Steve H gave me his old bing pig. I have been working this board over. It has been a journey of sorts. Steve bequeathed her unto me since he knew I was (more than likely) the only person on the planet that would honor this board.by honor this board, i mean specifically... fix her up and ride her. the fix her up bit has been WAY THE FUCK more than I bargained for. J. Hall of daly bread was holding on to her for a while. when i picked her up, she was a filthy hole-y mess. i didn't even dare put her under my arm. i kind of just held her away from me, and walked her to my van awkwardly. i peeled the wax off and was encouraged. i started sanding her and became discouraged. i had to grind and fill. then when sanding the filling to prep for laminating, i would find more problems. the nose and tail were so hammered with different densities of past ding repair...it has been next to impossible to regain any symmetry. there was chunks of wood embedded in some of the ding repair. , bondo, foam, Jah knows what. I have been working on this board for about 3 weeks (on the weekends and on some weekdays after work). my wife loathes the board. yesterday after sanding a spot and exposing another problem, i almost threw my sander, and the board out in the street...i am not the violent reactionary. this board is challenging my patience. it is wonderfully beautiful when an old pile of work teaches you a life lesson.
i contacted Bing Copeland about the board. He sent me the birth certificate. I asked him about the type of fin it should have (this board's original fin is long gone or ..if the fin on it was the original fin... it has been "modified"). He sent me a picture of the type of fin a board with this serial number should have. I wrote Matt and Margaret over at Bing and asked for a fin. Adam (over at Bing) is helping out! The surfing community is lucky to have such organization.
I will post up pics eventually.
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Hey Mike, I didn't realize the board was as tattered as it is, I saw Jason surfing it in SanO several weeks back.
ReplyDeletepatch,
ReplyDeletethat's just it...the board isn't a complete loss. it is structurally sound, no delams. there were these few cancer spots that were at just the wrong spot on the board. it has been a repair that optimizes time usage. its one of those situations, that require the board to be turned this way or that for the fill to set up just right.
the thing that keeps drawing me into this board, is its design. the board looks so simple, near perfect. i am SO curious to see how she rides eventually. well that, and the fact she is a beater. i am stoked to get a beater in my rotation. i am ULTRA stoked to get this board in my rotation.
last night's repair session nearly broke my spirit though. i was sanding this lam spot when a cancer i had previously over looked opened up...and i was SURE i hadn't over looked any cancers. FUCK wasting that kind of time.
what a journey!
Hi Mike. Welcome to my world. The Bing I restored a few years back was a bit like yours. Every time you look at it another problem jumps out at you. These old boards do try ones patients at times. But IT will be worth it in the end. platty.
ReplyDeletecheers platty. i guess thats right. i can only imagine what you have seen. i am steadily chipping away at this board. yesterday I hotcoated the bottom. today i hotcoat the top. she will be water tight then. I think I am going to surf her before i get my fin. the knocking the fin off bit and re finning her makes me wish i had a grinder. i need to remember which of my mates has one!
ReplyDeletei am doing all this repair in my front yard on a stool and a bar chair. i'm guessing a proper workshop would do me well.
my wife is always wondering how i will be when i come in from a session of working on the board. i get encouraged, then i get discouraged, then i get encouraged.... classic!
the board is shaped well. I am guessing when I get the proper fin on this board she will be an AMAZING rider. my buddies say she goes well even with the fin she has on her currently. we'll see. i do think I am going to give her a go before i re fin her. I only wish I would have taken a picture of her before I stripped the wax.