A Surfboard Story - Ms. Dayawon's Teaching Website

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California Connections: A Surfboard StoryLesson 1 page 1 of 5A Surfboard StoryIf you have walked along a California beach, you have probably seen surfers paddlingout to catch a wave. As you watched their surfboards bob up and down in the water,did you ever wonder what makes those boards so tough, even though they arerelatively lightweight? If you researched your question, you would learn that it takesonly a few materials to make a surfboard.A big part of surfboards ispolyurethane, which comesfrom the natural resource oil.This oil was formed long agoin ancient oceans, perhapsright here in California. Marineanimals that died millions ofyears ago drifted down tothe ocean floor. Heavy layersof sand trapped the deadanimals’ bodies in airtightpockets. The heavy sand andwater pressed down and overlong periods of time createdfields of sticky black oil.Skip forward a few millionyears. Now in many areasof California, as well as offthe coast, people extractthis oil with drilling rigs.When workers first installa rig, pressure from thesite forces the crude oil tothe surface. Over time thispressure decreases. Whenthe pressure drops too low toforce the oil upward, workers2Surfer paddlingCALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit 6.6.c. I Made from Earth: How Natural Resources Become Things We Use I Student Edition

California Connections: A Surfboard StoryLesson 1 page 2 of 5Map ViewTailDeckWidthLeash CupNoseRailStringerProfile ViewThicknessRockerFinLengthSurfboard design blueprintadd a rocking arm andcontinue to pump the oil fromthe ground.The crude oil oftencontains materials that peoplecannot use. Workers removethese unwanted materials byputting the oil in settling tanksor separators. Then they shipthe oil by pipeline or by truckto a refinery.Manufacturers purchasesome of the oil to makepolyurethane, a chemicalcompound used in foams,elastics, and resins, andthe key ingredient in mostmodern surfboards. Themanufacturer usually shipsthe polyurethane by truck ortrain to a wholesaler, whounloads it and stores it forlater sale.From the wholesaler, truckdrivers take the polyurethaneto a surfboard manufacturer. Inthe surfboard factory, workersheat the polyurethane in amold for 25 minutes. The heattriggers a chemical reactionand dense, white foam beginsto bubble. After it cools,builders use this foam to makethe core of the surfboard.The builders slice this whitefoam core (called a “blank”) intwo, lengthwise, like deli bread.A 1/8-inch piece of wood actsas the “meat” in this “surfboardsandwich” when builders glueit into place. The pieces offoam and wood are clampedtogether while the glue dries.This wooden “stringer” willprevent the surfboard frombreaking in half.Fiberglass FactsAs the glue hardens, youhave time to look at theresources used to make theCALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit 6.6.c. I Made from Earth: How Natural Resources Become Things We Use I Student Edition3

California Connections: A Surfboard StoryLesson 1 page 3 of 5fiberglass that will coverthe outside of the surfboard.The process of makingfiberglass uses three majoringredients: limestone, sodaash, and silica sand.Like oil, limestone formsfrom the remains (shellsand bones) of ancient seacreatures. Wave action breaksup the shells and bones ofmarine animals and depositsthe pieces on the oceanfloor. Over millions of years,layers of shells, sand, andmud harden into limestone.People extract this abundantresource from many differentplaces. Sometimes quarryworkers take it from depositson Earth’s surface. In otherplaces, miners extractlimestone from undergrounddeposits or caves.Extracting soda ash ismuch different from limestonemining. In nature, soda ashis often invisible, since itdissolves in some lakes oraccumulates in salt beds.People extract its white powderfrom these natural sources.However, scientists can alsocreate soda ash in a lab.The third key material infiberglass is silica sand, whichcontains a lot of quartz. Overmany years wind and water4slowly grind quartz rocks intosilica sand. People extractthe silica sand from beaches,riverbeds, and lakes.Mining companies usetrucks or trains to ship thethree minerals used to makefiberglass to wholesalers. Thewholesalers sell the mineralsand load them back ontotrucks. The truckers deliverthe minerals to the fiberglassmanufacturer, where workersunload and store the mineralsuntil they are needed.Creating Glass Threadsfor FiberglassThe manufacturer carefullyweighs each raw material toCutting fiberglass wrapCALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit 6.6.c. I Made from Earth: How Natural Resources Become Things We Use I Student Edition

