Thanks for the suggestion but I live in a town where there aren’t any surfshops close by. I actually have done that the last time I was at one, but I can’t quite remember what the foil was like. Closest one is over 60miles away!
Hey Max, nice going, got it a lot closer. Look at the apex of your rails. The furthest outside point of the radius. Are there any wobbles, dips, bumps, in your line from nose to tail? This should be a smooth "straight" line with no variances. Meaning this line should track on a consistant plane the full length of the board. If you look at the second photo down of the nose straight on, you will see inconsistancies in this line. Where the nose is turned up at the stringer, that line should run back along the rails to the tail with a smooth line, no getting around it. Are you using side lights? If not, get a friend to hold up a shop light with no others on and have him walk with you as you work. Use the light to cast different shadows to pick up the inconsistancies. If you have to, scribe a line along the rail where you see the apex being. Use this as a reference to turn up or turn down to this line. Remember, water will be running along this line and you want it to do it as fast and smoothly as it can. If your line left by screening goes up or down, back and forth along the length, this will cause the water to ripple. This slows you down and makes a dog of a board. You can do this, you are getting closer each step. As Ben Aipa would say after looking at a board for a few seconds, "More Work". KEEP GOING.
Also, as for glassing sched. I like on longboards to use 6 oz. "S" glass bottom one layer and a 6 and 4 on the top with a deck patch.
Thanks for the help tblank, I do have side lighting and I will keep at it with your tips and comments!
Just one question on the glassing, would using 10oz on the top be similar to 6 and 4? Or should it really be two layers of glass? I ask because I have a part roll of 10oz left over from a boat I worked on a few years ago. I just like to use it it up, if it is at all applicable. I have a roll of 6oz E glass, but I’ll have to order some 6oz “S”.
Max, for this one, since you already have the glass use what you've got. You can go 10 oz. top. Maybe a deck patch if you knee paddle and six bottom. This will work fine. The only difference in doing the other way is the rail laps get one more wrap for protection. By the way, a lot of guys cut their first layer to the plan shape without a lap an make the second deck layer wrap.Either way is okay I just like the idea of another layer for the rails. Don't need them to be superlight, but that's my taste.
check harbour surfboard's website. click on the outlines and the rocker/profile will appear.hope this help as a reference. good luck and have fun
Thanks just had a look, that site will be a help.
Hey tblank
So I’m finally starting the concave. Does something
like this make sense? I’m starting the concave around the flatter spot on the bottom of the board. I really not going on much for the shape just what some of you have mentioned and looking at pics online. It’s less of a tear drop more of an oval kinda thing. I’m wondering if the rear of the concave is too “blunt” Thanks again for all the help.
Cool to see tblank, astevens and Mcding coaching him through. Keep up the good work guys. I am just observing. Can’t wait to hear what you guys have to say about his concave placement.
Move it up! Way up! I think you said this was a noserider. Well the nose has been described by some as the front quarter or third of the board measured from the tip. The forward end of where you have your pencil line looks like about where it should end, not start. An easy way to do it is to make a pencil line about 1 1/2 or 2 inchs away from the rail (standing over the board looking down on it) around the nose area and as far back or towards the middle of the board as you would want the concave to run. You could use some form of a pencil compass to make your mark. Using the small Stanley take the stringer down to the depth you would want the concave. I usually push mine back, away from the nose. Deep thru the concave and shallow as you approach the end of the concave towards the middle of the board. Take the foam down with a block and some sandpaper and then blend it with the screen. This will give you a raised portion of foam around the rail of the nose at 1 1/2--2". It's OK if the stringer breackes the line at the tip or if the profile is blended or compromised right at the tip. That'll provide an easy entrance for water flow. Blend the concave at the rear so that it is an easy transition from one planing surface to the other. This is considered a "blended" concave NOT a "teardrop". I personally prefer blended because it provides more board to work forward on for sections or tubing waves. Teardrops are sweetspots . I actually put mine in using my planer,but I don't reccomend that you try that.
Thanks Heaps G. I hope I'm some help, M'Ding is well versed in the process and man, does he get around.
Max, progressing right along, it's looking closer. Your concave is to create turbulence underneath your feet ON THE NOSE. You know...Hang Ten? Look at the placement of your pencil line. WAAAY too far back. Concaves are used for different functions. This particular use is to cause a little "lift" or really it causes an air bubble(s) that allow you to stand on 12 inches of the board and not driving it straight down under water...Pearling. I prefer a teardrop shape at least 18 to 20 or even 24 inches long total depending on the rider. The concave should come up to about 2 to 2&1/2 inches from the nose tip and at the rails. Leave that much to allow for a good lap on your deck glass.
