5th board STOKED!!!

I Just finished my fifth board (6’4" x 19.25" x 2.5") and it was my first attempt at airbrushing. Needless to say an amatuerish job but its all about learning and I didn’t ruin it.

Lessons learned: STOP DINGING THE SHAPED BLANK!, grind down the free lap even flatter before glassing the deck, get new laminates on thinner rice paper.

Lessons yet to be learned: AIRBRUSHING (Wow - so easy to screw up!), how to glass the swallow tail tips without issues, thinning out the nose and tail, hotcoating without leaving little icecicles on the rail edges.

Here are couple of pictures.



Did you say “amateurish job”?

“Amateurish”, just like “amateur”, comes from the Latin “amo, amare”, which means “to love”. The “amateur” is the one who loves what he’s doing.

The only thing I have to say is that it shows in your work… Keep up the good (amateurish) job!

The glassing might use some evolution, but the shape and template is pure “Pro”.

Nice job, do you use a computer to print out your templates or are you the old fashioned eyeballer?

thanks for the kind words…I’ve been templating friends boards and boards I own that I like. So I have a collection of cardboard templates. Still unclear on the etiquette of copying shapes…

Every board I have made so far is a “copy”, at least the outline is.

I don’t lose any sleep over the ethical implications.

The way I look at it, by the time I cut out the outline, sand it smooth, shape the blank to thickness, shape rails, bottom contours, foil and fins, it has so little in common with the board I “copied” that it makes no difference.

Even if I was really trying to make an exact replica of a board I liked, there’s still no way I could pull it off, especially when the merricks and JCs of the world claim that an 1/8 of rocker makes all the difference. I’m on my 7th board now.

I wouldn’t think twice about it.

But a good idea is to get your templates cut out on 1/8 masonite. You’ll be amazed at how many different ways you can use a good curve.