Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology.
I'm back, and back to work!
One of the nice things about these compsand boards is that they can be rebuilt when needed. While I was away, I was in touch with the guy who had gotten the Bumblebee Quad I had made in my first batch of compsands. It had sustained some damage in some collision mishaps, and had been repaired poorly, to say the least. It also had some performance limitations that he wasn't entirely happy with, so I took it back in trade on one of the classic fish I had made in the last batch. I'm happy to say he's very happy with the fish.
So, I had my work cut out for me when this board got back into my hands, but I figured it would be a good warm-up for getting back into shaping again.
The deck was badly damaged, so it had to be removed first.
Then the areas where the rail was damaged had to be replaced. Since the rails are built up in multiple layers of balsa, they have to be replaced in the same way. The stair-steps are so the joints are staggered so as not to create any weak points in the rail.
The biggest problem with the performance of the board was that it was, quite simply, over-rockered. Too much curve = maneuverable but slow board. The top part of the photo shows the original rocker and the bottom half shows the rocker as I re-set it when I vacuumed the skin back on. Much better, and reflective of the shaping experience I have gained in the time since I originally made this board.
The finished board with new skin and pinline. I have been riding this board almost exclusively since fixing it up, and it is my new favorite ride. Funny how that works out.
One of the nice things about these compsand boards is that they can be rebuilt when needed. While I was away, I was in touch with the guy who had gotten the Bumblebee Quad I had made in my first batch of compsands. It had sustained some damage in some collision mishaps, and had been repaired poorly, to say the least. It also had some performance limitations that he wasn't entirely happy with, so I took it back in trade on one of the classic fish I had made in the last batch. I'm happy to say he's very happy with the fish.
So, I had my work cut out for me when this board got back into my hands, but I figured it would be a good warm-up for getting back into shaping again.
The deck was badly damaged, so it had to be removed first.
Then the areas where the rail was damaged had to be replaced. Since the rails are built up in multiple layers of balsa, they have to be replaced in the same way. The stair-steps are so the joints are staggered so as not to create any weak points in the rail.
The biggest problem with the performance of the board was that it was, quite simply, over-rockered. Too much curve = maneuverable but slow board. The top part of the photo shows the original rocker and the bottom half shows the rocker as I re-set it when I vacuumed the skin back on. Much better, and reflective of the shaping experience I have gained in the time since I originally made this board.
The finished board with new skin and pinline. I have been riding this board almost exclusively since fixing it up, and it is my new favorite ride. Funny how that works out.
posted by Jarrod at 9:40 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home