need help on a foam core!!

**burtonpunch84** · 04-20-2008 03:22 PM

k so i started my first foam core board and ive been getting bits and peices of infor on how to do these but im not fully educated on the whole process so i still have a few questions inorder for me to finish. so far i cut out a 1/8 sheet of BB and a little bit less than 1 inch piece of blue insulator foam. i put 1 sheet of 6 oz fiberglass on top so far and 2 sheets inbetween the wood and the foam and then i put the foam on so that it stuck to the wood. i plan on adding about 2-3 sheets of fiberglass to the bottom over the foam and 1-2 sheets on top. is this enough? also i have a vacuum bag but to fiberglass it iv just been laying down the fiberglass on top. can i use my vacuum bag for putting fiberglass over the bottom or will the resin stick? when you add the fiberglass iv been just putting a sheet on top and a sheet on the bottom. should i be wrapping the fiberglass around the whole board or am i doing this right? also will this work without using carbon fiber at all? sorry for all of these questions but i realy need help on this and i spent about $100 on fiberglass just for this board so id realy like it not to go to waste.

heres some pics of what ive done so far. 1 sheet on top and 2 sheets inbetween the foam and the wood.

**thomasberg** · 04-20-2008 08:56 PM

how easy was it to cut that foam? if it was real easy then I'm think you may have bought the rong foam, and after glassing it the layer of foam bonding to the fiberglass may just shear away from the foam core.

Also what kind of fiberglass did you buy and how much of it did you buy, because 100$ seems a little over the top.

**silospen** · 04-21-2008 03:11 AM

Also resin dissolves some foam iirc?

**SteveC** · 04-21-2008 03:36 AM

I'd keep the glass, and redo the rest of the board...

1st, you don't cut the board out until the glass is done.
2nd, I think you need to use a foam that's made for the job-
or you need stringers on the inside, otherwise the skins will distort the core and it won't be nearly strong enough.
3rd, the truck mountings need to be reinforced, or the bolts will pull through.

http://www.silverfishlongboarding.co...ion-101-a.html

**burtonpunch84** · 04-21-2008 01:37 PM

thomasberg- it was kind of easy but i used a very sharp blade to cut it. and it was 100$ for west marine sheet of 6 0z 38" by 90", west marine 6 oz sheet of 1 yard by 1 yard, west system resin, and west system hardner.

silospen- i havnt noticed anything as far as the foam disolving

i kind of want to make this board work because iv put alot of time into it so if some one could help explain as far as making this board and making it stronger.
is there any way that i can reinforce the bolt holes from were im at?

**hoch92000** · 04-22-2008 07:32 AM

Hopefully all you will need is block mounts for the trucks. Cut out a block of wood the size of the contact surface of your trucks. Make it the same thickness as your foam. Make two. Then cut out the shape from your blue foam at the location of your truck mounts. Slide 'em in and glue em. Then FG wrap the sucker with a vac bag. Should last a while.

**burtonpunch84** · 04-23-2008 08:25 PM

ok so i continued making it and its starting to look realy cool. i didnt use a vac bag for the fiberglassing because i still have some unanswered question as to how i would do it but basicaly its 2 layers of fiberglass, wood, 2 layers of fiberglass, foam, 4 layers of fiberglass. it seems like since theres so much fiberglass that the bolt holes would hold up alright as long as i dont ride the thing extremely hard but i still plan on doing something as far as reconstructing the bolt holes goes. im basicaly wondering as to how you could do that. i plan on just drilling holes just a tad bit larger than i normaly would and putting some sort of hard liquid in there like resin or epoxy. i realy need some advice on this because it dosnt seem right to me.
heres wat i have so far.

**hoch92000** · 04-24-2008 03:38 AM

woah! Looks real nice. I think you're gonna have to fortify the bolt holes though. The glass and foam alone will probably not have much longevity. I've heard of filling the bolt holes with epoxy but I don't know how its done.

**Ogre** · 04-24-2008 04:22 AM

It appears, the wood is cross grained. Hope all goes well for ya.

**dustm** · 04-24-2008 07:18 AM

Drill some larger holes at the bolt hole locations from the bottom up to the wood ply (but not through), and glue in some hardwood dowels. I'd go at least 1/2" but larger would be good too. Maybe even add another patch of fiberglass over that then re-drill the holes through the dowels.

After that just mount it up and see if its stiff. It should be judging on the thickness of your core, and the amount of glass you used sounds fine. I made a foam core with a 3/8" thick foam core out of the same stuff you used and it has lasted from November last year to present day and has survived a lot of abuse. I used birch ply wood inserts at the nose and tail, and they extend in towards the middle of the deck pretty far.

You will know what to do more next time. I'd suggest ordering glass from an online shop like CST... The west marine store has exorbitant prices on cloth. CST also sells good core materials. Keep at it!

Bryan

**burtonpunch84** · 04-24-2008 07:59 PM

thanks guys all the help is much appreciated. well i drilled the holes and mounted my trucks and i kind of got cold feet about trying to re-enforce the bolt holes so i jus tried it without it but adding some wide washers at the top of the board to try and take away some of the pressure of the screws and i rode it and so far i havnt noticed anything as far as the bolt holes tearing or anything. is it possible for me to have added enough fiberglass that it would support the bolts on its own? heres some pictures.
o and the board is probably the most fun board iv ever ridden. i love how turny it is and how quickly it starts up