Base flatness thread

For discussions related to ski/snowboard construction/design methods and techniques.

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chrismp
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Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 9:00 am
Location: Vienna, Austria

Post by chrismp »

I'd love to see smaller base grinders! The main problem with sanding/grinding polyethylene is heat (thermoplastic). The reason why base grinders are so big is that you need a long belt and some sort of cooling agent to keep the base from melting, burning and fraying. The epoxy or polyester resins used in surfboard can be sanded easily as they are thermosetting plastics.

Maybe a small handheld belt sander could be rigged up with some sort of sprayer that wets the base before the belt hits it. Still, to structure the base you need a stone grinder.

A handheld stone grinder would require some tuning station with a diamond to prepare the stone for grinding. Then you would need to push the grinder forward at a consistent speed, but I guess this would be part of the craftsmanship just like with finishing surfboards. And again some sort of sprayer is required.
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