Board Builders

chuck norris cut threw a red hot knife with a block of butter

you can concave the board easy but only length wise

Nah u did it wrong, I bent 14mm and put a 25mm concave into it. the board is 1200 long and 305 wide

but even with a smaller board its still possible to do a big bend, but a 30mm curve tends to cause splitting.

Laminate is what I build with.  Add saw cuts and resin and it becomes stronger than just plain laminate and a curving makes it even stronger. 

Hi all.. just finished reading this thread. I am planning to make a topmount speedboard using a dimm press. I'm sourcing some foam off a friend.

My plan so far is to use hoop pine or marine ply in either 3mm or 4mm. Whichever one I can find for the cheapest price basically. For a glue I am planning to use a cross-linking PVA.  The middle board by Alexander on page 7 is the sort of thing I'm aiming for. It will be approximately 38x10 inches. My question is how many layers will I need to make to board to ensure a super stiff ride for someone who is about 80kg. 

3 layers of 4mm or 4 layers of 3mm should be fine. Having said that other factors also affect stiffness like amount of concave, WB length, glue used and type of wood used.....

I am intending to have a WB of about 29 inches and somewhere between a 1/2 to 3/4 inches of concave if that helps. The glue will most likely be Selleys Aquadhere Tradesman's Choice. I have read that it is cheap and available at Bunnings and works well. The wood I'm not so sure as it depends what the local timber place has. Thanks for responding so quickly to my question before.

Hey Darcy - the Selleys stuff is good and provides a very solid bond when you're in the early days of board making.  I've run up about 6 or 7 decks using it with no de-lam issues.  Having said that it's not completely waterproof, but dont let that worry you too much. Down here south of the border, the Bunnings marine-grade ply aint generally hoop pine (but Mitre10's is) but it comes in many species.  All are good - things to watch for with Hoop Pine is it's soft - good for bending, bad for running into stuff that is hard (gutter, etc) so overcome that somewhat with a good epoxy.  Don't go for the Diggers brand from Bunnings - it's a polyester epoxy and not great for end-strangth on your deck - some real epoxy like the West Systems 105 is significantly better and cost about the same (and even less in larger quantities).  Did you think about any reinforcement (glass)?  will help with the stiffness as well. 

Thanks for the ideas. I am going to make some phone calls to Bunnings, Mitre10 and North Shore Timber tomorrow to try and see what they have. The waterproof level doesn't worry me too much, as you said it's only a first go. I have thought about glass but this is all on a pretty tight budget. Would I gain a similar effect if I increased the amount of layers? And would using epoxy instead of a PVA increase stiffness as well as strength?

I'm guessing after you've got 3x4mm or 4x3mm you've got 12 layers of veneer and any more (whilst will add strength) will be superfulous... Epoxy will add strength but PVA is strong shit if applied in a good, even coat. The only concerns I have with not glassing/reinforcing the bottom of your deck is strenght once you've sanded/ground out wheel-wells - you're making an obvious weak point by doing so that some reinforcement will help to overcome. it's all trial and error and budget does come into it, but as a master builder like Steve will atest, making your own is not as cheap as many people initially think.  I don't want to discourage you, but it's devastating to put some serious thought and effort into something that breaks the minute you give it a good "push"...!

If your budget is tight an extra layer of ply will increase strength and stiffness but will also increase weight. Epoxy will make a stiffer joint than pva.

Another cheaper option is putting a stringer down the middle of your board. You could press 3 layers of 3mm into your concave and then add a strip say 100mm wide 2 layers thick giving you 5 layers in the middle where it counts. You also might get away with not having to do any wheel wells....

@deeks. the pile of reject decks in my workshop is laughing when you call me a master builder!!

you're too modest Steve, but the decks that make the grade are first class...  I'll stop blowing smoke up your proverbial now.

500ml should be enough glue, but you do seem to fly through it once you start.

The Bunnings Diggers glass (don't get the chopped variety, go for the weave) comes in various sizes - I think 1/2 sq metre is the smallest and is plenty - the length is what I'm unsure of as you may need to overlap it some of you go that way.  Just the bottom of the deck should do.

