Carpenter Bees Chambered My Blank
Carpenter Bees Chambered My Blank
I had termites, flies and bugs land in my hot coat and/or even my gloss coat before but I never seen carpenter bees boring out a PU blank before. I was over Charlie Wong’s blank shed checking out the last his Clark Foam blanks when we inspected an old 8’8”H blank. These blanks are used for wave sailboards or big boy surfboards. We found the oddest shaped holes in the blank that were perfectly round. Upon closer inspection we found more holes that wormed through the nose section of the blank. The holes made the nose of the blank somewhat chambered. We blew compressed air in the holes and out came black and a few golden juvenile carpenter bees.
With a few patches of foam and a resin – Q-Cell mix, Charlie shaped me an 8’8” x 12” x 22” x 13.4” x 3.5” big-boy round pin tail.
Knowing that the patch jobs would show up under a clear glass job, I opted to glass it with pigment and do an epoxy swirl. Epoxy Swirls were really popular threads at the time on Swaylocks anyway. I glassed the bottom win a single 6 oz. and the deck with two 6 oz. and 4 oz. layers using FGH 2 to 1 epoxy. I hot coated with epoxy and did the gloss coat with PE resin. I hid the holes pretty well but the flaw was in a wobbly pin stripe job. Epoxy does swirl well but muddies out fast too. The thruster fin set up was with FCS C-7000 fins.
Lessen learned: wrap your blanks in plastic if your storage area is exposed to carpenter bees and bugs.
This was a fun board to make.
Aloha,
D
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Re: [UncleD] Carpenter Bees Chambered My Blank
More pictures of the swirl:
Bobby Kekoanui's Hawaiian Salt logo. The color matched the board well.
Re: [UncleD] Carpenter Bees Chambered My Blank
Smooth swirl...Looks good. And the logo is one of the few (to me) that is very appealing. Very "natural".
"Go and find your blank, make what you want to make, surf how you want to surf..."
-Andrew Kidman
Re: [UncleD] Carpenter Bees Chambered My Blank
I don't mean to hi-jack your thread, UncleD, but let me add two pictures: one is balsa lumber chambered by those carpenter bees (happened to me a few months ago) and the other is my friend Ohana's finished SUP with that fine logo you sent me. (I polished it yesterday). Aloha!
________________________________________
"You should have been here yesterday..."
http://www.guetharysurfboards.fr
Re: [balsa] Carpenter Bees Chambered My Blank
Oh, and, I just forgot: very fine board, UncleD, as usual!
________________________________________
"You should have been here yesterday..."
http://www.guetharysurfboards.fr
Re: [balsa] Carpenter Bees Chambered My Blank
Aloha Balsa:
Those bees make perfect holes. Perhaps there is a way to train them to make those holes in the desired places. That Ohana board looks great!
Aloha,
D
Re: [uncled] Carpenter Bees Chambered My Blank
I had termites, flies and bugs land in my hot coat and/or even my gloss coat before but I never seen carpenter bees boring out a PU blank before. I was over Charlie Wong’s blank shed checking out the last his Clark Foam blanks when we inspected an old 8’8”H blank. These blanks are used for wave sailboards or big boy surfboards. We found the oddest shaped holes in the blank that were perfectly round. Upon closer inspection we found more holes that wormed through the nose section of the blank. The holes made the nose of the blank somewhat chambered. We blew compressed air in the holes and out came black and a few golden juvenile carpenter bees.
With a few patches of foam and a resin – Q-Cell mix, Charlie shaped me an 8’8” x 12” x 22” x 13.4” x 3.5” big-boy round pin tail.
Knowing that the patch jobs would show up under a clear glass job, I opted to glass it with pigment and do an epoxy swirl. Epoxy Swirls were really popular threads at the time on Swaylocks anyway. I glassed the bottom win a single 6 oz. and the deck with two 6 oz. and 4 oz. layers using FGH 2 to 1 epoxy. I hot coated with epoxy and did the gloss coat with PE resin. I hid the holes pretty well but the flaw was in a wobbly pin stripe job. Epoxy does swirl well but muddies out fast too. The thruster fin set up was with FCS C-7000 fins.
Lessen learned: wrap your blanks in plastic if your storage area is exposed to carpenter bees and bugs.
This was a fun board to make.
Aloha,
D
That was so uncool. But good thing you have done it well and it seems that the new looks makes your board look new.