Fist board shaping and glassing documenting! (photos)

Last week i started shaping my first board (on my 19th bday), didnt take me long to decide that i wanted a lis-style fish…i bought the blank and tools etc etc and the next day i had a big foam fish in my room.

today i started glassing, i was going to have someone glass it for me, but decided after reading alot of posts here that it was possible for me to do it, and it would be cheaper in the end. i glassed the bottom this morning, and just finished the top…what an experience!!!

enough talk, heres my fishy in progress!



photos cont…top and bottom (lam coat only so far).


nice board how long did it take you to shape it and did you watch any shaping movies?

didnt watch any movies…just read some stuff on here for a few days and also read the stuff on www.surfersteve.com, which helped a lot.

i shaped it in an afternoon, 6 hours total, with a break or two thrown in. it was my birthday activity and present to myself…very very fun!

happy birthday mate !

congratulations .

A red ?pigment? / tint? on your first board…I’m impressed. [it was pigment , yes ?]

Did you use epoxy or polyester resin ? [I ask because of the smell …were your neighbours cool about it ? I hope so]

let us know how it rides, eh ?

ben

[I like this “stoked grin” photo of you , next to the shaped blank…

…what “Swaylocks” is all about to me …sharing your stoke ! Thanks for posting those shots mate!]

I think that’s awesome for your first.

thanks for the compliments guys! nice to hear that its not a failure!!!

its a red pigment…i wanted a lot darker red, like a “romantic” red, if you could call it that…but i couldnt find any fast enough, so bright red it is…“it” is red, as well as parts of the carpet…the bedroom…bathroom door…and porch too…yikes!

the graphics arent done yet, ive still got more in store for that, it should be pretty cool…and its not going to be a gloss finish either, itll be the sanded finish…should look alright, im excited to see it when its done…and try it out too :wink:

Good on you, and happy birthday. There’s something about red that just goes…well…everywhere!

Well done, good first effort.

Hope you have fun riding it.

thanks again…forgot to mention that its polyester resin…i messed up pretty good on the bottom side cause i didnt really realize that it was supposed to all soak into the cloth…so ive got a few spots that are super thick and ugly…but the board should be done by sunday!

in that case, by a respirator…a dust mask doesn’t cut it around mekp

the masks i got have a carbon type filter thing in it that i cant remember the name of…it did pretty well today.

surferguy,

Great board. It’ll jam. I shaped a board today for my b-day, too. What are you going to do for fins? Mike

Looking good!

Why did I wait until I was over 40?

Ray

happy birthday!

for fins i aaaaam…uh…well…probly going to buy the only pair that fiberglass hawaii has, which are glassons…i dont have much of a choice at the moment cause i want to finish the board tomorrow, but ill do the twin keel setup, about even with the buttcrack, i think 1/4 in. toe in and no (crap…i forgot the word for the angle of the fins)…pretty simple.

what kinda board did you shape?

todays progress!!!

a little progression of a WAY better turnout than i could have hoped for…im pumped to get this thing done now!


aaaaand the finished product!

and as for fins…the shops were all closed early today, i had to get creative for lack of impatience and the desire to have a board which is COMPLETLEY mine! one fin down, one fin to go.

special thanks to my girlfriend for helping as well!



good job surf !

four Q’s : -

  1. legrope plug / leash loop ?

  2. will your lady ride it too ?

  3. will you be sanding your keels ? How many layers glass each side on them ?

    cheers !

    ben

Surferguy,

Lookin good. Glad you made your own keels, too. Mines a 5’11" single fin. Mike

hey ben, i glassed the fins last night, one layer of 6 on each side, and a thick rope along the edges of the fin.

i dont have ANY power tools, so they were shaped with a dull arse surform…took me over two hours for each fin just to carve them out…sheew!

for the leash plug…thats to be decided still, i dont have a drill or a router so my options are semi limited…ill probably go with one of the o’fishl stick on plugs that you epoxy on…not too classy, but i dont want to make one of those loops…unless its easier than it looks?

the lady may ride it…shell most likley take over my longboard on the days that i dont want it. she boogie boards more than she surfs though…only problem is she cant swim :slight_smile:

latest progress (pics later): fins glassed and sanded, and the hotcoat is on both the top and bottom, i need to sand it down a bit, and then touch up any holes that are still in there, then sand it a little more and go surfing!!!