Well, I finally decided I was going to act on my desire to shape my own board. Probably a quad fish. Quick look at a starter kit…$700!!!
Bloody hell, as I picked myself back up I was gobsmacked. Realise this includes some tools but geez. For around that I can get a Banks, Mackie, et al. Is this pretty much a ball park figure of what I should expect? Below is what was included.
Shaping 101 DVD []1 x Glassing 101 DVD []1 x foam surfboard blank (Up to 7’11 blank). Please select size and style of Blank from the list on the right. []1 x Shapers Mini Planer []1 x Shapers Calipers []1 x Shapers Layout Square []3 x Shapers Blocks (1 x Soft, 1 x Medium, 1 x Hard) []2 x Backing Pads (1 x soft, 1 x Medium) []1 x Squeegee []1 x Dusk Mask []3 x Glass-on’s Fins []1 x Leash Plug []Mixed assortment of sanding paper for Shaping Blocks []Mixed assortment of sanding discs for Backing Pads []Shaping Gauze []Fibreglass for 1 Surfboard []Surfboard Tattoo Decal
Please note that the weight of this order is over 10kg. As part of our customer service policy, freight prices and options for this order will be emailed or phoned through to you separately. This process ensures that you choose the best option, based on your location and desired delivery speed. The order will only be processed when confirmation regarding freight is received.
The cost of the kit is reasonable for what it is but in my mind it’s overkill for your first board but worthwhile if you plan on shaping a lot of board… comes with nearly everything you need.
To get your costs down:
Ask around and borrow shapers 101
Plan out all the tools you need
You can make your own racks, calipers and Fred tool (from Shaping 101), sanding blocks
Start looking around in Bunnings, second hand stores etc. for tools. Good quality secondhand planes and spokeshaves are easy to come by… I like the older ones better - they made them to last in the old days
Borrow power tools from family / friends… buy them once you know you’ll be shaping more boards and you know what you want
Blank should cost you around $100 - a little more or a little less depending where you go
Glass, Resin and consumables for glassing will cost you somewhere around $200 - again depends where you go
Fins and fin system somewhere between $60 to $100 depending on what you go for.
For the price of a one top name surfboard I set myself up to shape and glass. Now boards cost me materials and my labor only.
Shaping 101 DVD Borrow []1 x Glassing 101 DVD borrow []1 x foam surfboard blank (Up to 7’11 blank). Please select size and style of Blank from the list on the right. Shop around []1 x Shapers Mini Planer Hardware store…learn to sharpen []1 x Shapers Calipers free , make your own []1 x Shapers Layout Square don’t need for first board , buy a nice T square or carpenter’s square. []3 x Shapers Blocks (1 x Soft, 1 x Medium, 1 x Hard) free , make your own []2 x Backing Pads (1 x soft, 1 x Medium) first board go with the medium ,did you buy a power sander yet… []1 x Squeegee need more than one ,try Bondo spreaders []1 x Dusk Mask Buy a whole box at the hardware store []3 x Glass-on’s Fins need 4 for a quad ,shop around ,pm Chipfish []1 x Leash Plug $1.50 in the US []Mixed assortment of sanding paper for Shaping Blocks Hardware store , white is best for surfboard []Mixed assortment of sanding discs for Backing Pads make your own from sandpaper you bought at hardware store []Shaping Gauze ??? Sanding screen maybe? Used for doing drywall work. hardware store []Fibreglass for 1 Surfboard shop around []Surfboard Tattoo Decal I’m not into Tattoos but if it’s your thing “go for it”
Please note that the weight of this order is over 10kg. As part of our customer service policy, freight prices and options for this order will be emailed or phoned through to you separately. This process ensures that you choose the best option, based on your location and desired delivery speed. The order will only be processed when confirmation regarding freight is received.
Your list does not include planner , shop vac , surform , shaping stands ,resin , gloves ,tape ,respirator ,ect… [*]Foamez.com would be a good place to compare kits. Not sure the dollar exchange rate. Do some swaylocks research. Most shaping tools are for wood working. It’s a grand adventure…
Make yourself some stands, easy as. I have a planer you can borrow if you want to ( i dont use power tools, one second to slip up, one week to fix ). I have the shaping and glassing dvd’s im more than happy to lend to you. Dust masks and gloves etc bunnings. Blanks, resin, cloth and sand paper are the only real costs, and a board costs me less than 200 easy.
Cheers
P.S just about to head out, supposed to be 5’ and pumping, hope my old knee injury doesnt play up hahaha
Thanks everyone for the feedback and info, not so daunting now. I have a number of woodworking tools so should be pretty sorted on that, will make calipers and stands from info I’ve found on here. It’s one of those “you don’t know what you don’t know!” so will be asking a number of dodgy questions through the process.
Beerfan
Would appreciate the offer of the loan of the glassing & shaping DVD. Went out yesterday at Towradgi, got some good waves. Saw you ended up with a friend and a snapped Mal. I like the tufflite shortboards but the tufflite mals do seem “stiffer” than normal boards and they really “bob” around on the surface. I’ll PM u about the DVD’s.
