The flex machine

Tom Wegener and I have been swapping ideas and Tom has been experimenting and has now made a board that is on track for what he has been chasing. Unglassed raw oiled Paulownia botton , EPS core and cork top. This combo gives you flex and feel. The cork is soft and has a great feel to paddle on. No wax needed.We have ideas on tuning the flex to suit different needs and look forward to a summer of fun. Stay posted.

Tom's comments
"tomwegenersurfboards Corky experiment #9. I think I am now in the ball park. This board flexes beautifully and bounces out of turns. It is soooo comfortable with the soft cork deck and the oiled paulownia bottom is super slick and fast! No toxic ingredients, only a mask for dust. I love the new methods for making surfboards!  

Loving the vacuum bag! I was the most hard core believer in hollow wood surfboards but now I have opened my mind to EPS core with no glassing. Thank you @surfboardsbygrantnewby for sharing your knowledge."

More comments for Tom's Instgram...

• flamasurfI'm as stoked as you are @tomwegenersurfboards !!I brought my hollow unglassed paulownia technology to the limit and I still believe for certain designs it's terriffic. But for "weight reasons" Grant's vacuum tech is probably the one with the more future today, 'cause it admits so many variations and materials that it opens a whole new world for experimenting. Wait until we have organic foam available... That day I'll be the happiest man on earth!
•  
• tomwegenersurfboardsThank you for the awesome comments @flamasurf @papanuisays @schenkles it seems vacuum bagging wood on foam is the future. It is a lot less toxic than glassing and we can hope for green eps and more available eps recycling. Grant Newby is the man! @kioboards I am still learning but aspire to share what I have learned in a video. @nille5promille I use PU glue and seal the paulownia with raw linseed oil, apple vinegar and gum turpentine 1/3 of each. Thx for you comments.
•  
• treetosea_ausYes @captjackg we at @treetosea_aus have been working on this method for most of this year. Just like @tomwegenersurfboards we believe it's the future of wooden boards. However flat boards like Mals are a lot easier than short boards with lots of rocker. We use recycled EPS foam blanks and NO fibre glass.
•  
• schenkles@tomwegenersurfboards I noticed that you've just got the board "naked" in the bag. Personally I've not been able to get the deck to draw down well to the core along the rails without using a breather cloth. I use garden shade cloth, which is some kind of synthetic mesh, get a tight draw down every time. How's yours go?
•  
• flamasurf@shenkles I don't use breather cloth, Grant doesn't either. I think it's only a matter of having a good pressure and a pretty thick pvc bag... But I'll try that garden mesh and see how it goes!
•  
• tomwegenersurfboards@schenkles I am just learning and the vacuum bag sucked a couple of mm under the wood. Sometimes I put the board in a bag and sometimes I tape the edges of the plastic to the table and have a the surfboard one a frame so it does not flatten out. Thank you very much for the help with garden shade cloth suggestion! The trip we are on is fantastic. Another person suggested carnauba wax on the inside of the bag so it does not stick to the glue. Thanks.

Great to see everyone sharing their ideas and results so that we learn from each other and take this to another level. It is exciting and only just beginning. We are in for a summer of fun.