ive been shaping for about one year now and hve made around 30 boards so far. i started a bpard for my friend a few weeks ago and have had problems with it from the very beginning. the glue up on the blank was pretty bad and there were some voids in the foam. the color on the bottom came out totally wrong and was pretty boring, then the lap were pretty bad after i laminated the deck- a few lumps and too much resin along the crown of the rail. then i was plauged by burn throughs when sanding/polishing.
i usually dont have these problems when lam/sanding and really feel the the board was just cursed. i was wondering if any of you have had a projest like this, one that you were glad to finish and just get rid of? i hope that the thing was just cursed and that this is not the beginning of a new trend.
here’s some pics of the thing.
well, it floats… dont know what happened to the pictures here
i’m new to board building, but having done custom hardwood staircases for years i can say that any sort of ‘building’ type activity can go that way. there will be projects that seem like they do themselves and others that seem like EVERY single thing that can go wrong will.
what i found is that the unimaginable obstacles presented in the tough projects that fight you tooth and nail all the way are where you really learn. it sucks while it’s going on, but that’s how you learn. there’s a reason veterans never seem to get excited, it’s because they’ve seen and dealt with every imaginable obstacle (or something similar) a half dozen times and overcome it…
I had one I called the “frayed ends of sanity”. Nothing went right on that build. But now it’s my go-to board in any unknown surf. It’s magic and solid and predictable. I think the extra work involved got absorbed into the board for the long haul.
Every once in a while..sometimes quite often, a board will come through my shop that I feel just does NOT want to be made. Things start to go wrong from the moment it hits the Laminating rack. Little things, like problems routing in the fin boxes, dings in the foam, forget to cut my laps on a tint, burn through on the polish..Then I ask the shaper if they had trouble shaping the bloody thing and the answer is usually a big Yes. I fear for the person who has to surf on the blasted thing! So, Yes, there are cursed blanks. It probably started way back when the foam was poured! Don't worry though, just get the blasted thing finished and out of your hair as soon as possible and everything will be fine again. Don't forget to burn some sage in your shop to eradicate the bad mojo!
Every once in a while…sometimes quite often, a board will come through my shop that I feel just does NOT want to me made. Things start to go wrong from the moment it hits the Laminating rack. Little things, like problems routing in the fin boxes, dings in the foam, forget to cut my laps on a tint, burn through on the polish…Then I ask the shaper if they had trouble shaping the bloody thing and the answer is usually a big Yes. I fear for the person who has to surf on the blasted thing! So, Yes, there are cursed blanks. It probably started way back when the foam was poured! Don’t worry though, just get the blasted thing finished and out of your hair as soon as possible and everything will be fine again. Don’t forget to burn some sage in your shop to eradicate the bad mojo!
difficult labour… means lots’ of love… probably magic board…
kinda like breakin’ in a mustang…
my last one had funky times from the moment it left the shapeing rack… but it’s bright red and ready to surf, actually needs a good polishing but screw it, tomorrow promises waves…
The Fishull I posted on the hull thread was cursed from the start. Every bad turn was my own fault though. Easy to blame Beelzebub… Nothing a little sandpaper and elbow grease won’t fix.
Leslie doesn’t lie–she practically makes me fill out a Shaping History for each board I deliver. I never smelled any sage in her shop, but I have noticed her chicken populations seem to be dwindling…
ah yes… every so often i get a board that just doesnt want to come into the world. if a blank gives me trouble during the shaping process it never fails to be a “problem board” at every other stage of production, and i just cant wait to get her out of the shop.
the strange thing is, when i hear back from the person who bought the board, they love it… who woulda guessed?
Hey, been away for a while, but its nice to see that im not the only one who has these problems. its good to hear that people usually like the boards after they are delivered, i just delivered the board yesterday and the guy seemed stoked.
well, funny story actually. i delivered the board the first time the day after i started this thread. i get to the guys house to drop it off to him and relized that with all the trouble id been having i forgot to put a leash cup in the damned thing. so after i finally think that its gone and out of my hair i gotta look at it in my shop for another day or so.
the curse has been lifted though, i’ve made two beautiful single fins since and they both went off without a hitch. i like the idea of burning some sage though, im affraid that the mojo may have jumped to another blank so i am gunna have to cleanse the place.
the surf is supposed to be good here tomorrow so hopefully ill see the guy out and i can find out if the salt water broke the curse- i really hope so.
thanks everyone, i was starting to think that it was me who was cursed.
My current board has caused me no end of trouble. First off I couldn’t get the outline right, then the vee in tail went wrong which left me with loads of tail rocker. Glassing - the hot coat didn’t take very well meaning it’s just gacking up my sander. So it’s gone from a 6’10" fat boy flyer type of thing to a 6’5" retro 2+1 setup. Im not a superstitious guy so I’m gonna put it down to rushing and inexperience - but I’ve learnt some important lessons!
