And - building on the cheap… Tell me your story. No aps 2000, no puter involved! Just good old Art and American craftsmanship.
Folk’s, would any of you shape one on saw horses!? I decided to-bcuz I am zonked and nearly zapped of funds these days due to high rents…But today I’m stoked! I got most of my wood to construct my saw horses together. I bought two spendy blanks, and I have to make myself some c shaped thin plywood calipers etc…but man, I’m living the dream!!! I feel almost, as if, I stepped into a bygone era of surfing… I feel the spirit of stoked surfer’s guiding me in this direction… I even want to build a 50’s -60’s log! Anyhow, do any of you build off of dated means? Or use saw horses, garbage cans etc., to build off of? I’m also currently on a shoestring budget - so if I want to shape, I have not a choice but to shape on the cheap! I even got half spin template started, one on poster board-I’m also - later on going to splurge and make my main templates. Ok, I got a photo I took bcuz I want my fellow surfer, or would be surfer to enjoy this phenomenal sport! We are primates, we are athletes, we should build the best we can with whatever we got! So here’s what I got for a mere $8.00 bucks w coupon at Ace hardware! I hope that one of you - who wanted that five finner-but couldn’t afford it - to build the board of your dreams! Or if you been eager to build a log-but can’t seem to muster up the energy, or funds to get proper tools - here you go! Now let’s learn from past - to - present in order to discover - the future! Peace
Good for you. This world has gotten too dependent on technology. Last night my iPad crapped out, this morning the cell phone ran out of power. Throw away the CNC, the ultra elite planner, and fancy shaping racks. Bring out the draw knife, the batten, and don’t forget the single 40w overhead light. Primal shaping!
Glad to hear I’m not alone in my quest to build board’s! I got kinda a wide( 25" inches!) :0 Fish blank, and I’m going to transform a fish type - into an amalgamation of ideas…roll in belly, flat epicenter along length of my board…a pretty large panel v… and kinda a pinched rail with a slope! I’m really going to focus on my tail kick -as my nose rocker looked good natural. I think I’m also going to lessen my v to a medium/hard level, and roll the spine on v a sliver…and maybe kick up the tail a notch. But I won’t know until I get a straight edge to look her over…But if i do, I’ll do the same type of “kick tail” I thought might work on three boards I built awhile back. I put a bend at 12" up from tip of tail on bottom… and you’ll get a slight bump or mound up board at bend point…I take a surform or sanding block and scrub, scrub scrub! And blend until it’s a smooth flow with the innate natural rocker. So far it works better than what I tried in a surfboard shaping book! That’s the coolest thing about Surfing! Our needs will dictate what we want to ride.Anyway, I gotta run down to a lumber yard to see if i can find scrap thin plywood to make my calipers w wingnut.
Surfifty- the thing I like about hands on is: you get to “experiment” , you get to learn about design, you actually - get to make a board with your very own grubbies! But I can see computerized machine’s for large companies that have huge output. But forget about having any fun shaping! Bcuz the machine does most of it…
Must be a stone axe and smoothed out with a shaperpend edge ofa shell and maybe some volcanic rock and sand. You could also make a varnish from tree sap.
Hi Carl! I have seen one of your shapes - it looked like it would be fun to surf! I think it was a five ten quad? Do you shape in sc? FYI I’m near Marina beach south of Moss Landing.
Gentlemen - I don’t mind so.much the jokes, but I’d prefer talking about building from a shoestring budget, improvising methods you thought of etc…but I do wish you all well and…if anyone can tip me on about a 9’6" x 22.5" nose rider dims k! Tia and I’m praying to the surf God’s we will all get great fun waves here soon!
I wouldn’t attempt to build without a proper rack. But hand tools, no problem. I don’t use the planer much, except for skinning the blank. Other than that, I mainly shape with a sureform.
Here’s my friend Bruce on his homemade 8 footer. He recently retired it, after 25 years, and built a couple more. He builds by hand. No planer. No power sanders. No router (he chisels the foam/stringer out for his fin box!).
