It is said that making surfboards
is a messy business.
It is, but so are a number of
other trades. The first that comes to
mind is a house painter or any kind of painting for that matter… If it’s
something you do messiness is just part of the job.
The first surfboard process after
the foam blank is manufactured ( the core of the surfboard and a whole other
messiness) you start with shaping. The
foam dust from shaping is an irritant. It’s course on you skin and hard on your
lungs, and can be hectic when it gets in your eyes. Yes I’ve had to go to the
doctor to get a chunk of foam out of my eye. With compress air you can blow the
dust off but you don’t really get clean of the stuff until you shower.
After a surfboard is shaped it gets wrapped in fiberglass fabric and resin. Fiberglass fabric particles are
hazardous… you don’t want that stuff in your eyes or lungs either. Once the
fiberglass is put on the board and cut resin is applied to the fiberglass.
You’ve got to mix chemicals to resin to activate the resin curing process.
Those chemicals are very hazardous as well. One thing you don’t want to ever
happen is to get even a small drop of catalyst in your eye, should not get on
your skin either. And the emissions of polyester resin is bad, respirator
mandatory. Clean up for Polyester resin is acetone… highly flammable, bad for
your shin and lungs. Epoxy resins though touted as not that harmful emission
has pretty much the same hazards as polyester resins. If you don’t think so ask
my son what it was like getting a drop on the stuff in his eye.
After the board is laminated
you’ve got to sand it. Sanding dust… bad stuff. Respirator mandatory. As well,
sanding dust is flammable and an explosive in the right environment.
Man reading back over what I just wrote…
I’ve gatta be nuts to make surfboards. In context, precautions taken, it’s all
part of a days work. Think about it… do you pump you own gas for your car? That
stuff is really hazardous. Do you have natural gas in your home for hot water,
heat and cooking? How about electricity…
can’t see it but don’t touch it right? Really, we’re around messy stuff every
day and live with it.
Anyway, my question is when should
a guy get a new work apron and a new pair of laminating shoes?
D.R.
