Hello Matthew1,
What i´am going to tell you is based on my personal experience.
This is how i got to handshape with much more confidence then jumping straight at it.
So here we go. And the reason i choose to do it this way is mainly the cost of the materials vs how much you waste by doing mistakes.
When i started cnc machines were a reality so i used the wharehouse from shape3dx and chose a very small board with some volume i think a 5.6 x 21 x 2.5. (small board less resin, less cloth, less material)
i went to the factory and bought the blank and ordered the cut.
i cleaned the machine lines and laminated it. did it with glass on fins and a leash loop (this way i didn´t had to buy fin plugs, leash plugs and other tools).
it turned out pretty good and i learned lamination on the process, sold it fast for the cost of materials and was ready to order another blank cuted on the cnc machine.
i repeated the process about 4 times (more 4 boards, a 6.1 a 6.3 a 6.7 and a 7.0 midlenght) each board i added something of dificulty to it (leash plugs, fin plugs, decals, painted rails etc…)
i sold this boards pretty fast (sold only by the cost of materials) each board turned out better with less mistakes.
after those 4 or 5 pre cut blanks on the cnc i took a shot at handshaping ( used only a eletric planer and a sanding block) the results where good (i guess, not assuming) because i already had built some confidence from the previous experience with the machine cuts.
i choose this process because all the first try hand shapes i saw from my friends didn´t really look good (mainly has to do with the laminations and sanding)
Well by no means assume this is the best way, it is the path i choose to make it work out on a budget. And very import cnc machines will never replace the class and elegance of a handshaped board.
list of tools i bought or build in the meantime and the ones i think you might need:
just for lamination on the pre-cut with glass on and leash loop:
sanding block
squegge
sand papers grit 180 grit 220
lamination with fin plugs and leash plug
all the above
a shaper square
a router with a 1/2 inch bit
a fcs 2 router template for the fins
something to measure the angle of the fins
a frostner bit for the leash plug
Hand shaping tools i needed:
all of the above
a saw
electric planner
calliper scissors to measure the thick of the blank
a 90º piece of wood with grit to square the rails.
i hope this was helpfull
if you have any questions pleas do ask
i send you a photo of the board i first handshaped also for your apreciation
Cheers and good waves
The internet is ful of tutorials like many people said before greenlight is a good resourse and blendingcurves.com along many others