Sure thanks for all the great advice. I don't mind the extra weight to much I have a 9two5 it's pretty heavy so i'm used to it. If I was to do 5 x 3mm + bottom layer of glass from Bunnings and use the Selleys PVA would that be a pretty stiff ride for 80kg? Again thanks for spending time to answer my questions.

for sure Darcy - your unlikely to get too much flex from that! not sure what part of NSW you're in, but there's plenty of glass and epoxy suppliers - Steve put me onto FGI (who are in Brookvale which is a ways out of Sydney city - also know as Nuplex) who have an enormous range of reinforcing supplies and their prices on the basics are comparable to Bunnings and its waaaay better than the polyester resin.  BTW, I think your budget is spot on for a good deck - good luck.

I live on the north shore in Sydney. It is 13ks to FGI from my house so I could make a trip out of it and ride my bike there. Skating 26ks seems a bit far! And a lift is pretty unlikely. But I'll try to get there. My last question! How much would sufficient glass cost and what would it be called. Hopefully the staff know their stuff but it would help to know exactly what I want.

cool - the staff in the Melbourne store were awesome - really helpful - explain to them what your doing and tell them you're on a budget.  They may only sell in square metre lots (they do when you go for something more exotic like Carbon Fibre) but hopefully $20 or $30 should see you right - give them a call first.

Sure I have exhausted my questions for now. I will make some phone calls tomorrow.  My friend has a press and is looking into similar buying to me so we might be able to do splits on the glass. Thanks for answering all my questions it really helped (steve also!).

absolutely Alex - thanks!

yeah - it's in Coff's isn't it?

as far as quantities, the more pressing question is what does he want for it.  I'll check what the cheapest rate is to get it moved to Melb based on weight...

according to AUS post - a regular parcle of the approx size and weighing about 20Kg's would only cost about $40 (based on Bris to Mel)

OK - that's pretty good - sorry for all the questions, but what are the dimensions of the sheets?  I use 8 sheets per board when I build so would that still be 30 clams?

I really appreciate your efforts Alex, thanks.

ah cant remember the dimensions im headin there thursday or friday and i'll take mesurements. im pretty sure it'll be $30 for 8 sheets i'll let you know if its more. Do you want me to find out if he has cross peices as well as longs? 

cool - thanks for that.  not too fussed about cross pieces as I can make them up if he doesn't - I'd be interested in enough for 4 or 5 decks if the sheets are long & wide enough for a longboard (dont wanna make small boards) - you're a champ Alex, thanks - SMS me if you need anything - number should be on your profile wall - Deeks

all right so 8 sheets a deck 4-5 decks so 32 or 40 sheets got it im only takin 8 myself so between you and steve ther should be heaps

sweet!

rad mini top mount for my nephews b'day

specs- 64cm long 8 1/2 inches wide with 25mm concave

Sickkk looks like the Rayne mini - totally what my first build will look like!

Have acquired all the materials for my rail press - just need to time to chuck it all together.

thats awesome Alex!  does it have some camber as well?

yeah man small amount of camber its a little beast and so fuckin good to ride 

deeks the maple is only 8-9 inches and if your doin a drop deck it ait gunna be long enough unless its a really short deck

hmmm... yep - too small.  That's a pity - I'll just have to stick to the stuff I can get locally - really appreciate your efforts Alex, thanks again.

this might sounds stupid but when cutting out your board, how do you clamp it without getting rid of the concave? my clamps dont extend far enough to just clamp the middle flat part of the board

There's a good thread just above called "How to begin making boards" - it has a picture of a rail press made by Deeks. Have a look - also your first question is obscure...

ive already made my deck and i cut it out but if you clamp both sides of the board to a flat surface to keep it steady, your just gonna make the wood flat again right?

ok thanks deeks, thats what i did. clamped one side of the board, it was just a bit shaky when i cut it. probs partly cos the jigsaw cost $15

yeah - I hear you.  Good tools make life a lot easier - a lot is down to the quality and type of the jigsaw blade you choose to use.  Check the packaging as there are specific types for sharp bends and a clean finish versus just blasting through timber and leaving a trail of destruction!  

Hey guys, I am thinking in investing into a Vacuum press and I have a few questions, Will 14x47 be wide enough for 10 inch boards? I read on silverfish that the limit would be 38 x 9.5 for that size vacuum bag, also has anyone tried bamboo? I also read on roar rockit website that they can be brittle and break, has anyone tried bamboo in a vacuum bag?