best glue for a wooden surfboard

[bgreen]

Hello,

I'm in Brisbane and am going to have a go at making a surfboard from paulownia. I was thinking I would need an epoxy glue but am not sure what type or where is the best place to buy it. I'm near the city.

I was intending some type of oil based finish (possibly tung) rather than a varnish or resin.

Any advice is much appreciated,

Bob

[China]

This is only a guess, 308 recorcinol resin

[tea lady]

Epoxy is my bet, but if you intend to actually surf with said board instead of make a coffee table I'd seal and varnish it pretty well. A board that gets heavier and heavier through your surfing session might get a bit hard to paddle onto the wave.:C

[ian]

I'll let someone in Brissy respond re the epoxy, but I'm thinking paulownia is pretty soft
that the core of a surfboard needs to stay dry
so the finish will need to be resin


ian

[tea lady]

The boat building forum might know more.:)

[underfoot]

Hi bgreen, are you going to surf it or is it just for decoration?
paulownia, although light, is still about 3 times as heavy as balsa, and is much softer (lousy compression strength)
if you're using it, you'll need to glass it, so a good quality pva will suffice to laminate the boards up,
and it's going to be a real tank in the ocean,
there are some guys making hollow construction timber boards, but paulownia just isn't tough enough for that.

[bgreen]

Thanks for your replies. The board would not be a decoration. I own a board that is sealed with oil that needs to be reapplied periodically after use, so was planning to continue with this approach. Absorbing water hasn't been a problem to date.

I have information on Bote Coat Epoxy-E and tried to search 308 recorcinol resin - but my initial search wasn't too successful.

regards

Bob

[malb]

I surfed from age 5 through to about 30. First board was a 9'6" hollow ply egg crate construction built by my father for my older sister around 1960. I believe the glue used was most likely Bondcrete, as my father had successfully built a few boats with that over the years. (Tends to leave a dark taint on gluelines and heavy though)

Second board was a polyester GRF over balsa core commercial board, about 10'6" and lighter than the hollow. Balsa core was carved from a blank formed by laminating 2-3 inch balsa strips. Not absolutely sure about glues used for laminating, but there was no discolouration or ridging along the glue line so it wasn't a hard set glue like epoxy. I suspect a PVA or similar.

Subsequent boards were all foam cored polyester GRP. Never came accross a board that was oiled for waterproofing, would have thought that the oil/water interface would be too slippery to ride.

We also used to have/make a variety of belly boards which were a blank of marine ply or 1/2 inch timber with a steam bent curved nose. These were finished in marine paints or varnishes, as was the hollow eggcrate.

[China]

bgreen have alook here http://www.selleys.com.au/Selleys-308-High-Stress-Wood-Glue/default.aspx

[bgreen]

All,

Thanks for your replies. Sealing the board isn't an issue - resin finish, shellac/varnish and oil finishes are all now common in wooden surfboards. Regarding the softness of paulownia, I have one currently. I has some small dings but has stood up well after being riden n all sorts of conditions.

China - thanks for the Selleys link. I have emailed them as well as reading the info provided..

Malb - can you tell me more about how you steamed the ply for the bellyboards and the general design? I was considering making one of these as well (despite no woodworking experience - except coming from a family with generations of boat and oar builders in it).

regards

Bob

[GraemeCook]

WEST System epoxies are specifically formulated for marine use. Have a look at their users manual at http://www.westsystem.com/webpages/userinfo/manual/ plus their general website at www.westsystem.com

Cheers

Graeme

[bgreen]

Graeme,

thanks. was speaking to my wife's nephew and he also mentioned the West system. I'll see if there is anywhere in Brisbane that stocks it. ATL are down the coast.

regards

bob

[GraemeCook]

Bob

You should not have any problems finding WEST stuff - its widely available. Try yacht chandleries, fibreglass suppliers, specialist paint shops and better hardware stores.

Its worth reading the literature first; its an entire system. The basic two-pot resin can be used like a varnish or a non-gap filling glue or to wet out fibreglass cloth. You can also add various types and quantities of additives to convert it to a thicker gap filling glue or even into a moldable putty. Its very versatile, but precision is needed in measurements and it can go off fast.

Its worth doing a couple of small practice jobs.

Cheers

Graeme

[bgreen]

All,

Some fedback. Selly's advised: "Unfortunately the 308, nor any of our woodworking glues will not last with salt water contact.".

The Australian rep for West system recommended: Techniglue-CA

regards

Bob

[crex]

epiglue for joints KINETIX R104 Surfboard for external finish it is uv stable west is not will yellow depends on the tone of your timber.

[bgreen]

Crex,

thanks. I hadn't heard of epiglue. I did a quick search and it looks promising. Unfortunately I have already glued up one board, but it is handy to know about this.

It sounds like epoxy based glues are the general recommendation.

Bob

[crex]

Bob,
It can be trial and era. Unfortunately when you make a surfboard a lot of time goes into it.
Money can also be a problem. Cross linking PVA's are also good some people will not agre but i love them. Kleiberit 303 seems to be one of the best and very water resistant when dry.
Epiglue has great filling quolitys and is easy to use because it is thick. Can add weight. so if you have nice clean joints or surfaces that you know will come together nicely use the 303. If you have a blind glue up and are not sure use epiglue or its close cousin techniglue. The key to doing any glue up when you are putting timber under tension like your deck and bottom of the surfboard is be patient always leave clamped up for longer than the tin says. If you dont have time try to keep the room at a constant temperature when i use epoxys i try to heat the room to about 30 degrees you dont want to go over 32 i use heat lamps and a small heater in a fully insulated and closed in spray booth i measure the surface temperature of the piece being glued. Make sure you glue up then heat the room or timber. By doing this you can take clamps of after a few hours dont take my word on this always check before de clamping.

I also find it good to do sample pieces and to test different techniques before lunching in on the project. Most of the time i surprise my self to find i actuality need to use less material and glue just buy doing some simple tests.
Sorry about the essay i was trying to do a quick response.
All the best
Crex

[bgreen]

Crex,

Thanks again. I'll look into this. The board is solid paulownia and will only be oiled. I am presently looking into the merits of tung oil.

regards

Bob

[sinjin]

Glue it together with WEST systems. Then shape your board then when your finished and want to keep the weight down use a 2oz lay with Vinyl Ester resin.
Ester is way easy to lay up than Epoxy.