Well… it’s supposed to be an Agave project anyway - the stuff grows like weeds around here (Maui) and I just harvested my first two stalks yesterday, giving me four decent poles to mill down for the board and fins (maybe some handplanes for the stalks that might be too narrow for a board). I only grabbed the two just because they were in steep terrain, it was absurdley hot, I was alone on a less-than-full stomach and I got kinda tired of battling banana spiders, centipedes and carpenter bees to get them (yeah, I’ve heard carpenter bees “don’t sting” but they’re huge and I managed to piss off a nest of them, so I didn’t want to test that theory) - upon closer inspection of the plant, however, I’m pretty positive this is actually a Yucca. It bears the exact same weight and density properties as the agave stalks I’ve handled only it’s missing the skin (those little triangle leaves that run up the length of the stalk), it’s slightly narrower, and the leaves at the base were devoid of spikes and much less suculent. Anyone ever build a board with Yucca before? I know we have both growing here (either that or there are some HUGE yucca stalks growing further up the hill), and I’m stoked to start my project. Either way I’m moving forward, maybe it will end up being a blend of closely related woods.
Now I just need to figure out what I’m going to shape. I’m thinking between 5’8" - 6’6" depending on whether I decide to shape a mini-simmons, fish, retro-egg or a Gerry Lopez Lightning-bolt-Style single. What do you guys think?
Here’s a photo (from the web, not mine) of the base of the plant we have growing on the hillsides here (pretty much the same sketchy terrain I got mine in)
I know, it’s not a huge update, but we scored big time on our hunt today - 2 standing dead stalks and one huge standing live stalk we decided to harvest - the dead ones will be perfect to use immediately, but that green one is gonna need to dry a few months! Getting closer!!
Very much so, yeah - it’s reccomended that, if you don’t go full bunny-suit, you go long sleeves, long pants, gloves, maybe a turtleneck, definitely glasses and definitely a respirator with a fine organic particulate filter (The kind mold removal crews use, pink canisters - no cotton circles). From what I remember reading in another thread (I believe it was a quote by Jim Phillips?), when you breathe the stuff in, you get the instant urge to grab a fork and scrape out the inside of your windpipe… I hear it’s not only poisonous but the nectar in the wood (even when dry) burns like a mother
Yeah the threads on here are the ones that inspired me to start - just trying to get my hands on a table saw now so I can mill the posts and get them ready to glue up - I’ve got about 12 already dry stalks and 4 green stalks so far. Just came back today from a huge score thanks to kmook dropping me a hint about some standing dry agave in pukalani… then we rolled down the hill for the real score - two beautiful stalks from the bluff overlooking Jaws (and yes, there’s waves there right now, not a soul on it though). All in all we cut all three down into six 7ft sections… There’s a gold mine of agave in peahi - enough that I don’t even mind giving that secret away… I’m thinking I may need to get more and make a gun, just imagine: A big-wave board made from wood that grew on the cliffside overlooking one of the most famous giant waves on the planet - the board would be born to charge!
Got all my stalks ready… about 18 nice thick, dry and ready-to-use stalks, 3 thinner dry ones I can use for fins and blocks, and 3 big green ones that won’t be ready for a while… My thought right now is to shape a 5’5"x19.5"x2.75" bat-tail shortboard, but I’m also tempted to try a bit longer and make a 6’6" single fin… what do you guys think?
Band saw > Table saw - I didn’t even mill my biggest pieces because the whole double-cut technique wasn’t producing the best results… the ones we did mill that way now need an appointment with a jointer
Agave on Maui doesn’t have a “natural rocker” on most stalks (they’re surprisingly straight) and the ones that do usually have a weird bend in the middle that doesn’t play nicely with the gate.
The bigger stalks are harder to cut (just big, cumbersome and, well, big) but produce more useable volume (obviously) and the darker stalks (the ones that have a lot more of the dark segments) feel the closest to foam.
And yucca cuts like butter
Also… wearing long sleeves while working on this shit outside in Hawai’i isn’t really an option, but I didn’t find the dust to be as irritating to my skin as some have stated.
Now I just gotta borrow a jointer and I’ll see what I can glue up for a 5’5" - there’s a lot of variation in thickness, as well as the unforuntate lack of rocker… I’m thinking I might glue some more down on the nose section of the deck to make it thicker so I can plane the rocker into it - not sure how well that will work though.
I’m still considering that - I have a few more pieces I could cut to try get enough wood for it, but damn that was time consuming - no wonder these boards are so expensive…
If I go with the 6’6" single, I was thinking of going full-retro gun style with the high-volume chest-to-nose area and low-volume pintail a-la Gerry Lopez’s Lightning Bolt that J.O.B. won at pipe - I feel like that would just look soooo goood with the agave, way better than the round-tail quad I was gonna make… anyone have a good template I could use?
Hey Shushka, I’ve got a pile of agave curing in my shed and, when I get the time, I plan to build myself a board with it. Just wondering if you could clarify your point on the bandsaw>table saw post above? Which did you use (you have a photo of the table saw, so it’s this one I’m guessing), and which would you use if you had your time over again?
I know a bloke who has a proper woodworking workshop and will hopefully be making use of his equipment to mill the timber, but I want to make sure I use the right gear from the get-go.
I would definately go with the bandsaw over the table saw - the problem with the table saw is the blade clearance - the thinner logs are easier to cut, but you have to be very careful and plan your cuts so as not to lose too much material - the first cut is a bitch on the best stalks which are larger, unless you’re super skilled and can flip the log over to make a second perfect pass… typically the blade will dip in slightly differently on the first cut after you flip it (since you can’t really get the angle perfect using a gate on a round log). We had success with a couple shallow cuts by flexing a breaking off the excess - this always left a little lip where the wood broke off which we then cleaned up with a machete to get our first flat edge which then allowed us to mill the rest of the wood easier. This was a learning process for me - I tend to dive in way over my head on shit… I’ve never milled my own wood before, and of course the first time I try it I’m not equipped with all the proper tools - The bandsaw will save you so much time and make your cuts much easier - also, it’s pretty impossible to snap a decent chalk line on the thinner stalks. That extra clearance the bandsaw blade has makes all the difference in the world…
I’d also reccomend gaining access to a jointer - some of our cuts aren’t perfectly square, which will need to be cleaned up prior to gluing the blank together. Also, if you cut enough of this shit to make a board with, it’s gonna look like brown winter in your shop - so be sure to hook up a vaccum to your tools and empty it religiously
Also, I wouldn’t reccomend shaping or cutting in a room that also has any foam blanks - this dust is so fine that I washed the clothes I wore, in their own load, three times on heavy soil level and there is still dust embedded in the fibers - my guess is it doesn’t come out of foam easily either
All good tips, I’ll take note and act accordingly. Perhaps I should just get naked and cover myself with that spray-on skin stuff. Will save on washing costs - I’ll just have to make sure I’m behind the camera in all of the shots, or I might just break the internet…
Here’s the blank mostly planned out - I strapped the boards together until I can glue them up to prevent any twisting or bowing in the wrong direction - still need to clean a couple of these up with a jointer or hand planer before I can glue them - I wasn’t able to get enough wood this go-around for the 6’6" single, so that will be the next board (most likely foam with agave stringer or agave rails), so it looks like this one is going to be more of an alt shortboard shape (thinking of using the winged round-tail template I got off blendingcurves.com)
Pardon the shitty photo, I didn’t realize my cameraphone lens had a big finger print on it this morning
