Yeah Shusk!
Another member of the Agave Club.
Lots to learn eh?
If you don’t glue them soon, keep them flat on their side to keep them from warping.
That wood is very suseptable to warping as the humidity changes.
Once the skin is gone, it will swell up and shrink as the weather changes.
I’ve had a perfectly straight piece change overnight to a curly mess.
If you make a form, you can get it to bend to the rocker you desire.
Fun watching your progress.
…thanks for the updates and photos.
Watching with interest …
…WHERE is Miguelaragao , I wonder ?
http://woodensurfboards.blogspot.pt/2012/11/miguel-aragao-from-portugal.html
Shushk,
Remember,
When it comes to Agave,
Size matters.
This is a recent pic.
I’m 6’4".
Do the math.
Hi,
I don’t curently have the skill to try out such construction but if my first foam boards are good enough I’ll definitly want to try working Agave (got plenty around home).
I’m rooting nearby and wait to see your work !
Definitely agree - Most of the stalks I got gave me just barely enough useable wood - I’d like to get a bandsaw next time and try to find some thicker ones, but I think a lot of this is actually technically yucca, it’s pretty thin (usually 6 inches diameter max) and, while easy to get stringer wood - definitely harder to get good board wood… So far I’ve loved the adventure - this is the most hands-on approach to surfboard building I’ve taken yet, making my own blank from wood I harvested myself. Gonna be lots of blood, sweat and soul in this one
Also, the video is coming out great so far - can’t wait till it’s finished to show you guys
Barry,
When using the form to get your rocker into the stalks, are you steaming them first? I’d love to be able to manipulate the rocker on these a little when I glue them up, but I wasn’t sure if they would hold up to steaming, or if there was another easier method… Are you willing to share any photos of your setup?
will probably never get around to an agave board, but saw this in Galicia, on my travels and thought of you guys here who might like the pic. I assume it is agave ?
Shushk,
Alot of what I do is cut.
Both lenngth and rocker.
If you cut down when still wet (and heavy),
You can form them.
They bend easily when wet.
Just laying them against something with some weight will do.
I’ve used steam to bend them back into shape after cutting.
They tend to distort with weather changes after cutting.
Use the base for nose rocker as it has the wider diameter and thickness.
I have many years of R&D into my process of building Agave surfboards.
100% self-taught.
Part of the fun is developing your own process.
You are not the first to ask.
I found out a lot learning how lumber is cut from trees.
That and basic woodworking skills.
My High School woodshop teacher would be so proud.
Finally got around to taking the next steps on the Agave board - with the aid of the furnature shop next door I got all the pieces cleaned up on a jointer and started gluing up the first three center pieces. Since the planks I harvested are varying in thickness I’m gluing them a few pieces at a time to make it easier to manipulate the rocker on each piece and get the most out of my wood… more to come.
Maybe Barry will share a shot of that secret saw.
I got sick from the dust- it is no joke, but Linden has it dialed.
It is poison.
That’s what Tequila is made from.
The dust is just dried poison.
yeah I’m pretty much gonna go full long-sleeves and pants when I do this one. Instead of my usual dust mask I’m also gonna use my glassing respirator with the organic particulate filter they use in mold removal. May even go full bunny suit ha. The dust wasn’t too bad from the saw, and when I harvested it was green so there wasn’t really any dust, but I know the worst it yet to come once I start hitting it with the planer.
Finally got around to doing some more work now that it’s all glued up - cut out my rough blank and I’m just trying to slowly plane it down to even and give it its rocker. I’m using the 5’4" mini simmons outline from Blending Curves (it’s the “nug” with the rounded nose) once I have an even enough surface and hopefully cutting it out tomorrow. Wish me luck!
This is it - pretty much pau - as pau as I can be for now anyway. We fly to the mainland to relocate to Colorado in 48 hours - I wanted this to be more than a wall hanger so I went with a mini-simmons wakesurf build. I’ll post the full dims tomorrow but for now I’ll at least give you a look at the finished shape. I’ve got it all glassed and I’m throwing the sanding coat on it to protect it on the flight to Cali. I bought two future boxes for it but I may want to go glass-on instead, just depends how I feel once I get my shop set up in our new place…
…yep, gonna be shaping surfboards in Durango - go figure.
Hope you guys like it - especially you Barry, I know you’ve been keeping your eye out for this. I’ll have a video of the build in the next week or so posted as well.
Aftera while the Agave gets real old, nasty fibers in your hands, smells like and old matress that was found in the woods, the wood contains oxalic acid, a chemical found in Rhubarb, poisonous until cooked. 12 feet of blood, sweat and tears
I’ve started collecting stalks. I have a gardener friend who got me the one that’s on the car roof. The other two I harvested today. I’m thinking of heading down to the green waste section at the local landfill and asking them if they ever get any agave. This is a long term project!
Something odd going on with my camera I reckon. The colours are wrong.
That looks like agave americana by the bent leaves at the base. AA starts its bloom in February and ends at the ends around now (in the northern hemi). This time of year at the end of summer before the rains is a good time to harvest but more so for the previous years flowers. The flower stem in your picture is yellow indicating it is good for cutting, yet still has a lot of water in it and will need months, maybe a year to dry until it is workable. You can mill it now so it dries faster but take measures so the stalk stays straight. It is good to cut these flowers now if you are worried they wont be there next year because a road crew may dispose of them or someone else may use want to use it. Cutting them when the stalk is green is too much work because they can weight more than you making them hard to move. The best I have found is to wait until the following year when the stalk is grey/brown and dry enough to work straight away.
Avoid stalks with little holes in them because they will have the agave beetle weevil in it eating at your material and those guys easily transfer to other stalks, they are not termites but work the same. You can tell which flowers have the weevil based on the looks of the leaves if they are still green and not dried. Weeviled agaves will look sick and prematurely dried out at the leafy base.
The oxyallic acid, the milky white liquid, in the agave plant mentioned above will cause chemical burns on skin if precautions while harvesting are not taken. Wearing long sleeves, gloves and glasses would be a good idea while harvesting. NEVER USE A CHAINSAW! The burns will last a week or so and the scars will eventually go away after six months.
Try to be respectful of nature when harvesting by not spreading the seedlings at the top of the flower unless it is on your own land and that is your intention. In most areas agave americana is classified as an invasive species and it will spread easily. Each one of the yellow flower petals at the top will turn into an agave seedling in the final months of the plants life. Take them home and use them if you like but dont be like many people who plant them near sidewalks or under telephone wires because in 7-10 years when the flower blooms it will be a mess and a danger. AA is excelent for maintaining hillsides to prevent erosion and land slides.
Agave/Maguey/Pitera is a very useful plant for humans on many levels. Please respect all the good it has to offer.
PS. Go back and get the base as close to the ground as possible and make a djembe drum with it.
I collect it as well as grow my own.
Point of reference: asparagus contains oxalic acid. Aparagus as a source of dietary oxalic acid intake is considered to have moderate concentrations. High oxalic acid intake may increase the chances of kidney stones.
Spinach, almonds and chocolate contain oxalic acid…
