Does anyone know where to get a fiberglass batten to make templates? I’m not good with computers and don’t want to use akushaper to spend time gluing pieces of paper onto masonite.
Hi ekim -
Check the local bicycle shops. You might find some flag staffs that look a lot like fishing rod blanks. They work fine to draw lines from the mid point to the ends on your template material. It's not long enough to draw a (preferred) continuous curve so I just do the nose and tail separately. Often I make spin templates anyway so it doesn't matter that the nose and tail are done separately.
go and get an old fishing pole and strip the eyes off
Ekim, if you can't find one in a bike shop (cheaper), in hardware stores they sell fiberglass rods for fishing wires through walls of buildings. Any big box store will have them in the eletrical tools area. They are about 5-6 feet long.
Kensurf, won't the taper in a fishing rod mess things up?
"won't the taper in a fishing rod mess things up?"
Hi tblank - I know you asked Ken but since the flagstaff I use is tapered similarly to a fishing rod....
I just use the tapered end to fit the more accelerated curves at the ends of the outline. For wide nosed designs it makes it easier. The fat end is taped down at the midpoint and the tip is flexed to connect a few dimension dots drawn on the material. It takes a little pushing and pulling but it gives a much better line than I can draw freehand.
There's lots of things you can use for battens. If you know a woodworker you can get rippings, or you can wander the big-box and look for rods, thin dowels, bar stock, etc. One of my favorite tight-radius bendy things is a large slat from a set of blinds.
Roger that Mr. Mellor, I typed before I thought. The taper won't matter if you stick to guide points. As many as possible along the length. I've said before I use a ten foot stainless 1/8" dowel for drawing curves. Picked it up at an industrial steel supply and use it in woodworking also. A round rod will not twist in compound curves like a flat strip will. These give a true arc without wrestling it. How's da tikka?
Mike D., Youse right, the slats work great on a flat surface but if you draw on a curved surface like a blank, the round rod will follow both ways without distortion.
The slats don't distort if you let it twist with the curve. Old boatbuilder technique (really old). But round stock works great too.
Sheesh Mike... I thought you were a computer guy. What are you doing with that prehistoric crap?
LOL. I learned all the prehistoric stuff way before we had surfboard CAD programs, so now I enjoy doing it either way. I'm still in the ''hands and eyes'' camp if you made me choose. We have some very different shaping technology (credit to Kirk Brasington) that's sort of ''in between'', so I'm not working at one end of the spectrum or another anyway. When we move on to ''next'' I'll tell you guys all about it.
the tapered rod (fishing pole) will give you the french type curve you seek
being round will follow the rocker without a fight
just grab the tip and flex the rod, the light will surly turn on.
the moment Ambrose showed me, the light went on in my head
Yeah I understand what you are saying. I'm used to working off center lines and the taper is what made me balk, not being parallel. Then I woke up and thought about it.
I've always used things that were flat. Metal stock, flexible metal rulers(48 inch) etc. Until I found a stash of Sailboard battens several years back. I've got a couple that are so flexy I can bend them to absolutly any curve. I've always liked flat because I use a flat Carpenters pencil to draw my outline and it lays nicely against the batten. I've got a nice assortment of battens. Long, short, stiff, tapered etc. Usually I stick to a couple that I use all the time. Connecting the dots isn't an issue for me. I don't put much thought into it once my dimensions are layed out. I just lay the batten on the blank and push/hold it with my waist, elbow and hands, then mark with my freehand. With round stock there is always the possibilty that the pencil might roll over a little onto the rod thereby causing a blip in the outline. The battens I use are all 1/2 inch wide, so my pencil lays flat and vertical against it.
M'Ding, I use push pins to keep the dowel in place. If I wanted I could place the entire dowel on line and then trace out but it only takes a few to give you the "third hand". Pencil rides right along the dowel no problem.
That was my next question. “push pins”… So you don’t have to worry about glassing over the holes? Thanks everyone.
Roger that Ekim, The ones I use are those nasty pins in a new shirt. Who hasen't put on one with at least one or two still in the shirt? They work great with the little ball on the end and the hole made by them is smaller than some of the voids in some blanks.
Ekim,
If you go with wood like in MikeDaniel's photo and you're drawing both sides of the template (as opposed to just making a template that you will flip), it helps to flip the batten. The wood has a memory of how it's been bent and reversing the curve can make for wobbles. I hope that makes sense.
C
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I just lay the batten on the blank and push/hold it with my waist, elbow and hands, then mark with my freehand.
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So I'm not the only one who's wrangled a batten into position using every body part available, lol. Sometimes it feels like playing a game of ''twister'' while trying to hold a pencil in one hand.
Back to the OP, it sounds like he was talking about working onto flat surface of template material. We started talking about drawing stuff on blanks, because that's how we'd do it if we didn't have existing curves that could be pieced together and blended to desired yield. Sometimes you just gotta start fresh; I know some of my best outlines and rocker curves have come from this approach. If I'm going to loft up a new outline on a blank, I wouldn't try to batten both sides perfectly. I'd get them very close, then cut the outline and true. I'd spend a lot of time looking, maybe let it sit a day and look some more. Make some adjustments if needed. THEN pick the perfect side, and trace that onto template material (while the outline cut is square is best time to trace). Cut and true that template to perfection while you've got the outline cut to compare. Flip it over and see how it matches the other side, hopefully you're close enough that a few minutes of touch-up will yield a clean, symmetrical outline. And you've got your perfect half-template, or spin if you chose to go that way.
That's right! There you have it Gentlemen.
I too started with a rectangular stick thingy
Mike nailed it with the making a template off a fresh shaped "square" outline
its so much easyer pining to foam than masonite