Very true. Nice observation.
Yeah, three is mo betta.
Seems to keep them from doing the twisting thing.
All my racks have three.
Thanks for the numerous postings. I suspected that I would arise a “myth or legend” kind of discussion. Actually, I am not very receptive to the “legend status” thing and, to speak the truth, I was pretty much sure that Brewer didn’t actually shape boards. I thought that, in the best case, he would work on machine pre-shapes like almost everybody is doing now.
No better way of knowing and making an opinion for myself than to personally witness it.
Now, I understand that he probably doesn’t shape ALL boards from start to finish and that only a very happy few will get a “true” Brewer. But I can tell you that he still knows how to do it and do it well, too. Yes, many myths have been circulating about the man. I think we should be able to separate marketing bullshit from facts. I am not the one who can say much about Mr Brewer as I only knew him from reputation before whereas many of you seem to have actually worked with him and thus know better.
All I am saying is that watching any 70+ guy who has been doing this all his life (no matter how many boards he shaped -yes, the more, the better-) is at least very interesting. I wish I could have seen Mike Diffenderfer, Harold Iggy, Donald Takayama and many others shaping before they were gone. And I still wish I could see many of you shaping, too.
Now, yes, Brewer uses a surform. I think I had been out for a few minutes when he shaped the bottom part of the rail so not sure what he used for that but the top was shaped with the Skil. BTW, I think the planer belonged to Daniel but not sure either.
No one said he doesn’t. He’s clearly using one in the next to last photo. My remark was in jest, in light of recent debate about usage of same.
Sammy, I understood that. Speaking of the surform, I think that many people tend to have “ayatollah” opinions about it. The surform can be a great tool but it can also very easily be a major mess-maker. What makes the difference is knowing what it can do and how to use it properly. Same with other tools or techniques; To each his own. To a beginner, the surform looks so easy to use! It just takes some time to realize that it can create a nice field of bumps and pits, too.
I can illustrate that: for years, when making a chambered balsa board, I would use long screws to hold pieces of wood together during the shaping phase, before disassembling and chambering. Then I saw here on Swaylock’s that a number of very respectable shapers were using a different technique: spot glueing (very little spots of glue here and there, just enough to hold the pieces together; Then, when the board has been shaped, grab a big mallet and hit the blank -with a block so as not to mark the wood- until everything falls apart.) I must confess that this technique sounded very agressive to me but since “big names” apparently used it with success I thought: “Why not try?” So I tried it and it was a real massacre: torn pieces of wood where the glue had been and even one of the lumbers neatly broken in half when hit with the mallet. So next time I will keep to my novice technique that worked very well with me for years, and let the “pro” technique to those who feel at ease with it.
hey balsa, thnx 4 posting that - definitely relevant on a forum like this. Seems the myths and misconceptions run in all directions, haha. Great thread.
Balsa,
Bonjour mon français surf façonnage ami.
Try a hot glue gun instead.
Wood glue works a little too good.
It does not take much.
If the other method failed, I don’t blame you for going back to your tried and true method.
Thanks Barry, will try that. On samples, first, lesson learned ha-ha…
Yes, I suppose that, although I was very cautious putting very little glue spots, common wood glue (Elmer’s type) is still way too strong.
thanks very much , balsa billy , for posting these photos …
as you inferred , it ain’t EVERY day you get Dick Brewer in france shaping .
thanks for sharing your stoke , and your photos !
cheers !
ben
Ty much for sharing - balsa! That said, I never believe myths and second hand info anymore. Assuming things makes a a** out of you and me… Best to get info first hand.
As for using a surform, I agree with your .02 about the tool. What do I think about the tool? It’s used mainly to clean up planer marks, tuning rail bands, and even cutting the bottom rail bands… But I haven’t done a bottom rail line over 1/4" yet anyways… also, I discovered - the surform works perfectly for starting concaves! I end by saying - Dick designs & shapes damn good surfboards no matter the board count or what tools he uses.
Agreed it should be " Quality over quantity." Most mass produced stuff isn’t always the nicest quality anyhow.
In this video at 1:28 he is seen using a surform in the nose scoop, a technique ridiculed in the past by a pro shaper who is seen here on occasion…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F-vzIrk_NE
Hi John! Remember I did a little cross cutting to foil my nose from deck a bit… well, I kinda had a slight blow out of stringer… I never tried it, but I did exactly what Dick was doing - kinda shape n it down some…well, my blow out chunk is gone! The surform worked off a bit of stringer and foam… but I was happy that the ugly chunk I blew out got smoothed out. Another thing I learned is to not scrub in one spot too long. Better to use it in a wider flowing movement… I actually like how a surform can blend things out without having to use a noisy pp the whole time… the surform also gives me a break to just relax, and tune up my rails or whatever and not get zonked pp too long.
Bill T is right. Brewer can shape-- But is a bit of hype.