This guy seems to have an unorthadox aproach to shaping. Will this process create a piece of shi+ or does he know what he is doing? thanx in advance! SS
Where did you find this?? I’m certainly no expert, but this looks like some kind of college project, from one of the youngsters out there… …Or this could be the dawn of a new era, in surfboard manufacture!! Joking aside, maybe it’s worth making old ‘Surfer Steve’ aware of Swaylocks? Laters Peaman
I am some what of a beginner(as far as shaping…)and I know it…but this guy is lost!! According to him, all I need do is get a blank close to the dimensions I want the finished board to be…skin it …level the stringer…and viola…a brand new perfect stick!! If it was that simple…
It might work…? It’s easy to laugh, I know, and some of the ‘alternative’ methods sound a little funny (and dangerous). But the guy has obviously got bags of enthusiasm for shaping and the sport - enough to produce his own web page. So, I think fair play to the guy, but it might be worth pointing him in the direction of this website or an experienced shaper. Just a quick thought… If you’d never seen a surfboard, or heard of a clarke blank, or resin and glass cloth etc, and you were asked to produce a craft to race down the face of waves on stood up, I wonder what would be produced??? Got me thinking, what about you guys?? Peaman
Think of it from a beginners point of view where do we all go wrong when we shape our first board? 1: we shape it to thin so it wont float us! 2: we try to build a new experimental design! 3: we put in channels! 4: we put in concaves! Truth is your first board will be a complete PIG!!! This guy may have a few different ideas, but his main point is KEEP IT SIMPLE! you can just take a clark blank skin it and glass it! it will work a lot better than the double concaved to hell channelled piece of shi# that is currently propped up against the back wall or in the rafters of most of our sheds. nice rant thanks! [blush])
It looks to me like the guy his homework. I got a little lost somewhere between the stands and sanding blocks. I do most of my shaping outside in sunlight just because I like being outside but when it comes to fine tuning, I take it in and use carefully placed sidelights. He recommends fine tuning using sunlight but the glare off the foam makes it difficult for me to really see anything. Some informative links especially on epoxy but where’s Swaylock’s?
He’s lost point him to this site pleeease.
It ain’t Rocket Science guys.The water could care less if a board is out of whack.Just have fun.
First let me say that this is a serious post…I am getting ready to shape a board for the FIRST time. So please honestly tell me…the bottom has nothing to do with it? Just make it flat ,no V no nothing and it will work?? Good foil,good rails and a flat bottom? I had already planned to keep it simple.I thought the bottom had to have something to make it “go” so to speak.Is that not true? Please enlighten this beginner…thanks…
I like his lock for a leash plug idea. He is humble about the many practical uses of this method. For instance if after surfing you decide to get a bite to eat and a beligerent restaurant owner will not allow you to bring your board indoors simply swap out the lease for a chain and affix to any nearby post. Also one could use the chain method on their surf rack as a last line of defense when the board inevitably flies off. Nothing is worth anything if it is not multifuctional.
The bottom is where the board contacts the water… so of course it has something to do with it… a lot actually. But I think the point cleanliness was aiming at is that it’s your first board, it won’t be perfect, but some imperfections won’t keep it from functioning, so just have fun with it. I don’t think making a functioning board is all that hard, most of my errors are either cosmetic or maybe affect the longevity of my boards (the sooner I have an excuse to build another) Surfboards, like all tools man has made – for sport and otherwise, have evolved over the years and become much more fined tuned and specialized. But, like all sports, there were people in the past, using archaic versions of what we have now, that excelled just as much on them. I certainly won’t say that a professionally made board won’t perform better than an amateurs, or a first timers board – but I am a firm believer in the ability and determination of a person and not the tool – tools only enhance. Of course I try to make the best surfboards I can, but I don’t think the imperfections I leave (and there are plenty) hold back my surfing – actually I think that building boards has enhanced my understanding of surfboards and has helped my ridding. Cheers
I didn’t mean to be flippant about the subject of shaping.Its just that for a first board it will probably be off here and there.Your glass job will have bubbles and pin air and you will probably mess up about everything.But…as long as it doesn’t leak you should have a good time on it.To many folks hammer themselves over cosmetics.Try to get some of the shaping and glassing videos,they will be your best investment.I tend to think that you have to go ahead and build the first board before the suggestions around here make sense.Keep it simple my friend. R.B.
Rook,Cleanlines, Thanks, I will most definitely keep it simple. I worked in glass for too many years,boats and pools, tooling and mold work mostly. The glass will be familiar(not that I won’t screw up…lol…) so the shape and color will be of the most concern.Thanks for the responses,can’t wait to get started…peace and waves…
the best piece of advice is: MEASURE TWICE CUT ONCE! i remember asking the same things a few years ago. and that is the most use of anything good luck you are about to start on the road to enlightenment! [blush])
pauluk, thanks,I am sure those will be words to live by. Maybe I’ll post em in my new shaping room…! I will finally start the funshape/hybrid this week…can you say stoked?? Peace and waves…