Kookstain the process has been a great learning exp. I looked at the same 6’ 1" plans from that site posted when i was searching for an outline to copy. The only reason i didnt go with that process was i wanted to do a 9’ longboard and was unsure if the weight (without chambering) would be too heavy… but if your going to do a 6’, its a very good plan to follow.
Not sure about the drain thing…
Maybe someone else has the answer to that. Is it for as the wood drys it needs a vent? I’m not sure, sorry.
Here are some of the other threads about wood, chambering, glassing etc that were a big help to me. Maybe they’ll be inspiration for you to go down to the lumber yard now…
Also, i did some more research and Epoxy seems the go for a number of reasons. So I’ll go with epoxy.
If anyone else has some advice or input on making a board out of pine, please feel free to jump in contribute. I’ll continue to write down what im doing, but that is hardly a “how-to”, more a “what i’ll do next time”!
Here’s the fin i did using some scrap board lying in a shed. Originally i wanted to do a D-fin, but went with this style as i got a good drawing. Used a jigsaw, then belt sander then hand sanded.
A POINT OF CONCERN HERE:
though the gap that appears in this picture (right rail at base) does not look that big, it is in fact a few mm. And ive noticed that one other outside rail is doing the same thing - like its breaking off the board!
Is this due to moisture in the air?
Is it due to a bad glue job, or poor quality wood?
The big question is this: if i get it glassed, will the board continue to expand and break through? will pine still warp once in an air tight glass job?
I’m a little concerned that if i leave the board outside anymore, the planks will seperate more…
The fin looks great. It should ride well. The only thing is… I hope you don’t have kelp in your area. It looks almost vertical at the base. If you were riding it in California you would have a full stop on every wave.
Yeh, not much kelp beds on northern beaches. but i take your point on the curve of the fin. I’ll adjust next one.
I had another look at past boards done and the fact that most shapers only sand to about 80 grit, so that the glass bonds better. I had sanded to 120 grit, so i went back over the real smooth surface with 80 grit. hope that does the trick.
I am concerned with the fractures, though small ones. we will see in a few days what effect it has on the glass job.
Board is at glassers now. Was told it would be ready by middle next week.
I didnt glass for a few reasons
time: my wife is due any day with our first child and i didnt have time to research, gather equip, plan glassing area, then DO the glassing/sanding etc.
experience: i just spent the last 4 months shaping this thing, i’m not gambling on my rushed glass job to do it any justice.
exposure: taking the advice from more knowledgeable people here, the small fractures in the board (due to moisture?) need to be sealed sooner rather than later.
toxic elements: I dont have the knowledge nor the area to deal with the toxic elements of the glassing process
With more time in the coming months to research glassing, and with the posibility of getting a better area to work in - i will give glassing a crack. not just yet. Also, i’m anxious to see it done, and surf it.
If you use pine, the nature of the grain and the propensity to warp as moisture content (MC) diminishes mean 2 things…try to start with pine that is as dry as possible…but that is not always possible. The other thing is to laminate the final shape as quickly as possible. The thin grain layer that is on the rail edge is newly exposed after rail shaping and begins to dry on wood that is not MC stable already. Thus it may warp right off. Cedar is a much better grain, thinner and more MC stable throughout, than pine.
The other tip is on your chambering the blank and shaping through to the chambers. If you use modest chambers to leave extra room, you increase the weight significantly. So try this. Just spot glue the wood into a blank. Shape very close to final shape. Break the spot glue points and then chamber the pieces. Glue back togther with full gluing being very careful to properly realign the pieces,especially along the rocker line. Then perform final shaping and sanding.
If i look at pine in a rack at a shop - are there signs of the wood not dry enough? Or is the situation of just buying from boutique timber yards.
Ive read that Richard Mc buys wood and then stacks it in his garage for a few months… Obviously my purchase of cheap pine from Bunnings (Like the US Home Depot) was not ideal.
My understanding was that pine is the cheapest and lightest wood that can be used… Is Cedar comparable?
