I like seeing beginning to end build threads. Gets me stoked to make a board. Really liked foamhack’s thread. Gave me some ideas for doing my next board. Welp here is my next board. It is for my friend’s son. He gave my boys three buckets of legos, and is a pretty good surfer. He is about 95lbs and 5’. This is my first grom board and had no clue how things scale for something like this. Used the search got to Barnfield’s advice on rocker, sounded good to me. Used a special rocker copying device with translucent adhesive mounted marking device. That got me the rail rocker from one of his favorite boards, as a baseline.
From there made hotwire rocker template. I had some blanks from a friend, and split them in four with ‘hot saw’. Then put them sideways and cut out the rocker. On my last board, I glued everything together, then tried to cut with the hot wire. For me doing the rocker first then gluing was easier. He wanted red glue, so put some pigment in the gorilla glue, and have had red hands for the past week.
Cut out the template today. Hopefully do the rails and boxes this weekend.
Also ignore the pointy nose, wanted to wait till last minute to cut it out, since it is pretty thin up there.
melikefish, what are the dims ?? i am starting a grom size board next week, and have been researching the archives for help, il definitely be watching this build!
Love it!
Post on progress please!
Thanks guys, this is a pretty good learning experience for me.
The board dimensions are
5’2" and 1 7/8" thick
The width from the stringer is
5" @ 6", 6 3/4"@1’, 8.5"@2’, 8 5/16"@3’, 6 7/16" @4’, 1 11/16 @ 5’
Smallest board I ever (hand) shaped. Half Indo guy who’s tiny, asked for a board to do airs on…5’0" x 18 3\4" 2 1\8"… I called it the man child…
The man child rips too so it was a bit intimidating making him a board, but pretty stoked when he said he liked it…(thats not my board, he just took it to bali so hopefully he comes back with some shots)
Here’s another tiny one for a girl who surfs well, 5’4’’ x 18 1/2’’ x 2 1/8’'. Could suit a grommet in good waves…
I used a roller to put that colour on, didn’t come out so clean…
Nice work Marsh. Really like the outlines. For comedic purposes, I rode one of his boards, it was a pretty funny sight, I weigh 180lbs, still managed to get a wave though.
I remade my hotwire rail cutter, and it works well. Had to make sure the wire is right in the middle.
Very nice Jason!!!
I attempted to use resin to paint. Put some tape lines on it. Laminated top and bottom. Will get to sanding and hotcoat later this week. I think next time I will try the fast and final to smooth out the blank prior to painting epoxy on. Also I didn’t use any of those cheap china brushes on this board, and had a much better time glassing. I just used a 6in mini roller to get the epoxy coat on the foam, and a squeege for lamination. I picked up some rollers from west marine specifically for epoxy and will try those on the hotcoat.
For any of interest,
for the fins I did
3.25" for center fin
the back ones had 1/8" toe in were about 4 3/4" up and 3 1/4" from the center
the front fins had 1/4" toe in, were about 10 5/8" up and 5 1/4" from the center (seemed like alot of toe in to me, but checked out several of his boards, and that was what the doctor ordered)
Since there is no official stringer, I went a little heavy on glass. I did a layer of 4oz E glass up to midway on board at a 45deg angle. Then did a layer of 4oz S with a generous rail wrap.
For the top I did a deck patch of 6oz E, and topped that with 4 oz S.
The board feels pretty solid, I am curious how well the deck will hold up.
Alright, Alright,…
Finished it Saturday Morning, and went surfing with him and his dad in Town on Sunday, and got some of that fine S. Swell action. To be honest two things worried me about the board,
- .25 toe in on the front fins
- no stringer
Turns out he was pretty stoked about the board, and surfed it well. It feels pretty good to surf a board you make for yourself, but that was the first board I made for someone else, and he was really happy with it. Can’t beat that! He said it only required a little weight shift to turn, and went fast. He also said he didn’t feel the board flop like a loose noodle. It stayed rigid. I glassed it with 6oz Eglass at a 45 degree angle and covered it with 4oz s glass on top,
and a layer of 4oz E covered with 4oz S on bottom. That was enough to keep it pretty stiff. It felt really light also. So turns out, no stringer and .25 toe in worked fine.
I will followup in a couple of months with some pictures to show how well it has held up.
Glad there was all the information on this site, and helpful epoxy pointers by everysurfer, stingray, and oneula, and many more. Once again I will say, making my own surfboards, gives me a true appreciation for the real shapers, that can put out 20 flawless boards in the time it takes me to make one good board, that you can look close, and see my eyelash, and the legs from a mosquito in the board.
Although I think I pushed the limit with my wife, I was putting a glosscoat on Friday night to do it when the temp was dropping, and didn’t want to get a bunch bugs in it , so I did it in my kitchen. It is a fine line…
Looks clean as mate.
I like it !
Got a chance to surf with my buddy and his son last weekend. I did a followup with him and asked about how the board had held up. Overall still stoked about the board.
The part I was really happy with, is that there aren’t any noticeable pressure dents. The board has held up pretty well. My friends son is a pretty good surfer, and does not take it easy on his boards.
For the deck I had put the 6oz e cloth at a 45deg to 4oz S cloth. That plus epoxy and it is pretty bullet proof. Thanks everyone for the advice.
Most of the boards I’ve made over the past couple of years have been from 5’2 to 5’6. Definately a challenge particularly to get the rocker right. They are also extra delicate when shaping and glassing when they are this small and thin.
Hi Jason, don’t know how I missed this the first time around. Great job on that board.
Hey Mako,
Saw your boards you had made for your boys on here. They all looked really good. Just wondering how old were you kids when you made them there first board? My son just turned 6, and I was thinking of making him one, but wasn’t sure what is a good shape/size. He weighs about 50-60 pounds.
I had him try the my friends son’s board, similar to the one above, and it seemed to small and tipsy for him.
Thanks Sharkcountry.
We all went surfing out in Ewa. The waves were double over ankle, but my friend let my ride one of his pretty nice longboards.
Out in Japan right now. This is going to be the longest time I have gone without surf in a while. Let me know if you guys want anything from out here. I was going to look and see if they have any good material I can bring back with me.