Oh, and he owns a huge professional contractor’s shop full of tools. But builds his boards by hand. He marches to the beat of his own drum.
Huck - I hear you but…I had made real shaping stands around thirty yrs ago… sadly my landlord thought it was junk and removed them. But ya know when I shaped a few I didnt like using the " u" in stands much anyhow. I planed the bottom to thickness first, after draw n out template and sawing it out… . Then started turning rails in the u but I didnt get into it…I felt more comfy putting board flat on stands…much simpler! The only real issue is screening rails, but I figured out a way! I can slide the blank over to side of my saw horses to screen…but I will have to stand and walk along the sides almost like glassing.trust me ive done it before. It’s really a slight inconvenience is all. Later when I get more fundage, I can get to banging out 2x4 stand. Cool pic there! Anyhow, I had a terrible yr last yr. Work was slow as hell, I got burglarized, and I finally got a doable plan. Trust me, ive built four backyard build and had zero issues
Selling or giving board to friends. I wish I took pics so you’d know im not bs n! I’m not dirt poor, but I am on a shoestring budget. We ate chili dogs for dinner one day. And had breakfast burrito in the am! Lol. But I blew my wad on two awsum blanks and I eAgerly can’t wait to shape one! If any of you happen to reside in Monterey bay and want to shape - I got planer, blocks etc…hell,.I could even host a build party! And I know sum bat chit good places to test board’s. My last spot was “surf way” near seaside…not very juicy. But good enough to test board. A better spot is manresa beach or head to Santa Cruz…
I geuss I could bang out sum stands, but then I will have to get sand or cement, or make a wood frame.But the saw horses r how the boy’s must have built them before - so I want to walk that path - until time + funds are available.
That’s real cool that you and friend - shape board’s with whatever tools and skills you have.
im with ya on surforming! I’m still shaking my head, but in 5 hrs I actually shaped my board with mostly a surform! It took my rails down ok. Just slow. I power plane rails now tho.:I
My exposure to surfboard shops began in the mid 50’s. Skil 100’s were in common use, block planes, and sanding blocks. In 1959/60 there was a change from belt sanders, to the disc sanders in use today. Shaping racks were essentially the same as in use today. For the hand shaper, shaping boards from scratch, very little has changed. And yes, I have shaped a few boards on sawhorses. It’s doable, but far from ideal. My roots go back to balsa. First one with drawknife, hand planes, and sandpaper. Deeper roots would involve redwood and spruce planks. I’m sure the plank era involved common use of sawhorses, but not the 50’s and 60’s. Things were not as primative, in those years, as your imagination leads you to believe.
My shaping stand was built in an afternoon using scrap lumber headed for the landfill. I later tuned it up, added braces and some camping pad cushion I got at a yardsale. Low cost, low tech, but plumb level and square, wouldn’t want to try to shape a board without 'em. I add a couple 2x4 scraps on top, and they’re also my glassing stand. Been with me since board #1.
Not saying it couldn’t be done, but sawhorses would be too low for me, and wouldn’t allow me to work the blank the way I want. To each their own.
But I like working by hand, its part of the therapeutic process for me. I have power sanders aplenty, but prefer hand sanding with a block. I have no problem shaping with a planer, but prefer to slow the process down, since every board I build is a prototype, better if I take my time.
I use plenty of power tools in my day job as a contractor, and I use plenty of power tools in surfboard building too. But there’s just a lot of stuff I do by hand just because that’s the zone I’m in, I like the process as much as the product.
When I moved to my house I had a samll crawspace under my house. Not high enough to stand, but enough room to store things like my boards. I shaped 2 boards under there on a box while on my knees. They were EPS compsands and I only used manual tools. I dug that area out by hand by myself and made a enough space to shape and glass while standing up. I use a B&D workbench to hold a shaping rack or a glassing rack. The amount of wood used to make the shaping/sanding and glassing racks is less than what it would take to make 2 saw horses.
-Carl
