Board repair

[cfj04]

Anyone have recommendations on who does good board repair work?

Here's the problem. I have a Madd 167 Proto with a modest swallow tail. One side of the tail had folded due to impact. This cracked the expoxy and just slightly bent the edge. I need someone who can re-epoxy the structure and work the edge.

Any ideas? or am I scr$%#'d

[SWriverstone]

When Holly busted up the leading edge of her Rossignol VAS 166, we showed it to a shop guy at Okemo, and he just shook his head, acting as if the board was gone. (She had a collision with a skier's bindings---hence the damage.)

I refused to give up that easily. So I went to town on it with a Dremel tool, using pencil-point-sized grinding wheels to grind out the glass around the edge, leaving a gap between the topsheet and the base. The hard part was the bent edges. But by wrapping a towel over the edge, then using a pair of pliers and some elbow grease, I was able to bend the edges mostly back into place. Then I mixed a batch of slow-cure epoxy, poured it into the gap, and presto! The board is good to go---a little rough-looking, but I'm confident the repair is bombproof (probably stronger than the surrounding areas of the board).

Check out the before/after photo below. This isn't a plug for me fixing boards (heck, I didn't have a clue and was just winging it!), but rather just to say don't be afraid to try yourself if nobody else wants to do it!

Scott

[Neil Gendzwill]

The problem with that sort of repair is the broken edge - sooner or later it will seperate again. I had a broken edge right between the bindings, so in a very vulnerable spot. Shop did a pretty good job of fixing it up, but one shot on a rock and it was gone again.

[cfj04]

Keep the ideas coming - fortunately, the edge is not broken

Curtis

[nils]

post pics of the zone so we can help you more efficiently!

Nils

[SWriverstone]

Originally posted by Neil Gendzwill

The problem with that sort of repair is the broken edge - sooner or later it will seperate again. I had a broken edge right between the bindings, so in a very vulnerable spot. Shop did a pretty good job of fixing it up, but one shot on a rock and it was gone again.

I didn't mention it before...but the repair job you see above was my 2nd attempt! The first time, I used inferior epoxy and didn't actually bend the edges into alignment. Sure enough, after one day of riding it came open again.

In my case, I believe the key to the repair was not needing to use C-clamps. In other words, if you must use C-clamps to force the board together even just a tiny bit, then there is outward pressure there that will eventually win. In my 2nd attempt, I used the "surgically precise" Dremel tool to clear out a cavity, and bent the edges into alignment. There was no outward pressure on the "wound" at all, and when I epoxied it (this time with West System epoxy) no C-clamps were needed.

I may be wrong...but if anything breaks again, it will be the board on either side of the repair. This has been my experience with years of patching kevlar and glass boats...the patches were always stronger than the original boat! Good epoxy is incredibly hard and tough---also somewhat flexible. I'd be amazed if this repair comes apart! :)

Scott