first time shaping

deri · May 4, 2011, 9:48pm

Hello all.

Here is my first attempt at shaping a surfboard.

its 5'8" x 20" x 2 1/2" Fish (will be a twin fin).

I made up my own blank using an old windsurf board and went from there (I wanted to get the feel for shaping and if I made a mess of it I would not have wasted any money!)

next job will be to make the fins and glassing the board.

otis · May 4, 2011, 9:56pm

pics too small to comment adequately

Huck · May 5, 2011, 12:32am

reverb · May 5, 2011, 1:04am

…hello man,

try to reduce the thickness of the stringer

Use a sharp handplane

then a smaller super sharp one and set it very shallow.

if not you ll have several problems in the glass and sand stages.

Then check again everything (simmetry of the planshape, rails both sides, rocker curves, etc)

you can´t hidden errors in the shape with the glass, etc

One stage should be finished at your best until the next one.

-put the shape edgeways on the U of the rack and check the flow of the rails.

tblank · May 5, 2011, 4:01am

Well said Reverb. Deri, this guy knows what he's talking about. Really put your eye on this. If you can't see what he's telling you, post again and ask questions. You've got a start and that's good. Your board just needs refinement. I'd go through the rocker again and check the "flow", smooth out the curves and transitions. Think about how the water will track along your curves. Will it do it smoothly with no ripples or are there anomalies that will interrupt flow and cause turbulence? KEEP GOING!

deri · May 5, 2011, 5:50pm

I can see what you mean about the stringer now that it has been braught to my attention.

Thanks for re-sizeing the pictures!

If you notice too there is a bit of damage to the deck side. What is the best way to fix this before glassing, should I cut a square out and glue a bit of foam in there then sand it flush?

Thanks for the advice and encouragement it is greatly appreciated. This site is a wealth of information.

I'l get on to these issues and take some more pictures (with a camera this time)

pico · May 5, 2011, 6:27pm

Deri,

In addition to what has already been said, with most designs, it is preferable to keep a nice hard edge on the tail section of the board. This means you blend the rail band gradually, but when you get to the tail section don’t touch the rail.

You are off to a good start! Most first timers tend to over shape, but you have some room to refine this one. Keep working on it, but have a purpose in mind everytime you take foam away, you can’t add more thickness back to the blank.

If that chunk of foam is missing, just keep shaping the board as though it isn’t there. It will fill in in the glassing stage. If its dented in, sometimes a heat gun or hairdryer used moderatly will bring it back to the surface.

i.e. rail line at tail

tblank · May 5, 2011, 7:03pm

Hey Deri, if the missing foam is a gouge and not a dent then you can fill it after finish shapeing. Lightweight spackle wil do just fine. Fill gouge and fine sand with a padded block to keep the deck line. Go over the rails again until they are the same like Reverb says and are one smooth line from nose to tail. No dips or bumps. Use a contour gauge.

Furthermore; KEEP GOING!

tblank · May 5, 2011, 7:06pm

Hey Deri, if the missing foam is a gouge and not a dent then you can fill it after finish shapeing. Lightweight spackle wil do just fine. Fill gouge and fine sand with a padded block to keep the deck line. Go over the rails again until they are the same like Reverb says and are one smooth line from nose to tail. No dips or bumps. Use a contour gauge.

Furthermore; KEEP GOING!

??? Sorry dbl dip.

deri · June 10, 2011, 7:55pm

I finally got round to planing the stringger down and getting rid of the roundness on the underside tail section.