Hello, Thinking of going for a Grain wooden board kit…the Lovelace Thick lizzy model. Does anyone have experience/hearsay with Grain kits and/or the Lovelace Thick lizzy ? Thanks
No personal knowledge but they’ve been around awhile, and pretty sure they’re the biggest name in wood kits. But I would ask over at www.woodboardforum.com, just to hear what the wood guys have to say. Brad Tucker posts over there, and he has some pretty popular kits out too, IIRC.
I did one back in 2012. The pieces were machined well and the instructions were clear and easy to follow. My only concern was that the curves in the nose and tail didn’t flow very well. The nose was a bit wonky and when I did the tail I substituted a solid block between the deck and bottom shins and that turned out very nice. I didn’t use the epoxy resin that was supplied. The shame of it all is after I glassed the board Super Storm Sandy hit and I have yet to install the fin box. Perhaps some time soon since the house is now finished.
Thanks Huck. Surfifty, glad your house is together again. Odd, I did construction…back in the day; I’d feel more confident starting a house than a hollow wooden board, without the hand holding ! Do you think I can put in side bites, as the kit is a single fin ? Thanks
Side bites can be installed. You would need to place blocks into the board before glueing on the top. Be sure to map out the blocks so you can find them when installing the plugs for the fins.
I’ve never built a HWS board, but if I did I’d use Huck’s method of doing the frame first
Beyond the boards Danny Hess makes, Ive never seen (in person) a hollow wood board that looks as if it was worth the effort. They always look like they have mashed potatoes for rails and no foil.
Id say make a solid wood board and chamber it.
As Huck mentioned it before (Thanks Huck!), I would like you to have a look at www.woodboardforum.com. since I’m administrator there (Nickname Olddude), I’m sure, you will get all the information you need there!
I personally never build from a kit, but a kit should be a good way to start. Brad Tucker sells kits, Grain sells kits, there may be others out too. finally there will be differences, but in general you get some cutted wood, put together a frame, plank deck and bottom and attach rails. This is an easy way, known as a solid rail build. There are several variations and methods, but I urge you to start with an easy shape, a kit and “solid-rails”.
I’m not really a shaper, I claim myself more a builder and I never build with a kit. If you want to invest a little time, get yourself a version of the CAD board building software BoardCad.
Its quite self explanatory and you can create your own boards, copy existing boards, change slighty boards of others etc. Finally with board cad, and eventualy another program, you can print your own plans. If you have the plans, you basically have the same as buying a kit, because you just need to use the plan, transfer it to wood and cut it out. The advantage is, you can choose your own wood. And if you have access to balsa wood for a reasonable price, you do not really need very special tools, because balsa cut easily, even with a knife. A jigsaw is more or less all you need, even as a hand tools. A saw, and sandpaper and glue is all you need, with more tool its more convenient of course, like a nice plane etc.
Do not be afraid of the build itself, neither kit nor with BoardCad. Of course it is somethingnew, but the only thing you need is a little time and a little fun working with wood and/or creating something. Building a woody, especially with balsa (or pauwlonia wood) is not really difficult, you learn with each build, of course, but even your first board will ride and the feeling of riding your own board first time, compares to nothing ever experienced in surfing, you just should not start with something fancy, just build an easy shape with basic deck and bottom and rail contours.
Attached the pic and a link to my last build, the design process happened here on sways.
https://www.woodboardforum.com/forum/design/workshop-tool-ideas/7412-6‘6“-single-fin
This is my first build ever, a balsa board, chambered:
You may recognize a little progress
This is mymost complicated, you can find here on Sways too:
https://www.woodboardforum.com/forum/design/workshop-tool-ideas/5597-my-new-project
As stated … in person.
I think your method is somewhat like Danny’s.
And the end products seem to be exceptions, not the rule.
Huck’s boards are one of the best examples of Artistic “Form and Function” ever created in wood. If I remember he tried to do an Online Instructional of his method. If Stickley and Shaker furniture are art, Huck’s boards are on another level.
Great advice and info.
Thnx, I love building wood boards, even tho my daily drivers are all from foam blanks, and it’s been awhile since I finished a wood board.
Hollow wood boards generally meet with a certain negativity here. Not without reason, although usually from those who never built one.
Hollow wood boards, from planks layed over a “fish bones” framework, are wildly impractical to build, in comparison with shaping a blank. They are also less practical as a daily driver, in my opinion, because of the way they need venting, and can take in water from a single ding. And they tend to finish up at a significantly heavier weight than your average foam and glass board (tsk tsk).
You can criticize the way they (sometimes) look, I’ve seen some doozies myself, proudly displayed right here on swaylocks. But in fairness I’ve seen ugly shapes carved from foam, too.
The truth is, because they are built up from the inside out, they can actually be any shape the builder is capable of visualizing and building. But the process isn’t easy, and sometimes the final shape becomes a less than perfect compromise.
They are an exercise in problem solving, patience and perseverance, rewarding to those who like to be challenged in those areas. But prohibitively frustrating to others. You gotta decide where you fit in that spectrum.
The wood board forum, mentioned by two of us so far, will provide you with moral support and seasoned advice aplenty, if that’s what you want.
Also, I would be remiss if I neglected to mention my fellow swaylocks member Paul Jensen, the ‘godfather of the hollow wood surfboard’, who also (IIRC) sells plans for his designs, and puts on workshops too. http://www.hollowsurfboards.com
Whatever you decide, I wish you the best, amigo!
Wow ! Thanks everyone. Doing more research, there’s even a debate on another site about router vs. lazer cut struts for these hollow boards/kits. So it’s a summer job…can’t be more difficult than the few years I’ve tortured myself trying to learn french.Thanks again.
Yeah that is torture I’m sure. How do you order a taco in French?
I have been trying to learn Spanish for awhile now, wood surfboards are easier! You just can’t rush it, take your time and enjoy the process.
Huck is right its much easier than a language. In the last 3 years I started from nothing and build 8 wooden boards, but it took me 35 years to learn a reasonable english, a good italian, a french to survive in France and some phrases portuguese…
Get yourself some plans and a scroll saw and start your project, or buy a kit and just start, the sooner the better. you will need much time, but not because you have to fight carving, sawing, working directly on the wood, but waiting for the different glues to dry and harden… As said, use balsa or paulownia first, because its easy to handle. If you mastered the first one, its up to you, if ever and how to proceed. And finally, if you do not calculate your work, what you should never do with a hobby, its cheap. Having bought the basic tools, an average board, even made with paulownia or balsa, at least here in Germany ist sowewhere between 150 and 200€ or $. This includes the wood, glue, glass, epoxy, sandpaper, rubber gloves, brushes and rollers etc…
go for it, and join us here and on woodboardforum.com
English: I would like to have a taco, please
French: Je voudrais un taco, s’il vout plait
Italian Vorrei un taco, por favore
Portuguese: queria um taco, por favor
German: Ich möchte einen Taco, bitte
Very good.