California Connections: A Surfboard StoryLesson 1 page 4 of 5Finishing fiberglassget the exact quantities neededto make fiberglass. The workersmix the ingredients togetherand feed the batch into afurnace. To make glass fibers,the temperature must be veryhot—approximately 2,500º F(1,371º C).When the silica sand melts, itforms liquid glass. The moltenglass goes into a machinewith hundreds of small holes.The machine draws the glassthrough the holes, creatingthin strands, or threads. Thesethreads go into making manydifferent fiberglass products.Workers load the products ontodelivery trucks and ship themto manufacturers, such as thesurfboard maker.Meanwhile, Back at theSurfboard “Sandwich”Now that the surfboard coreand stringer are fused together,a saber saw cuts around thedrawing of the outline of thesurfboard. Then a motorizedplaner levels out the finalshape. (A planer is a machinethat evens things out.)A big sander goes to worknext, repeatedly sandingto remove ridges from thesurfboard blank. As a last stepin shaping, builders mark theposition of the surfboard’s fin.Many builders add their ownspecial designs, or signatures,to identify their work. Then theyblow the finished blank cleanwith compressed air.To make the surfboardcolorful, builders spray onpaint with an airbrush orspray gun. Then they dry thesurfboard once more.The key to making thesurfboard last a long timecomes in the next stage,called glassing. In glassing,builders layer fiberglasssheets and resin. Resin isa thick fluid produced byplants or, more commonly,manufactured from oil-basedchemicals. Resin is strongand keeps the surfboard fromchipping or cracking.After glassing, builders coatthe board with one more layerof resin to plug any flaws onthe standing surface, calledthe deck. They flip the boardover and position the fin. Next,the builders wrap fiberglassFinal sandingCALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit 6.6.c. I Made from Earth: How Natural Resources Become Things We Use I Student Edition5

California Connections: A Surfboard StoryLesson 1 page 5 of 5Surfer using the finished producttape around the fin and addresin to it. Finally they coatthe surfboard’s undersideand fin with a filler layer ofshellac, which is made fromtrees. Later, when the entiresurfboard is dry, the buildersdrill a small hole in the tail fora leg leash.A final round of sandingremoves any excess resin.More dust flies as thecompressed air puffs the boardclean. The builders add decalsand graphics before brushinga final coat of shiny glossresin over the board in the last15 minutes before it hardens.6In another 12 hours thesurfboard receives its finalrubbing, buffing, and polishing.Later, workers stack it withother finished surfboards,where they wait to be loadedonto trucks and delivered tosurf shops around Californiaand the country.Surfboard ShoppingTwo weeks later, a surferwalks into a surf shop. Shetells the clerk she wants asturdy surfboard, but onethat is easy to carry. Thirtyminutes later, she tucks hernew surfboard under her armand walks out of the shop toher buddies. They drive to thebeach, unload their gear, andget ready to paddle out pastthe breakers.Sitting on the shore with afriend, you look up a little whilelater to see this surfer standup for the first time on hernew surfboard. As she makesher first cut, you turn to yourfriend and ask, “Hey, dude,do you know how surfboardsare made?” When he shrugs,you say, “Well, it all began inan ocean a lot like this onemillions of years ago ”CALIFORNIA EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE I Unit 6.6.c. I Made from Earth: How Natural Resources Become Things We Use I Student Edition

later sale. From the wholesaler, truck drivers take the polyurethane to a surfboard manufacturer. In the surfboard factory, workers heat the polyurethane in a mold for 25 minutes. The heat triggers a chemical reaction and dense, white foam begins to bubble. After it cools, builders use this

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