Hi guys I’m doing a 5’10 quad fish
My rails just doesn’t look right and I messed it up I have uneven rails, it just seems so boxy. I don’t wanna countinue to shape the board because I’m scared I gonna make it to thin . Does the nose on the deck have to be round off?
can u please see some of my pics I post up and tell me what I need to do?
It Just doesn’t look good. It’s my first try at shaping.
Thanks guys.
Not a bad first shape.
Settle out of court now. Glass it fin it and ride it with glee.
Do you know how many surfers Never make their own board?
Next one will be even more fun!
thanks kieth I really appreciate your comment thank u.
Hi there mate,
Looks really good for a first board.
Outline looks great, from the photos you put up, it looks pretty clean with no bumps
For the rails, from the photos it looks like you just need to do some rail bands and then blend in the rails.
Have a look at this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amzg0uH3eSs
About :56 min into it, the guy is drawing in the rail bands
About 1:10 min into it, he is rough shaping them with the planner
For a first board, I’d recommend using your surform rather than a planner (Slower but safer for a first)
About 2:14 min into the video he then blends the rails with sandpaper / screen
Have a look at the video
Have a think about it
Have a look at your shape and try to picture in your mind how you want the rails
Don’t over shape, you probably don’t need to thin the board out any more, just do the rails
You probably only need 1 rail band as the board is probably fairly well shaped.
Hope this helps… but before you do anything, have a think - there is merrit in the other suggestion of just glass it, fin it and surf it.
Remember to enjoy it and welcome to the club.
-Cam
yeah rails are boxy…you can round the rails off with anything you have on hand, sandpaper works. knock down the corners with a sanding block a bit then just the sheet to round off. if you can, remove more deck foam from the nose so that the profile (foil) looks a bit smoother there, but its not necessary. take your time and go slow.
for the next one ya might want to think about something like this:
mark 3" in from center (3" from the straight side i guess) on your template you used to draw the outline. line that mark up on the stringer so the center of the template is still in the center of the board. draw your line on both sides of the deck.
measure up a given distance, maybe 1.25", from the bottom of the board and draw a line on the rail around the blank.
take your 12" surform (or planer or whatever) and make a consistent straight line in the foam between those two lines. where the 1.25" line meets the deck and where the 3" line meet the flat part of the deck needs to be softened and blended in, but it’ll give a consistent volume. once you blend everything in and turn the rails you’re pretty close to being ‘there’.
you can adjust the 3" and 1.25" measurements to suit your final goal. you can also put in second rail bands and all types of stuff, but i just finished shaping my #7 and that technique has helped them to turn out symmetrical at least!
good luck. once you catch your first wave on that thing i hope you’re as stoked and hooked as i am to build your own boards!
jp
I don’t know, looks like you have a pretty good outline to me. I know people have already given you tips on rail banding and stuff but if that intimidates you, like it did me I’d suggest the following… Go find a board in a shop that looks like what your going for take it out of the rack and really give it a good once over. Run your hands along the rails and feel their shape as they progress down the board. I cut my rails using a surform and sanding screen just by feel. The only marks I made were where I wanted to transition from 50/50 to tucked to hard. I’m no shaping genius but I was really happy with how my board came out.
i think the outline is fine… it is the unfinished rails and the kick in the tail that is making it look “off”
I would bring the deck part of the tail down so that its more level with the rest of the back half of the board without thinning out the tail too much (careful if you’re installing fin boxes), might think about taking an inch or so off the length in the tail to regain some thickness…just a thought. See my illustration below…
It’s all good. Just wait till you glass for the first time! I think it’s the most beautuful board you’ve ever done!
Next one will be 2x as good as this one, then the next one will be 2x as good as that one, and so on, and so on, etc, etc, etc…learn, remember, and use it on the next.
Enjoy the shape.
I just wanna thank each and everyone of you. Thats what make 's this forum great. Us helping one another to become better shapers. You folks rock. Once again thank you all.