once they had their blanks glued, how long do you figure it took them to shape a board before glassing it?
I have no idea. But the VERY first balsa shapers didn’t actually “glass” their boards. They just sealed them up with lacquer, resin, etc.
Fiberglassing came a bit later, to add strength and protect from dings.
A lot of the early balsa shapers thought that the advent of foam destroyed the integrity if not the soul of the shaping process by making it too, too easy for even the everyday yokel to shape a board. Some said it was like shaping a “stick of butter”!
Quote:
once they had their blanks glued, how long do you figure it took them to shape a board before glassing it?
Three to four hours, depending on skill level and tools available. Size also matters. Eight foot shapes faster than ten foot. In 1959 I shaped and rode a 7’ 11" balsa board at Windansea.