www.compsand.com

[lowrider]

.....So, with another Xmas here, it might be a good time to revive the thread...

Josh has broken away from Bert Burger's Sunova to concentrate on
his own shapes

http://www.joshdowlingshape.com/

Even a pretty cool looking kneeboard
http://www.joshdowlingshape.com/customk ... mkbtt.html
Tony's a lucky chap

[RMcKnee]

Thanx lowrider. Unreal early chrissy present. I can't believe I've missed this thread previously. There was a flurry of posting re epoxy/eps/carbon/flex a few months back that seemed to die a death ...

This link looks like it's worth exploring.

Did you end up getting a compsand board?

[lowrider]

I didn't end up going in that direction at the time, for various reasons....
among them, the notion of supporting our the guys that support our sport...
Parkesy, Hart etc.
Just lately though, trying a thinner, lighter, stronger, flexier board is appealing.
To date, Josh has been generous with his responses to my queries,so we'll see where it goes....
cheers
Andy

[tomway]

Don't know if anyone's spotted this... earlier in the year i posted a report comparing my Pure compsand kneelo to a near identical regular PU on compsand.com:

http://www.compsand.com/forum/composite ... 818.0.html

After almost a year, one of the (many) things that has impressed me is that the PU board is now unrideable due to dings and Indon airplane baggage handlers but the compsand is AS NEW, unscathed, unscratched, no pressure dings. These boards are very very very strong

[RMcKnee]

Hey lowrider,

I know what you mean about supporting the guys who support the sport. I spoke to DP about EPS/epoxy a couple of years ago and he was pretty noncommital about it. Things have changed a lot since then though, from what I hear and see, so maybe it's time to look at the possibilities again. One of the interesting and exciting things about moving away from PUPE construction is the potential for the whole business dynamic to change for the board builder. There is already a growing number of small, very specialised builders creating really nice looking craft for what appears to be an ever more discerning market. From a "green" perspective, the idea of a board that has a much greater lifespan than the current standard is a good thing too. Looks like we really do live in interesting times.

Will you be keeping us up to date here re your progress with Josh?
And are you aware of the Cudgen beach date arranged for SEQANNSWCSE this Sunday? All welcome...

Tomway,

Checked out your post on the compsand site; very comprehensive and informative. Thanks for the link. Can you tell us a little more about your Pure board please?
You have a centre stringer, not the parabolic deal that some others swear by. Was there a reason for this?
Foam density?
How are the rails formed?
What laminate?

:oops:I guess this is the cyberspace equivalent of buttonholing you on the beach after a surf and standing on one of your flippers* so you can't leave. (*fins in American ...)

Trust the young feller is doing OK?

[Marky vee]

Hi RMcknee,
I can answer some of these questions for you as the builder of Toms board.
The stringer that you can see is cosmetic only, 3mm spruce. The board has 12mm wide balsa perimeter stringers. core is #1 eps with 3mm balsa.
Glass is 1 x 4 oz on the bottom and 2 x 4 oz on the deck. WRT supporting guys involved with our sport, I couldn't agree more, The alternative construction movement has been slow staring, but I think is gathering pace as more people try compsands and realise the benefits. Whilst Josh is not a kneeboarder, he is a fine surfer and boardbuilder, with as much experience of alternative methods as anyone. As part of the compsand co-op he came to me for advice when building the kneeboard seen on his site and on this forum, which I was more than happy to help with as this is one of the advantages of the co-op. Any of you Australian guys should definately consider Josh or Huie (Huie shapes) If you are interested in a compsand. Euros- contact me!
Any more questions about the boards just ask.
Mark

[lowrider]

Thanks Tomway, for the link & excellent report;
I hadn't seen it
....and love the board Marky vee
I actually had in mind a Blast-inspired quad since having a ride of Shelfbreak's

[skansand]

hey markyVee, tomway mentioned he had you glass this one extra heavy...

How light would/could you go with balsa skins? 4oz deck/2oz bottom?

Theres pics of a paulownia skinned kneelo that looks really sick too...was that one yours?

in your opinion , whats the lightest you could make a 6' kneeboard? with compsand tech or some other?

[tomway]

When I said 'extra heavy' this board is still lighter than a regular PU with 4oz bottom and 4oz/6oz deck by far. Mark lent me one of his regular boards prior to shaping me this, and with pads, leash, fins and wax it came in sub 2kg on the scales!! Personally, I now think the extra glass was unnecessary and will go for a light one next time.

I'm convinced the tech in these can be exploited in ways that are much trickier to achieve with standard construction, and lots of feedback is coming in from standup riders to further this - but I also believe that kneeboarding has different considerations to standups, and what shapers like Mark really need is as much feedback from experienced (better than me) kneeriders as possible to start fulfilling the potential. When these start to catch on hopefully this will happen rapidly.

[Marky vee]

Hi Skansand
A comp weight board could be glassed 2 oz all over, maybe some patches under where you push up with your hands. This would still be much more rtesistant to pressure dents than a regular weight PU. Sub 2kg is easily achievable in a 6ft board, and still have it last longer than you are used to!
The Pawlonia was by Josh Dowling.
www.joshdowlingshape.com

[skansand]

drooooll... those corecell boards are sweet lookin too..

if im gonna keep shaping $10 1ib eps blanks/boards, im gonna need to step it up and do the compsand thing..

not really that much more expensive to do just way more time consuming...

---worth it!