first timer, need help.......................

Hey everybody. THis is a great site!!! I never knew there was such a community of shapers who shared their knowledge. I have looked all over for info on boardbuilding and designing. I ive in a town where there are no shapers anymore. THey have all been run out and/or evicted. I am hoping to shape two boards, one as a gift and one for my self. I have found resources as far as tools and blank orders, but does anyone have a few links or words of advice they could offer? I mean, I understand the basics. THe theory, I want to shape a 7’0 gun and a 6’4" thruster and know the dimensions I want. Rails, tail, rocker, where I want more planing, etc. What I don’t know about is glassing. What kind of resin? Just laminating? Can I use a layer of 6oz cloth with 4 on the deck for protection or will it end up being undesireably heavier? Is it rediculous to shape a board without an electric planer? Iam scared shitless of wasting $$ on a board that I shouldn’t have shaped or jumped into without proper knowledge. Will I really save $$ even if I have to order all produsts and pay shipping? And how can I get a nice paint job on the shaped blank? Use acrylic, pigment? Any help would be appreciated and rewarded with good karma from mother ocean via good waves…

You should hook up with the JC videos. They will give you a good foundation of info to work from. There are shaping, glassing and airbrush viedos. All said in done, if you have to buy some tools, materials, and then factor in your time it will not be cheaper to do it yourself. But the feeling of going out for a surf on something you made, well it is hard to put a price tag on that. It is priceless for some, not that big of a deal for others. If you are like me and have something in your head you want to make and you don’t, it will drive you nuts. With close tolerance blanks you do not need to buy a power planer. Just figure out you dimensions and find the blank that fits. A hand saw, a surform, some hand planes, sanding block, some drywall screen and your in there. For the thruster, I would do just the standard-triple 4oz. For the funshape, the 4-4-6 set up is no big deal. Depending on the dimensions, and the type of ride you want, you could go way heavier. Good luck.

shaping 101, glassing 101, airbrushing 101 and a little book called Surfboard by Stephen M. Shaw -that should get you going in the right direction

Thanks alot you all!! I needed a bit of encouragement. I did see the two JC videos. Learned alot. Got some other stuff of the web through ANthony’s boardbuilding links. I am stoked to do this and I do agree, it has been in my head for a while, I was thinking of buying a board from JC, but figured…Why the hell not make my own. I have done loads of ding repair fro shops and freinds but never knew much about shaping. I have all the tools except the planer, and am psyched I am advised not to worry about purchasing/using one. One more question. I take it most of you are in SoCal, but I am in S.C. Have you heard of any clark foam distributers on the east coast??? How would one be able to get wholesale prices, if one understands what I am getting at…

There is a supplier/ foam distributor in North Carolina. This is the website: www.geocities.com/Pipeline/Halfpipe/9483 You may be able to drive and pick the blanks up. If not, shipping will kill you anywhere. It’s pretty expensive. It’s the same price for shipping wether it’s one blank or 2. For the best prices I would go to Fiberglasssupply.com. It’s in Washington state. So find a few friends who want a board. Maybe make a few bucks. good luck

Clark Foam has (had?)an East Coast distributor. Four blanks per box, about $15-$25 per blank per box to ship by truck to your door. Pool your orders with other shapers/shops. Better to find a larger shop that has a shaper who will sell you singles at similar pricing. Either way it’s worth it. I got my last box from CA. via a new carrier and wrote a $20.00 check for shipping! Hope they keep that up. Call 'em and get the details: Clark Foam-(949)582-2000 TS>>> Thanks alot you all!! I needed a bit of encouragement. I did see the two > JC videos. Learned alot. Got some other stuff of the web through ANthony’s > boardbuilding links. I am stoked to do this and I do agree, it has been in > my head for a while, I was thinking of buying a board from JC, but > figured…Why the hell not make my own. I have done loads of ding repair > fro shops and freinds but never knew much about shaping. I have all the > tools except the planer, and am psyched I am advised not to worry about > purchasing/using one.>>> One more question. I take it most of you are in SoCal, but I am in S.C. > Have you heard of any clark foam distributers on the east coast??? How > would one be able to get wholesale prices, if one understands what I am > getting at…

