Hi Swaylocks, been lurking for a while admiring some of the amazing boards that get posted up here and finally decided to make my own. I guess this will eventually be a build thread but I’m a long way off yet!
So I’ve drawn a template for the board at 1:10 scale on graph paper and taken measurements at every 8 inches for drawing out the full size template. (I’ll probably take more frequent measurements when it comes down to it for accuracies sake.) I’d love to scan it on but currently don’t have access to a scanner and my Uni’s library won’t be open until Monday so I’ll get the scans posted up then.
My measurements are: (from nose to tail)
1: 12in
2. 18in
3. 21in
4. 21in (so the wide point of the board comes about 4in after the halfway mark and stays wide until 24in from the nose where it starts to narrow)
5. 20in
6. 18in
7. 16in
8. 14in
9. 12in (distance between the fishtail tips) Fishtail is 7.5in deep
Hope this is enough for you guys to visualise the shape and tell me if it’s going drastically wrong anywhere or if it looks ok, but as I say I’ll get the scan posted up ASAP.
One thing I’ve noticed is a lot of people seem to post dims like 6’2" x 19" x 21 1/2" x 16" (just off the top of my head, probably ridiculous) I guess the measurements are length, nose width, widest point and tail width right? If so at what point along the board do you take the nose and tail width? Is there some kind of accepted standard?
Anyway, I’ve not drawn a rocker template but I plan on it being fairly low rocker all the way through so I figure I can judge it when I have the blank itself. Is this ok?
My plan for the rails roughly is; hard/sharp from tail to front of fins, tucked in at the middle 70/30, soft from the front 1/3 to nose 50/50. Does this sound alright? Pretty worried about doing the rails on the board, have no idea where to start with rail bands. I read surfersteve’s guide and he suggests just going for 50/50 all the way along for your first board. Would this be too loose on the quad? I figure the harder rails on the tail will give the board a bit more bite and hold?
As for thickness I’m planning on roughly 2 5/8" at the thickest point. Planning on keeping the bottom flat for simplicities sake unless there is any pressing reason why I should attempt a vee/concave?
I’m planning on making my own fins and glassing them on and have a couple questions about this. I have a cheap set of FCS quads I could trace for a template but I don’t know if this is the best thing to do. I’ve seen quads with 2 fins that look like keels and then 2 normal fins, I figure this will give the board a more retro skatey feel? If so I’d like to try that, but I have absolutely no clue about fin placement, angles, or where to start with the templates. This is the part I need some serious help with currently.
Finally, planning on attempting a glass leash loop but will cross that bridge when it comes. I’d like to tint the board red and have the fins natural wood. For a beginner are there any serious problems with a tint on the first board? Would it be better just to glass it clear?
Sorry for the essay, hopefully I’ll be able to get this board done in the next couple of months and I’ll have you guys to thank!
Adam
EDIT:
Browsing about fins and placement and the canard quad setup looks to be ideal. Got the templates from here and trying to pencil in some placement on my board template just now. Problems I’m facing: Is my template too pulled in at the tail? Could it use another inch or so? Also I think the “butt crack” is possibly too deep at 7.5" but not sure. What actual effect will this have on the board aside from aesthetics :S
Just drew another template with a 13in width from tail tip to tip and 14.5" 8 inches from the tail. Reduced the tail depth to 6". Looks a bit better.
You can also download “AKUshaper” if you want to play around with outline and rockerline.
