so I need advice on making a wood board

[windhorny]

I basically started by asking alot of questions, mainly bugging the shit out of some local pro board buiilders. I have always been pretty good with anything hands-on as long as I am obsessed with the project. One of the nicest things I obtained for board building is a wholesale account to get huge discounts on materials. The other things I use are a very high vacuum pump with reseroir and changable shut-off settings. I use all the same stuff the pros use, divinycell core, s-glass(as to e-glass since it requires less resin and has mnore strength) on the glide I used carbon fiber and a hybrid kevlar/carbon fiber to keep it rigid but not too brittle. The big trick in making these things, if you ask me, is wrapping the edges with anything stiffer than s-glass and getting a smooth finish withou air bubbles. If you need some ehlp or want to see my setup, feel free to come by my shop and take a look. I have also been duplicating fins using silicone molds. This doesnt require any release and you dont have to bother drilling and tapping holes, just cast the screws in the resin. Fins are a bitch to make, especially 4 of the same. Damn near impossible without cnc machining. Anyways, good luck.


Yuri

[Guest]

I deal with chop on my Glide by flexing my knees, kind of like snowboarding in the bumps. Doesn't slow me down a bit.

What I noticed about your boards is that the fins might be too big. In very light winds you don't want the board locked in, because you have to make VERY subtle adjustments in positioning, and the board needs to respond to the slightest pressure.

In my opinion, the top end on these boards is a non-issue. When the wind picks up, ride back to the beach and swap boards.

[windhorny]

I am not sure who you are "guest" but I agree that bending your knees helps and that when the wind picks up you come in for the small board but that doesnt mean that it isn't nice not getting over powered out there. I am simply stating that the 2 placed side by side, the one with rocker can handle significantly more chop and gust. Also, I am not sure if you are talking about my board or not but I was riding finless, so perhaps my fins are too short? :) I placed some fins I made on yesterday but that was the only day there were fins on it.

[D.]

Sorry, I thought this was a "light wind board" thread, but it's actually a homemade board thread. Anyway, I'm the original "Glide" guy riding at Alameda all the time. You borrowed my board once and thought that the wind picked up 15 kts :)

Yeah, if you want to increase the top end of your board add rocker and narrow the tips. If the board doesn't flex and has no rocker it probably won't work well in moderate wind and chop.

I thought your board had fins when I saw it? Must be my mistake.

[windhorny]

The "original" David, it did have fins that one day, they were only 1 1/4" fins though, not large at all in my book. I then rode it finless and that was a nightmare landing jumps, although a new challenge which is always fun. 2 days ago I tried placing my 1 3/4" fins on there and yes you are right, those ar too big for that size board. I just wanted to see what they felt like. It does make it hard to feel your input to the board. I think I will make another fin mold specifically for larger boards.

[OliverG]

L.M.G. a local shaper and maker of some excellent boards has just done a layup of a new board and has documented it with some photos and narration to help those who are inclined to making their own boards.

He said he was going to keep the extraneous commentary to a minimum and would stick to the task at hand in his narration, so in light of that, I'll post it here when it's available.