Homemade split boards

[zob]

@loco4viento
I wonder how many sessions did the pine struts hold until now?
I would suspect there is a lot of bend at the split, which would leave cracks in the finish, letting the water in, soaking and slowly deteriorating wood, which would eventually result in a breakage.
At least that's what happened with reinforcements (pizza edge) I made on a board which was too flexy.
The other weak spot for water to come in are holes.

[loco4viento]

@zob,

I've probably got around 5 hours on the spleene board and only a couple on the slingshot so it's pretty early. Untreated pine is a pretty poor choice and I will probably change it out soon for something stronger. On the other hand, the fact that it has held up so far is encouraging to me, suggesting that a better material might provide some good long lasting results. I threw these together quickly and hoped to find if there were any real weak areas, such as t-nuts pulling through the bottom of the board, screws pulling through the top of the struts, struts splitting on the first ride or the whole thing becoming wobbly and unstable after a few hours. Now that I know I like the concept I might try it out soon with a hardwood or a plastic.

[windfreak74]

ive had this Project on hold but in the pourpous of sharing ideas.
i machined aluminum inserts and cut the board in half with a exacto knife ang Steel ruller.
bored the holes in the board with a jig. flushed and sanded all the foam to créate epoxi bond to fiberglass thru the hole connection.placed the inserts and epoxi everything together.
the edges i recessed 13mm of foam and filled it with epoxi.
the connection will be bamboo spars laminated with fiberglass.

[Flyfish]

My board is long gone. but I kept the stiffiners I used. I used some fiberglass chunks I formed. I never had any problems with flex, Infact I'm not sure I needed the center one.
Not off topic but another travel tip is I use a climing harness insteed of regular. This is only to keep equipment super minimum. for the kite, I use camping compression straps.

[windfreak74]

im a firm believer in paying for what you carry! here is why.
i ship fruit by air every season to US and pay for every kilo i put on the airplane.
In the long run most companie will eventually charge the passangers for kilo.
you will be weighed just like livestock!!!
i believe Samoa airline company had this policy due to overweight epidemic.
Split boards will become the norm for travelers!!!

[Bille]

...
In the long run most companie will eventually charge the passangers for kilo.
you will be weighed just like livestock!!!
i believe Samoa airline company had this policy due to overweight epidemic.
...

I weigh 90kg
and should NOT have to pay the same as the Fat-Ass in 160kg guy
in the seat next to me, that's complaining that my arm-rest is down
because HE want's 1/2 My seat as well !!

On the split-board ; i'd go with a carbon plate for a joiner.

Bille

[peterheirman]

The best is to build board with an overlap in the middle: top and bottom overlap.
The trick is to pre-cut almost entirely the board and stick in plastic (from a shopping bag in order to keep both parts separated) and laminate or glue the plywood together.
Once finished you only need to cut away the remaining pieces which hold together.


Plywood split board without glassing is feasible (I have one for 3 years now).Costs USD75 because of the stainless steel screws.

[Bille]

...

Plywood split board without glassing is feasible (I have one for 3 years now).Costs USD75 because of the stainless steel screws.

Be Careful on those SS screws . the chinese like to sell the
ones they call SS but they will rust in water.

The way to tell, is to place a magnet next to the SS screw ; if it isn't attracted
to the screw, then it Really "Is" SS.

I had a guy tell me the way he found his T-nuts in a board he made, was to
magnetize them, by wrapping a wire around them and adding current from a battery
Later he would then drop iron filings on the deck of his new-made board to find the
T-nut later .
A Good quality SS part will NOT be able to get magnetized !!!

Bille

[windfreak74]

ibought that liquid forcé board on sale at 199 and it came with the tip cracked.
no big loss just wanted to give a try if the Split board was feasalble in a foam /fiberglass construction.

Billie,
you shouldt accept to pay same Price as the 160 kg person on air freight.
my 3 year Little girl pays 70% fair and she weighs 13 kilos.
and she does not take near as much space as the 160 kilogram right arm!!!
back to Split boards.
ai guess there is a market for low Budget Split kiteboards this would not cost more that 250 bucks to manufacture. 500 is a good pricepoint.wood coore, fiber glass and epoxy!! simple enough.Im still intriged wakeboards cost 199 and kiteboards cost 699

[longwhitecloud]

you put non stainless grub screws in stainless inserts, fill em with wax, laminate, then just use a small powerful magnet to locate where to drill....


i can see a movement towards super light super compact kite gear for travelling