blank/outline question

General Discussion
1

should the outside ‘coating’ of the blank be stripped before templating or after?

in other words: do you prefer to trace the outline of your board onto the ‘shell’ of the blank, cut it out with a handsaw, and then mill it down?

or do you like to remove the the entire ‘shell’ with your planer and then trace your outline onto the softer foam and then cut it out?

the second way seems better to me because it would be easier to cut out with your handsaw. but if i can remember correctly, I think JC in his video does it the first way…??

2

Im no expert, but you remove the outer “shell” first. I usually do it twice, i remove the outer “skin”, and draw it on, just to see it on the board, and then i take the thickness down ( not a lot though in my case, i like volume haha ), smooth the bottom out, then trace it on again, and check it again, before cutting it out about 1/4 oversize. Hope this helps

3
Quote:
then trace it on again, and check it again

i never thought about tracing a second time! that seems like a good little hint. thanks!

4

i make my own blanks with an eps block and a hotwire, so there is no outer shell. however, i usually foil the board out and put any concaves on it before i trace the template. the template is usually one of the last things i do. it would probably work either way tho.

5

interesting… curious as to how you reference the foil and the concaves without a template. is it all done using the stringer as a reference point using pre decided placements??

6

Either or will work…skinning first will usually net a cleaner shape but it’s more work.Herb

7

There is no right or wrong way to cut out, it’s all personal preference.

Try different methods and see what works for you. Whatever gives you

a fair and dimensionally accurate outline.

I look at a blank and check for twist or crooked stringer, then draw up

with the pencil line to the inside (barely) of the dims, right on the skin.

I cut with a Milwaukee jigsaw and 12 tpi blade, as close to the line as

I can. Then I true with the planer; blank weighted flat on rack and planer at 90

degrees, just nicking the high spots at first, working to almost full length

micro-cuts. Then I finish the ends with #40 block. The crisp edge of the blank’s

skin top and bottom seems to kinda help to fair the line for me. When I’m

done I want to still see my pencil line, but barely. It’s important to measure

and get yours dims spot-on at this point.

If you don’t have a lot of experience, keep your cut a little farther from the line.

You’ll get better with practice!

I know world-class shapers who do it totally different. Some shape the blank first,

then the board. Some cut with handsaws, some with routers.

Mike

8

If you’re putting in pegs/nails and bending a stick to get an original outline, it’s nice to have the toughness of the skin to help hold the pegs in place.

Other than that, I find that on most blanks I get, I want to get rid of any glue bumps, differences in foam/stringer height, voids, etc… before I put down my outline. Sometimes, one side of the foam will be higher than the other, or the stringer will disappear into the foam (maybe it’s just the crap blanks I seem to get sent to me), but I like to true up the bottom and deck before I do my outline.

But on the rare occasion I get a really good, clean, uniform blank, I’ll go ahead and cut the outline first.

I think the local guys get the pick of the litter when it comes to blanks. So when the foam guys put out a clunker, they’re like, “let’s send it out to those guys in Jersey… They won’t be banging on our door…” Kinda sucks sometimes.

9

thanks everyone…

i like the idea of working with the softer foam below the shell in order to get a nicer outline in shape. my first board i cut it out right on the shell and i found it kind of tough. but anyways…should start #two today if i can jig up some sketch way to attach my shop vac hose to my planer.

thanks again!