Werner Gnigler JP shaper Interview

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Welcome to an exclusive guided tour around the JP Development Centre in Cape Town with the main man Werner Gnigler. This is where Werner and his testing team produce the majority of JP prototypes. We follow the steps involved and the decisions made before the best shapes get sent to the Cobra factory for mass production.

Step 1: Factory Tour + Design

Before Werner can begin with a new line of boards, a marketing meeting is held to decide on the product range (type, volume, dimensions etc). With this information set, Werner then makes himself a strong coffee, turns on his laptop and gets designing! Often he uses the previous year’s template and starts tweaking it unless it’s a totally new range.

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Step 2: Cutting the foam blank

Life begins with a styrofoam block which is cut into shape using a hot wire from CNC templates. Each board size has its own template, the set up dimensions get marked and then it’s ready to be cut out by Werner’s trusty saw!

Step 3: Shaping the Bottom

After the plan and profile of the board are cut, the next step is to sort the bottom shape. This involves shaping the concave and the V which will affect the final performance of the board. This is a critical stage requiring immense skill from the shaper; continually checking with a straight edge and shaping with a flexible sander.

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Step 4: Sandwich Reinforcement of Bottom

The styrofoam is not strong enough for purpose, so a sandwich layer of higher density foam is added. A vacuum bag is used to apply even pressure to stick the sandwich layer to the original foam.

Step 5: Deck Shape + further Sandwich Reinforcement

The deck is now shaped with an insert cut for the mast track position and then the whole board is wrapped with high density foam sheets using heat to help mould the sheets around the board.

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Step 6: Adding the Inserts

The fin box, footstraps the mast track inserts are now bonded into the foam.

Step 7: Final shape checking + Filling

Several layers of foam have been added so Werner needs to check the original shape is still correct. This is the last time any shaping or filling can be done before laminating so it’s got to be right!

To view video:

To view video:

Step 8: Laminating

Carbon and glass are added, more so around areas of stress such as the heel areas, fin and mast track. Then the board is vacuum bagged and put in the oven to cure. Mainly carbon lamination is used which is more expensive but lighter. The Cobra factory is so good at mass production that it is quite a challenge to make the prototype as light as the finished production board.

Step 9: Sanding Coat added

This is a filler that fills any holes in the resin and smoothes out any imperfections after laminating and bagging. It also helps to blend in the extra layers of carbon added into the stress areas.

To view video:

To view video:

Step 10: Sanding, Painting + Cutting Plugs

The board is sanded to leave a smooth, perfect finish. It’s then given a base coat of paint and the plugs for footstraps, mast track and fin (that were inserted into the foam and laminated in) now need to be routered out.

Step 11: Adding the Graphic, Deckpads + Non-Slip

The graphic is put on as one, big sticker then the pads are glued on over the top and the non-slip is sprayed over the whole board. The prototype is now complete!