OK, I’m going to make a board. I want to make my own longboard, but I think instead of f-ing up a $100+ blank for myself, I’ll start by f-ing up a $40+ blank for my son so I get the feel and confidence. He’s a 3.5’ 45lb soon to be 5 yr old. He can stand in the mush on my 8’0" and can stand on the front of my 9’6" with me on the back taking care of the turning. I’m thinking maybe a 5’ egg shape will be stable enough while allowing him to turn when he starts working out the tail. Thoughts or suggestions? Sooo, you’ll be see alot of stupid and surely redundant questions from me, thanks in advance for answers and patience. First, some basics… Can someone explain foil and where from center the thickest part of the board should be. And, what effect moving the width fwd and aft of center has. I’m gonna keep his board pretty simple but these are things that I’m kinda cloudy on overall. thanks Jeff
I’m not taking all this on… not even familiar with some of it.>>>And, what effect moving the width fwd and aft of > center has. Forward offset makes a carvey board, and aft offset makes a skatey board. A surfer stands forward or back with the offset.
At 5 years old you could shape him a square block and he’ll learn to rip it. Young kids are amazing.
OK, I’m going to make a board. I want to make my own longboard, but I > think instead of f-ing up a $100+ blank for myself, I’ll start by f-ing up > a $40+ blank for my son so I get the feel and confidence. He’s a 3.5’ 45lb > soon to be 5 yr old. He can stand in the mush on my 8’0" and can > stand on the front of my 9’6" with me on the back taking care of the > turning. I’m thinking maybe a 5’ egg shape will be stable enough while > allowing him to turn when he starts working out the tail. Thoughts or > suggestions? Sooo, you’ll be see alot of stupid and surely redundant > questions from me, thanks in advance for answers and patience. First, some > basics… Can someone explain foil and where from center the thickest part > of the board should be. And, what effect moving the width fwd and aft of > center has. I’m gonna keep his board pretty simple but these are things > that I’m kinda cloudy on overall. thanks Jeff Jeff, Buy your son a soft 6-7 foot soft surfboard so he won’t get hurt learning and shape the blank for yourself!
I want to make it and the soft tops are way too expensive. Anyway, i plan on using proteck fins and he wont be riding any waves (unless tandem with me) just weak FL foam for a while.
Can someone explain foil and where from center the thickest part > of the board should be. And, what effect moving the width fwd and aft of > center has. I’m gonna keep his board pretty simple but these are things > that I’m kinda cloudy on overall. thanks Jeff Jeff, Foil, is the variation in thickness of a board as your travel from end to end. For example 12" from the tail the board may be 2" thick, at the mid-point 3" and 12" from the nose it may be 1.75" - There’s an infinite variety on foil, and MANY factors that determine actual foil measurements, but I hope you get my point. The most important variable affecting foil is rocker, or the bottom curve in the board (the reverse could also be said). As you might imagine the foil of a very flat board will be quite different from a really curved board. As far as the 5’ kid’s board, I think your greatest difficulty will be with the fact that this is truly a “custom” board. Because blanks don’t come in that size (some one correct me here) you’re going to have to take a longer blank that is “pre-shaped” for another style board and custom shape it into this 5’ mini board. YOU are going to have choose the new foil and the new rocker – two quite complicated shaping variables. I think the points made by the previous posters are on the mark – If you are determined to shape this board for your kid for your FIRST board, don’t worry that much about it – little kids can surf anything and with kinds of waves he’ll be riding and the way he’ll ride it, hydrodynamic priniciples are not a thing to really worry about. The point made about shaping yourself a board first is also smart. You can take a close tolerance blank (one that has the basic elements of rocker and foil pre-shaped into it) and fine tune it to your needs, getting used to your tools and work area. The, with the knowledge and experience gained, you can attempt to tackle the much more “custom” 5’ kids board. Either way, I would suggest a fairly neutral template – one that has the wide point right near center. Hope that helps and keep posting your questions please. Swaylock
Jeff,>>> Foil, is the variation in thickness of a board as your travel from end to > end. For example 12" from the tail the board may be 2" thick, at > the mid-point 3" and 12" from the nose it may be 1.75" - > There’s an infinite variety on foil, and MANY factors that determine > actual foil measurements, but I hope you get my point.>>> The most important variable affecting foil is rocker, or the bottom curve > in the board (the reverse could also be said). As you might imagine the > foil of a very flat board will be quite different from a really curved > board.>>> As far as the 5’ kid’s board, I think your greatest difficulty will be > with the fact that this is truly a “custom” board. Because > blanks don’t come in that size (some one correct me here) you’re going to > have to take a longer blank that is “pre-shaped” for another > style board and custom shape it into this 5’ mini board. YOU are going to > have choose the new foil and the new rocker – two quite complicated > shaping variables.>>> I think the points made by the previous posters are on the mark – If you > are determined to shape this board for your kid for your FIRST board, > don’t worry that much about it – little kids can surf anything and with > kinds of waves he’ll be riding and the way he’ll ride it, hydrodynamic > priniciples are not a thing to really worry about.>>> The point made about shaping yourself a board first is also smart. You can > take a close tolerance blank (one that has the basic elements of rocker > and foil pre-shaped into it) and fine tune it to your needs, getting used > to your tools and work area. The, with the knowledge and experience > gained, you can attempt to tackle the much more “custom” 5’ kids > board.>>> Either way, I would suggest a fairly neutral template – one that has the > wide point right near center.>>> Hope that helps and keep posting your questions please.>>> Swaylock Thanks, good points. Yeah, I was just noticing the blank dilema the other day, but they do make a 5’9" that I think will do nicely for something a little over 5’. Like I said, his is going to be kept EXTREMLY simple (round nose, squash, wide, flatish deck, egg rails all the way) cause he wont be riding anything but ultra small foam. The info was just something i needed to know. Back to foil…i read somewhere that this is very important but the way I see it, you got your rocker in the blank which isnt going to change much if any, you put your max thickness wherever suits you and as long as you have a nice flow from that point to your min. thicknesses, your foil is that and good. Good Flow = Good Foil. Is that correct or is foil something i really need to look into and keep an eye on when making a board. JR
Thanks, good points. Yeah, I was just noticing the blank dilema the other > day, but they do make a 5’9" that I think will do nicely for > something a little over 5’. Like I said, his is going to be kept EXTREMLY > simple (round nose, squash, wide, flatish deck, egg rails all the way) > cause he wont be riding anything but ultra small foam. The info was just > something i needed to know. Back to foil…i read somewhere that this is > very important but the way I see it, you got your rocker in the blank > which isnt going to change much if any, you put your max thickness > wherever suits you and as long as you have a nice flow from that point to > your min. thicknesses, your foil is that and good. Good Flow = Good Foil. > Is that correct or is foil something i really need to look into and keep > an eye on when making a board. JR JR. the first obstacle you are going to run into with foil is what was mentioned earlier… the blank though 5’9" is still going to need rocker adjustments if you cut it down to 5’0". You are going to have to decide where you want to loose those 9". After that is cut off your bottom rocker is going need adjustment and that is through the whole board. If you cut your length from the nose only your tail rocker is going to go way up the board and vica versa with the nose. If you cut it evenly from the nose and the tail the board will have a flat rocker on both ends. Personally I think it is easier to cut it from both ends and add in the rocker. It seems a more systematic process in my mind. Others may feel differently. Adding in rocker is a great learning process. It will help you train your eye while providing excellent practice with the planer. Sounds like you are going to have a lot of fun. Finishing your first board is a great feeling and having your son ride I imagine will make it even better. Good luck.