Man, was I in for a suprise when I got home from work! As I entered the garage (shaping bay) I see the fish that I had finished shaping lying on the floor. My curiosity was peaked as this was not where I left it. I see the deck is ok but, the bottom was a shocker. Gouges, tears, dents and the unmistakable imprint of my 3 year old son’s tennis shoes. Now, while I’m strictly a beginner (first board) I have strong reservations regarding the lad’s “re-shaping” theories! In the end the board could not be saved. Fortunately, I am very stubborn and view this as a minor setback. More foam is in reserve and awaits the sanding block. Just for some general info the dims. were:
Sorry about the “4 hour” post. I am experiencing technical difficulty with posting pics. I didn’t even discuss it with the little crumb muncher…he probably saw all the dents, dings, etc. in dad’s other boards and thought he was helping me out!
I feel your pain, recently while returning from a trip to get foam, the van was full and i piled about 10 lonboard blanks on the racks on top and used tie downs to hold it in place, motoring up the freeway I heard a pop, i tie down broke and the racks came off the van, 10 blanks into freeway battered oblivion, I think the truckers behind me had a field day, roughly 700 bucks in foam in pieces the size of oranges
Ah yes… well, next time, put it on the top shelf, where Philo the younger can’t get at it.
Me, I’d be more worried about the little guy getting at some power tools. The Old Man laid down the law on all that early, that and he gave me my first set of hand tools and a Very Clearly Defined Set of things I could use 'em on.
IMO Making that board his first one is an excellent idea, just fill it in w/ spakle and glass it. then he will understand the importance of being careful, when he goes to ride it and it isnt stable. when he asks why its lop sided, you can just point at him.
There’s a famous shaper around here who built a perfectly good board out of the foam scraps collected and glued together from the shaping room floor. Talk about scrapes, gouges, and voids! Your board will have the added character of your kids footprints (which should, of course, be seen as your new logo), plus you’ll get practice glassing. I say resurrect it.
"… then he will understand the importance of being careful, when he goes to ride it and it isnt stable. when he asks why its lop sided, you can just point at him "
I was referring to when he was older. sry bout not specifying. but thats what my dad did w/ me and my first power drill. I used one of his drills and got sand in it. he then gave it to me and said “heres your first drill… have fun”. so, I dissassembled it, cleaned it, re-lubricated it, and put it back together. I also learned not to use drills near sand.
Perhaps young Philo was teaching you a lesson, understanding that your new one will come out soooooo much better (not that there was anything wrong with the orignal). Plus, he gave you the opportunity to shape a new board which, in my mind, is a pretty sweet gift.
Glass it, drive some heavy nails through it, add a few hammer dents, glue some hairs here and there, stick a post-it that says: “I’ll be back later” and put it on show in some well-known art gallery with a title like “Cosmic strawberry duality”.
Before you know it, you’ll be at the very head of a new art trend called “Tennis-shoe-printism”, your boards will be sold world-wide for millions of dollars, and you will thank your son forever…
Thanks for all of your valuable suggestions, words of encouragement and interesting ideas. I do believe I’ll be passing on the barbwire/shotgun method, though(interesting none the less Chipfish61). Onward to the shaping room… full speed ahead…damn the torpedoes(and size 3 tennis shoes)!
