Hey guys, I figured I’d post this to see what yall think and also to ask a question or two. For the last few years I’ve really wanted to start building my own boards, and just recently I’ve been able to start actually building them. I didn’t have the funds to get a foam blank or resin and all that jazz so I decided I’d build an alaia because wood is cheap or free haha. I ended up using cedar because it’s not that expensive here (idk about elsewhere).
Anyways I ended up using 5 1x4x8’ boards glued together with titebond 3, I unfortunately don’t have any pics of the beginning or I would post them. While I was getting wood I also picked up a hand plane for 30$ . I ended up using the stuth model by Tom Wegner as inspiration with the wide point 1/4 th from the nose and tapering down to the slim point being 1/4 th from the tail to a slightly wider tail. I have to give a lot of thanks to threads on here cause that’s where I found tons of info on shaping and concave.
Anyways after I glued them together I free handed the outline with some measuring along the way. After the outline was done I used a jigsaw to cut the rough shape and then my hand plane and a sander to get it closer to the desired outline. I didn’t originally plan on having a swallow tail but I like the look of them so I figured why not. After I got the rough shape I started with the hand plane giving the deck a slight roll, most of the boards I’ve seen have pretty sharp rails so I went with that. The deck was probably the easiest part of the build, and I wanted to get comfortable shaping before I attempted the concave.
After I got the deck to its rough shape I started on the concave, it runs 2/3 rds of the way up the board and kinda feathers into a rolled nose. Most of the stuff I read said a concave kinda helps with the board staying under you while paddling and the turning capabilities. So after I got it all rough shaped I used my little hand sander with 50 grit to get it closer to what I wanted the final board to look like. After I got rid of all the little nicks and gouges in then wood I started working to finer and finer grits, once I got to about 120 I took a better look at the board to see how the rails and concave looked. Somehow a mysterious divot appear in the deck, I didn’t know exactly how it got there but I filled it with a little sun cure and that actually worked pretty great.
Once I got it to the right shape I worked it to finer and finer grits. I got it up to 400 and damn it’s smooth haha, I have to say I’m really liking this thing. However I have yet to seal it with something and here is where my question lies, what should I use ? I’ve heard a lot of concoctions using linseed boiled and raw along with gum turps or turpentine, I know I don’t want to glass it because that’s outta my price range. One thing I have heard of and am pretty sure I’m gonna use is the general finishes salad bowl finishes, I’ve seen unclegrumpy recommend it several times. I like it because it seems rather simple to apply. Anyways thanks for reading and any criticism or advice would be much appreciated. Oh and if I had any advice for anyone looking to make a solid wood board AVOID KNOTS they are a pain in the ass hah , thanks - fish
Edit: it’s made of ceder , actually not that heavy maybe 10 lbs. Can’t comment cause I don’t have “points”