$15-20 huh? Not bad at all!!! I can deal with that. Some sites I looked into were talking about $60 fro shipping. I am trying to get a few people in line who may want to shape/have board shaped. Thanks for the phone ##. I can’t believe how helpful this is. Trying to get this info has been so difficult and confusing and my ducks are lining up like little girls backstage at an INSYNC show…sorry bad joke. I thought of one more question for y’all. How much resin should I consider purchasing and what is the official brand name? I am familliar with many different types for ding repair but what resin is used at what quantity for initial glassing?

i beeelieeve the resin is the Sylmar/silmar type (spelled something like that). buy some laminating resin, sanding resin can be made by mixing the lam resin and surfacing agent, and the quantity depends on how big your board is.>>> $15-20 huh? Not bad at all!!! I can deal with that. Some sites I looked > into were talking about $60 fro shipping. I am trying to get a few people > in line who may want to shape/have board shaped. Thanks for the phone ##. > I can’t believe how helpful this is. Trying to get this info has been so > difficult and confusing and my ducks are lining up like little girls > backstage at an INSYNC show…sorry bad joke. I thought of one > more question for y’all. How much resin should I consider purchasing and > what is the official brand name? I am familliar with many different types > for ding repair but what resin is used at what quantity for initial > glassing?

BG: I checked one of my blank boxes later last night, Clark shows a Melbourne (Beach?) Fla. address as their E.Coast address. Buy Silmar S249A. I find it economical to buy in 5 gal. pails. I pour it off into 1 gallon metal cans with a popup plastic lid. I mix up 1 gallon of UV resin at a time this way. S249A Silmar is a laminating resin, buy a gallon of “surfacing agent” (wax solution), a bottle of catalyst (I still set off my fill coats and gloss coats with catalyst) and maybe a can of styrene for thinning depending on your climate. Resin is heavy to ship, try to find a supplier locally to save on the shipping costs. The cost of shipping one blank by truck is the same as shipping one box which holds 4 blanks. It’s a mileage/volume based cost matrix. TS>>> $15-20 huh? Not bad at all!!! I can deal with that. Some sites I looked > into were talking about $60 fro shipping. I am trying to get a few people > in line who may want to shape/have board shaped. Thanks for the phone ##. > I can’t believe how helpful this is. Trying to get this info has been so > difficult and confusing and my ducks are lining up like little girls > backstage at an INSYNC show…sorry bad joke. I thought of one > more question for y’all. How much resin should I consider purchasing and > what is the official brand name? I am familliar with many different types > for ding repair but what resin is used at what quantity for initial > glassing?

So I need five whole gallons per board? Do I need some sort of liscence if this is shipped to me, or can I purchase this stuff at a boat store, cuz lord knows there are enoug of those around here… ps: tahnks for the time and help on this matter… > BG:>>> I checked one of my blank boxes later last night, Clark shows a Melbourne > (Beach?) Fla. address as their E.Coast address. Buy Silmar S249A. I find > it economical to buy in 5 gal. pails. I pour it off into 1 gallon metal > cans with a popup plastic lid. I mix up 1 gallon of UV resin at a time > this way. S249A Silmar is a laminating resin, buy a gallon of > “surfacing agent” (wax solution), a bottle of catalyst (I still > set off my fill coats and gloss coats with catalyst) and maybe a can of > styrene for thinning depending on your climate. Resin is heavy to ship, > try to find a supplier locally to save on the shipping costs. The cost of > shipping one blank by truck is the same as shipping one box which holds 4 > blanks. It’s a mileage/volume based cost matrix.>>> TS

1 to 1.5 gallons depending on what length board you are doing ane with or without glossing. Again, I use the same lam resin throughout and mix my own hotcoat/gloss by adding the separate components. The 5 gallons was assuming you were going to do more than one in the next 3-4 months. Try to buy the resins and additives at a local supply to save on shipping the weight. Tom>>> So I need five whole gallons per board? Do I need some sort of liscence if > this is shipped to me, or can I purchase this stuff at a boat store, cuz > lord knows there are enoug of those around here… ps: tahnks for the > time and help on this matter…