a vac bag .

'style plantation' looks like it would be perfect for a bamboo core, pity they don't produce thinner sheets though. bummer, no wa branch either

What do you think of a bamboo core of 4mm then a sheet of 3mm ply either side to reduce the splitting in the bamboo but still give some of the single veneer bamboo characteristics. It was obviously be a pretty thin board???????
just looking at Ian's post made me think???

you could try and just do a two ply deck of 6.5mm bamboo, you would end up with a 13mm deck that could be rather nice

i already have 4mm sheets. i tried 3 layers and had issues with splitting but i had a rad w concave?

dylan the idea about the ply either side is to stop the bamboo splitting out into the little voids in the press if the bamboo, on the outside it will still split. the other option is to use a sacrificial layer of ply on the out side that is seperated from the blank by a layer of plastic, then i might as well just use all bamboo. if i had a better press and a vac bag i would be set, i would not have the problems. Then if i could work full time for 6 months as a board builder have 10 grand to spend on tools, and an army of spider monkeys as henchmen, and a gold plated dunny and sharks with lazer beams on their heads............ what was i talking about again? sorry being a tool. haha

i got in contact with that NZ based company that dylan posted they have 1.6 and 3mm bamboo ply, that ply made from multiple veneers. depending on the factory bonding agent it has possibilities. They did say they could make a 2mm single veneer but i would have to be purchasing over 100 square m, that is about 105, 2400 by 1200 sheets? i have asked them more questions and they got back to me very quick last time so i will keep ya posted. It could be an asra board builders group order, but that is a lot of veneer. Might be good for some of the more serious people, in a close geographical area?
Pete, Ash, Steve, Norfin, i know that that area goes from nsw to townsville but its worth a thought.

bamboo is already readily available here in oz, it would only cost more from nz, the thinner sheets are only available in a large order like you have found adam, bamboo does not just work like bunnings ply, it takes more thought than i have seen come out of these pages to make it work properly, 6.5mm would not work for any kind of concave it would snap longitudaly at the first hint of pressure, even down to 2mm there is a bit of an art to pressing bamboo, you guys need to figure out how to make a real mould, not a jig and have literally tons of pressure pressing your boards to have a good level of success with bamboo or your just pissing $$$$ down the drain, but having fun along the way


FOAMCORES....i dont think they use expandable foam for any that are on the market today, various infusion methods are used but that refers to how the resin enters the bag and how the excess exits not anything else, if i was going to go to the effort of making a foamy i would stick to proven methods using high density extruded polyeurathane foams that were purpose built for the composite industry, sheer strength is important too, no point having something that is literally going to pull itself apart under any kind of load, for that reason mathys insulation foam/ or the white coolite from the packaging of the last desk mum bought at ikea will not work,

Yeah I'm going to stay away from bamboo, as Pete said it needs a whole new set of skills to get it right and I don't like the way it holds up to impact. But thats just a personal thing.

FGI in your state has quality foams that are perfect for cores, although it can be pricey if your only doing one offs

feel like i am in trouble from the principal, we are just hacking around by comparison but thanks for the reality check. No offense intended. thanks

jeez adam, dont be like that, seven years ago i was stuffin around and tryin to figure it all out like you guys are now, ado was the only one getting random boards in, i bought a landy direct but it cost more than they do now and it took about three months to get here, rather than deal with that crap again i started building, foam core slaloms, bamboo dropthrus cambered cruisers etc but there was just a handfull of guys doin DH so there was no point taking it further back then, I'm sure i could solve alot of your issues straight up but its more fun to be cryptic and in the end you'll all make better boards for yourselves or to sell because you will work it all out in the end, its not rocket science, if you wanna do it, especially if you have intent to sell look at hows it really done and think about what works and does not, I'll happily tell you what does not work.

Well said Pete, I quite enjoy your cryptic comments.

I reckon asking eveyone else what works is what doesn't. Try it out and find out for yourself

ye, pete, i get what ur saying with the foam.
adam, i had that idea as soon as you mentioned the splitting and i was going to try it but after petes post..... and if you do that bulk order count me in......

pete, what do you mean with it snapping longitudaly. why would it snap in a press with less pressure, and not snap in one with tons?
are you saying that the imperfections in the mould would cause the snapping?


i looked at your build on silverfish with the 3x4mm bamboo where you used the concrete mould and the bottle jack.
you said there that the pressure needed there was immense and you didnt think that it would be possible with just a vac bag.
i just mentally threw out the 6.5mm. i dont know if ill have to learn the hard way or what, but im pretty confident that if you were to sandwitch the 4mm inbetween two descent wooden plies, it would work.
considering you have a proper mould of course.