I also did some research last night about whether the board needed an air vent due to the chambering and the increased possibility of delam due to the movement of heated up air. What i got from that was there were two camps: those that swear by it, and those that don’t. There were those who shaped, glassed and surfed an unvented board with no troubles; but then the same guy would shape, glass and surf another board similar - and it would delam. What Roy Powers said was that if your leaving your board out in the sun all the time, riding it everyday, and the chambers are all connected - then put in a vent. Others like Jim Philips and co were not that fussed. What that said to me was - do it if you want, its not an absolute rule. so i wont put a vent in as, for starters, my chambers are all over the place, not uniform. So a vent would be useless for the other areas.
I asked to NOT have a leash plug, but there was a miscommunication and one was put on. i dare say that i’d loose my leg if i put one one in larger surf.
I think the glass job look great, as some of you said pine would. the grains and knots all come up beautifully. Now i didnt glass this, so im not giving myself a rap.
nice knot. just one layer of 6 oz each side.
The sucker weights in at 37 kg!!
There was three coats of resin before glassing as the wood soaked up the coats.
The guy who glassed it was not too keen on the epoxy route; and after looking into it more there are plenty of experienced wood shapers that use poly resin and not epoxy - all depends in the oily wood they say… Well, mine was crap Bunnings (Home Depot) pine and this was glassed in poly: we shall see what happens.
Jon @ Chaos Surfboards in Brookvale, NSW was very accomidating and helpful in the info and the process. Ive met a few shaper/glassers whose taciturn nature very rarely made things helpful. Jon seemed pretty amused by the process and has himself made some nice fins for his own boards. Thanks Jon.
And… just born 3 days ago, and the reason for me rushing to get this project over:
Our first. Reuben.
My next project is in my head, but time now for more important things…
Hope you all enjoy the photos. I will post photos later of its maiden voyage! Hope it doesnt sink.
That is a damn fine looking board! And a super-cute kid!
As for the leash thing, if you do use a leash (crowded day or whatever), might think about a knee leash on that board as it puts much less strain on the knee since it doesn’t have the whole length of your lower leg to torque on. Almost wrecked my knee once with an ankle leash on a big board on a big day. Switched to a knee leash, and no more problems, even on much bigger days.
Yeh, a bit concerned that i’ll lose my leg or get the femoral head pulled out of my hip!
Years ago i rode a Skip Frye 10ftr and it took me a quite a few waves to get used to the weight, i was trying to turn it quickly and the thing wouldnt go. This pine board is much heavier so i’ll just have to do a very slow drawn out bottom turn and just go…
I’m pretty excited to get it wet; but i’m happily wedded to the new bub for the next little while. Its not easier than it looks, just more worth while. I feel a whole world of wood working ideas have been opened up by doing this project. Its a stoke much similar to surfing.
I hope this thread has helped those who are complete beginiers with no wood work experience. Read my mistakes, then go to other threads and learn the better techniques.
Nice job wakeboris! I always love the way wood grain comes alive with a finish on it.
I have been thinking of what a good project a chambered wood board would be for a while now. Balsa is hard to get here in Canada and expensive so have been pondering alternatives.
37kg is pretty heavy though… Do you think that there would have been more room for chambering? Enough to make much of a difference?
Yeh, heavy board. the only reason i went with pine was balsa and paulownia wood was too expensive for me as an ameteur.
Maybe you have some light/cheap wood near you. I asked someone about Cedar but no response as yet.
With the chambering - heaps more room to chamber about a 1/3 more out. My major MISTAKE was to chamber the wood, and then glue up, then shape. WRONG.
And i knew it was wrong, but i didnt have any help in moving the heavy bugger while shaping it.
Every thread you’ll see will tell you to spot glue - shape - THEN chamber, then glue up. Had i been able to do this, i reckon i could have taken another 10kgs off; so it would have only been 27kg!! ha ha.
You know what really inspired me to do a wood board in the first place…? It was when i was visiting your homeland in Canada! my sister lives on Vancouver Island in Victoria and there’s all this drift wood lying on the beach all twisted and coloured a beautiful grey. And i was imagining making a board out of all the drift wood… Its lighter, at least thats what i thought. maybe you could do it in free driftwood…! I mean, some of these suckers laying on the beach were like 6 feet by 3 feet big, or maybe glue up the little ones together. I dont know, im too experienced with wood and the qualities of long term water drenched wood. Would it work? Anyone know? before i lug my tools over to Canada on my next visit.
Hope you get the stoke to do your project bro. whatever you use.
