Hya,
im planning to do my 3rd board, and in that board i want to use PVC rails, instead the EH Method
For the glue i will use the Epoxy with microballon, but my real concern is about how to curve the PVC rails in order to have the outline.
I’m think to use a Heat Blower from Bosch in order to give some heat during the gluing process.

Please any suggestions will be welcome!

you can use tape, it works very well even with curves.

Glued with epoxy and µballons





RideZeBigOne

Thanks for the tips.

My concern is that i use PVC instead of the ABS. It seams that the PVC its much hard to curve than the ABS. But right now i solved the problem with a Heater blower.

By the way do you know where i can buy ABS here in the Europe?

Thanks from Portugal

abs or pvc rail sucks!
why us it?
Big factories use it 'cause it' cheaper and faster, ad even easier to give a nice flex pattern without work very mutch the foam, but if you do customs you don't need!!
PS Consider even Lexan, is cheap and is very strong, is know like antigun glass...I tink it's easier to find..

Proto : my edges are made in PVC not in ABS

if you need to do sharp edges you can saw some slots like this :



but you tips with heater blower sounds goods

RideZeBigone From Europe too (France)

Apologise us ZoidBerg if were are too 'cheap', but i'm my do-it yourself center they don't sell Lexan glass
fortunatly they sell very cheap PVC stick (less 1€ / m , 6x6mm).

I'm interested in your Lexan Glass, do you have come pics of your boards??? is it transparent? easy to cut? sell in stick?

thanks for your information

RideZeBigOne

I never made board vith "solid plastics" I tink it's avery industrial approach..
Let me explain.....


for a big factory:

1)abs rails are cheaper than overlapping rails
2)Abs rails let flex the board a lot without tapering the core very mutch, so machining the core is cheaper, and profile the "flex pattern" it's easier
3) Abs rails are fashion (you know, very inflazionated)


I like more old school "surf style" overlapped rails.......

I can buy a board with Abs rails in every kiteshop, but I cant find a "real custom" so I do myself...

Lexan is transparent or fumè (light brown), cost like Abs, but I tink it's selled only in sheets, but if you have cheap pvc use it

I don't go for "cheap", I can buy a cheap 2 hand board for and it coast less than buid my board.......
But I cant find a CHEAP superlight board (my board is 1600grams using no carbon)


This is my secon board, some wrinkels on topsheet, but is very cool...

Too mutch vacuum and a not so good topsheet layup....

Nice board

Thank you for your information about Lexan, maybe i will try to find some sample in order to see how its works in kiteboard ...

Maybe pvc rails is cheaper and an industrial solution but i think that it facilitate a lot the making of the kiteboard!!
I make my boards with vacuum and in one shot thanks to PVC rails. doing recovered rails needs severals shots...



RideZeBigOne

Ridezebigone,

Is that an extruded channel you are using for the rail?

That is very interesting, I haven't seen it done that way before.

It looks like it makes it pretty simple to align the rails w/ the core.

Have you tried this technique before and if so how does it hold up? How thick is the channel wall? It looks quite a bit thinner than the solid abs rails I have seen other guys use.

On the subject of wrapped rails, by "several shots" you really mean "two"
right?

Trent