oh and dylan, that looks identical to the board i build a while back

balsa works if you get end grain, it sorta does with long grain sheets but this is where sheer strength is important, get some sticky tape and stick it to balsa from the hobby store then peel it off, look at how much grain comes with it, this is essentially your laminate pulling the core apart but it grabs more than sticky tape so also pulls more on the fibres and causes more damage, this is why they use "end" grain balsa in composite boat hulls etc the grain from end to end is strong but side to side is week. (it pulls apart)

tons of pressure will cause what splits do occur to press out and fill with resin/pva.... whatever immediatley, with a jig you get pinch points where there is loads of pressure and other areas where it is pulled together more than pressed, it will generally get you by for a home made however when bamboo snaps along the grain it does so violently and could have a knock on effect in whatever you have supporting it.

arbi has been cruising around on A random balsa core i made six months ago and it seems to be handling the rigours of a daily ride/ commute, if its still intact in another six months i'd consider making more

o hail thee...

oh and guys, i found some qld maple...
dont get your hopes up just yet though...
its prelam 4mm, but the chick told me over the internet that its all layers of 0.6mm veneer. 85$ a sheet inc gst

from sharpes ply in wacol

i was just being silly/cheeky i'm just stoked your happy to talk to us.

hi all looking to make a foam mould for my second board, anyone know where I could get hold of the right foam in sydney?
I tried Clark Rubber but they only had the spongy stuff, any suggestions would be welcome.

Any of the fiberglass suppliers should be able to help.

like uh fgi or whatever?

In Sydney try a company called Isoboard. You will have to buy at least 1 sheet ( 2.5 by .6m ) Get the 50mm stuff, it gives you more to play around with. Should be about $70 - 80. More if you need delivery. If you can find somewhere cheaper let me know

ohhh thats a hefty bit of cash, not sure ill be able to go ahead with a mould in that case. Thanks though

read some where that if you have a deck, you can copy its concave if you use a vacuum bag and the board as the mold... anyone try this?


it will work !
carbatec has bags the right size for single decks + hand vac-pump systems that are cost effective

hey, im thinking of doing two things to my avenger, i want to cut the tail of, just because i recon topmounts that end at the trucks look cooler than pintails. just like this

the other thing i want to do is to sand the white finish off the top and to put on some clear griptape so that i can see the grain of the bamboo, i know that rayne uses some ink tatto method to get the graph onto their decks, but do you guys think that if i got an orbital sander i could take off the white while not damaging the fg on the top, thus altering the structural integrity????

Does anyone know where to buy veneers of hoop pine or bamboo in Brisbane?
Cheers

alex, look up ozbamboo, they sell 4mm stuff,
but unless you either have a vac bag, or a really well thought out and made male female mould, its gonna split.

Hey, guys,
Im not sure i fully understand how a vac bag works and im looking at getting one.
Do you put the wood + glue + mold+ whatever else the vacbag needs, all inside??

Yes. you just use the male side of a foam mold.

thanks man
yeah i have a vacuum bag

Hi i was wondering if anyone knew some places in adelaide to get reasonabely cheap plywood
also how much should i get for a top mount avenger style board

thickness you mean? well it all depends on how you are planning on laying it up. (eg, fibreglass/ stringer) but ill assume your just going for a straight ply deck and say around 10mm worth of good bb or hoop pine.

hoep this helps peace.

yea im gonna fibreglass the bottom as well
do you know any places in adelaide to buy plywood?
also i want to be spending about $100 on the whole board

no as i live in perth. but if you have not previously built anything before you will probably end up spending more than $100. 2pack epoxy is expensive stuff, as is good ply and glass. for the ply start ringing timber yards and for epoxy and glass boating shops are the go.

hope this helps. peace

yea i found a place and they sell fibreglass woven sheets for about 12 bucks per metre
how much would i need?

Hello all kinda new to the whole board building thing; my third board is in the press right now. It's around 32 by 9 nine inches with a kicktail, but im worried that the generic bunnings ply (lauan?) will snap if I try to ollie or anything. Bearing in mind that maple is uber expensive and rare in Sydney, anyone have any ideas as to hardwood suitable for popping against the ground regularly (without imploding)?

can you get epoxy for glassing at bunnings???

also can u just use an old material for the cloth like from spotlight or something or do you have to buy special fibreglassing cloth

thanks

EDIT: any old material

1 Yes but its shit
2 Yes and No. You can use printed fabrics from spotlight as a graphic with epoxy. It will have no structural integrity whatsover. If you could just use any old material why would people bother making glass cloth?

i see.

males a lot of sense lol

thanks

im thinking of making a board around 1m(40") long and about 9 or 10 inches wide. im not sure about the quantaties of resin and hardener i would need to do maybe 4 or 5 layers in total.

so how much do you think ide need?

cheers

yea, bought some wood for the holiday board building madness...
stay tuned...

the deck is in the press, were lookin for a symetrical(maybe) dropthrough freeride with rocker and about 15cm or a bit less concave....
so psyched

15cm concave Whoa!!!

Seriously though sounds like its gonna be a sweet deck. Make sure you post some pics

hahah, ye 1.5cm

new board in the press, 3 x 4mm ply, this one has one less than normal, so im hoping for some flex, i also had less concave with chamber.

rad mathys