Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

New to Kiteboarding and building a board

Here you can exchange your experience and datas about your home build boards
User avatar
Bille
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 4023
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 5:37 pm
Local Beach: Lake Mohave
Gear: Ozone Edge
Brand Affiliation: Barz Optics
Jaybar Dynabar V7
Has thanked: 252 times
Been thanked: 188 times

Re: New to Kiteboarding and building a board

Postby Bille » Sun Mar 25, 2012 6:31 pm

My FIRST board, (before the molded Foam & Carbon) was 3/8" ((exterior ply))
from Home Depot. 4oz glass with a bit of 50K carbon uni & epoxy finish.

I made the rocker with strips of various thickness wood, Taped to the cement floor.
I pre-cut the board 1/2" Larger than the finish outline then tossed it into the Hot-Tub
for an Hour ; took it out & placed it on the rocker-table with Bricks on top then let
dry over-night.

Took 3 tries before it took to the desired shape.
Jumped into building a Mold for a carbon & Foam one, the moment i saw how the
plywood one looked !!

I recommend Ya make your first board a BIG one, & don't spend a Lot of time on it !!

This was my first Carbon & Foam one , it's a 158 X 47 ; still ride it in light wind :

Bille
Attachments
Copy of Mid basin 5.JPG

Wicker
Rare Poster
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:08 am
Local Beach: Blackstrap
Style: Crashing and Dragging
Gear: Flysurfer Unity 12m
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: New to Kiteboarding and building a board

Postby Wicker » Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:28 pm

Yeah it's quite a big board. I figure for starting out it will make things easier. I can always cut it down later or convert it into a table or wall hanging. Just set the rocker today so I'm going to leave it for a day or so and see how it turns out.

The set-up is about 3cm of plywood underneath the board and a couple of cases of pop just off center on both ends. Here's to hoping it turns out well.
IMG_1114[1].JPG
Rocker set-up

User avatar
edt
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 7316
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:27 am
Kiting since: 2010
Local Beach: Michigan
Gear: ride hard, no regrets
Has thanked: 529 times
Been thanked: 662 times

Re: New to Kiteboarding and building a board

Postby edt » Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:53 pm

dry plywood wont keep a curve. You either need to glue 2 strips together or dunk your board in water, get it comlpetely soaked and then put a curve on it, the wood will keep a curve if you bend it wet

Wicker
Rare Poster
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:08 am
Local Beach: Blackstrap
Style: Crashing and Dragging
Gear: Flysurfer Unity 12m
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: New to Kiteboarding and building a board

Postby Wicker » Mon Mar 26, 2012 11:49 pm

I did soak it down pretty good before placing it in the set-up. I guess I'll just have to see if it was enough.

User avatar
edt
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 7316
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:27 am
Kiting since: 2010
Local Beach: Michigan
Gear: ride hard, no regrets
Has thanked: 529 times
Been thanked: 662 times

Re: New to Kiteboarding and building a board

Postby edt » Tue Mar 27, 2012 4:47 pm

You need very little rocker to make a decent board, even 1 inch of rocker might be enough.

mikellli
Rare Poster
Posts: 16
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:42 pm
Local Beach: lake Rusanda
Gear: HQ SCOUT2 5m
HQ NEO2 8m
mystic shadow 2010
Sims snowboard
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: New to Kiteboarding and building a board

Postby mikellli » Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:01 pm

Has anyone tried to bend the plywood with a steam cleaner. A friend of mine was did this for other purposes, not for a kiteboard. As I understand high temperature softens the glue in layers of plywood, so after cooling playwood keeps the current form.

Wicker
Rare Poster
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:08 am
Local Beach: Blackstrap
Style: Crashing and Dragging
Gear: Flysurfer Unity 12m
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: New to Kiteboarding and building a board

Postby Wicker » Tue Mar 27, 2012 9:42 pm

I would think it would work. I've heard of some guys using irons to steam the board. Could be worth a try.

Wicker
Rare Poster
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:08 am
Local Beach: Blackstrap
Style: Crashing and Dragging
Gear: Flysurfer Unity 12m
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: New to Kiteboarding and building a board

Postby Wicker » Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:23 pm

Just pulled the board off the "rocker table" and it looks to have work quite well. There was a few spots where the veneer lifted but a little wood glue and some clamping took care of that. Going to give the glue 24 hours to set and the stain it tomorrow. I rounded the rails slightly with a power sander but imagine they would still be considered a straight rail.

Wicker
Rare Poster
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:08 am
Local Beach: Blackstrap
Style: Crashing and Dragging
Gear: Flysurfer Unity 12m
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: New to Kiteboarding and building a board

Postby Wicker » Mon Apr 02, 2012 7:52 pm

Finally stained the board and it looks to be ready for either sealer and the mounts for the footpads and fins. I think I may want to epoxy the board yet in which case I assume that I'll need to place the mounts first. Any suggestions for a good mounting method for the footpads? I was thinking of using stainless steel T nuts.

There is some discolouring on the board, I think just due to an uneven surface. It looks much worse in the picture than it actually is.
IMG_1117[1].JPG

User avatar
edt
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 7316
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:27 am
Kiting since: 2010
Local Beach: Michigan
Gear: ride hard, no regrets
Has thanked: 529 times
Been thanked: 662 times

Re: New to Kiteboarding and building a board

Postby edt » Mon Apr 02, 2012 8:30 pm

Wicker wrote:I was thinking of using stainless steel T nuts.
stainless steel t nuts work fine.


Return to “Gear Builders”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 114 guests