Vac Forming to replace glassing.

[SURFFOILS]

Ive had a few dealings with Vac forming and I think it would be possible to do it for paipos. its a fairly simple process, I googled it and went to a local company and they showed me around their operation. The advantages is that theres no chemicals, or very few, the formed shell wont fracture like glass, it doesnt need polishing or sanding, cheap and quick. The only bad thing is that it requires a bit of setup and R& D. I know of a few surfboard companies that use a plastic shell over EPS but only one other who vac forms. One issue I see is when the hot plastic is pulled onto the core, how will the core react ??? Maybe use a veneer on each side? Any ideas?

[mrmike]

some waveski, I think macski makes the shell then pumps foam in through a small hole in the shell

[SURFFOILS]

Thanks mrmike, I think thats maybe a better way to do it, the first way involves shaping a core each time whereas the 2nd way you just mold the skins and pour in the foam. The only prob with that is that the pour foam needs to be sealed against water so thered be a second skin over the foam and the shape is always the same.
I was thinking of a paipo made of a sheet of EPS with veneer on each side, vac a 1/16 in ABS shell over the lot. Youd get lightness and the veneer under the shell would made it tough. Just thinking of ideas at the moment....I wonder if the wife will let me use the pizza oven to melt the plastic sheets ???

[SURFFOILS]

Had a talk with a local plastics supplier in Sydney who does thermoplastics..
Sheets 610 X 1220 ( 24in X 48 in) are $8 each and come in a variety of colours and materials. They come in paper thin thickness and then in increments on up so theres room to do R & D and find the right material and thickness. The plastics are solvent bondable so the plan is to vac the hull, trim around the edges then vac the deck side, trim and solvent bond the overlap, then surf !!
Im digging the possibility of shaping and then vaccing a complete shell on in an hour.