Concaves further back allow the board to loosen up and move from rail to rail more easily. These run parallel with the stringer and about 2/3rds of the length. Water will want to suck on nice smooth rounded shapes. The concave interrupts this and so the board is "looser" in transitions. Less effort to turn. For your nose rider, you may want to stay a little conservative for your first. Concave in the nose to ride the tip, to a flat bottom that transitions to a slight "V" in the last 1/3rd. All with smooth gradual blends from front to back. Here's a tip also, if you turn from the tail and swing or pivot the nose around, then you might want to drop the rails on the bottom about 3/8 to 1/2 inch so you wont dig or catch rails while swinging around. What this means is: if you place a straight edge on the bottom, you want it to be flat but about 1&1/2 inches or 2 from the rails the bottom starts to drop that small amount. Not a dome from side to side. You want the flat section for speed, but the last 1&1/2 at the rails it is a little lower than the flat section. Does this make sense? Picture riding the board and going to swing a cutback. You want to do this easily and if the bottom is COMPLETELY DEAD FLAT, that very outside edge of the rail could catch water while coming around. Dropping the rails eliminates that. Hope this diatribe is understandable to you. Ask questions if not. You are getting it done and coming along...KEEP IT UP.
So G, was that convoluted or what? Maybe Lowel can exlpain it better.
Some guy from San Diego who was an early advocate of Downrailers and Twinzers once told me he used to go up and down the Calif. Coast during the Sixtys in a pickup/camper dropping in on various factories and shapers . Shape a few for them and pick their brain for new ideas( ie steal their secrets). I'm trying to emulate him. Ha! Best we can do in this case is help Max get a simple concave in this one and call it good. It's a learning process. He'll learn a lot from this one, once he get's it under his belt or under his feet as it were.
Have Planer...Will Travel.
I know the rocker I want on my noseriders, and once that’s set, I know that my concave starts one inch from the end of the nose, and ends one third of the length of the board. The one inch border around the nose rail lets me put a one inch chine around the leadning edge, which flattens coming around the rail and onto the board’s bottom around the perimeter of the concave.
I like a teardrop shape, but blend the perimeter for easier paddling. They still work just fine for noseriding.
I like shorter concaves on flatter boards, but on most classic logs with a continuous rocker in the over-nine-foot categories, one third works well.
I sketch out one side of my concave (I just like to do it that way… it’s fun for me. You could/should use a compass or template or something), then use my fin layout square to make dots on the other side that I connect with a line.
I measure where I want the deepest point of the concave and make a mark, then rough out the concave with a planer, adjusting on the fly. Finish with soft block and mini block plane and/or spokeshave.
First I’d like to thank everyone for all the help and taking the time to reply and adding their input, I really appreciate it!
In my initial post, I said I wanted help in adding a concave to the “nose” but like Mcding said the nose is the front quarter of the board, I think I might have described it incorrectly. I don’t really want this board for nose riding, I guess I had it in my head the nose was the front part of the board, my bad.
As I mentioned in a previous post I wanted this board more for just riding gutless waves, sometimes we get some nice swell when it is hurricane season but alot of the time it is mostly wind waves. I think what you mention tblank is more of what I would like out of the board, a concave further back, something that will go from rail to rail more easily. Should I move the concave up any even if it is not for a nose rider? I’m thinking after reading everyones comments that I do need to stretch out the concave more regardless of the placement.
I think what you are saying about the bottom of the board makes sense to me 
Well Max, you had us all going there. If you want a concave but not for riding the nose, then you"ll have to look a little harder for that can of worms. Now you are getting into a very complex issue. Before continuing further, you should educate yourself on exactly what factors will give you the way you want to surf. There are single concaves, doubles, channels, chines, you name it. I'm not trying to brush you off. I'll help all I can but it starts with you. You need to get it in mind before you shape. Research all you can on the subject and come back armed with pointed questions. If you want a high performance long board, look into those. They don't always include channeled bottoms, rocker as always plays a very important part. Do you want a longer board for flat days but still want to surf like a short board? Look into it and come back.
Thanks tblank, I have been reading up on it and when I have some specific question I’ll come back.
I’ve been on vacation the last week and had a chance to work on the board some more. Figured I’d update with some pics and share my progress incase anyone else out there can learn anything from my process and mistakes. I did some more research on concaves and decided that I’ll stick with a simple concave in the nose, I won’t be doing too much nose riding (my skill level isn’t there LOL) so I’m not going to worry too much on how well it comes out. I foiled out the nose and tail and left enough thinkness to install an FCS plug on the front (for a GoPro camera). I did a cut lap so I could do a tinted blue bottom, the only mistake I made was I should have trimmed the over lap a bit more, it’s slightly darker in those spots but I can live with it. I’m really happy with the color, I thought it might come out blotchy on EPS. Just installed the fin box tonight, made a template out of plywood and since I don’t have a router I used a cutout tool to cut out the stringer and foam. Works really well, just takes a few extra minutes. I glassed it with 10oz deck with a 6oz patch and 6oz bottom. Tomorrow I’m doing the hot coat. Thats all for now!
Right on, Good Onya Max! Way to soldier on. This is a decent first attempt. Way to Go!!
Well its done (still need to wetsand it to smooth it out but I probably won’t bother LOL), had it out for a quick surf today in some really choppy surf. Never really had a good ride on it yet, the conditions were less than ideal, on shore wind with closing out wind waves, but it paddles well. Just a quick question on the rocker profile, you can see it in one of the pics on the car. Does it seem like I have enough rocker, when I did catch a wave today the board wanted to pearl, but I suspect that that is a combination of choppy surf and me getting use to the board? I’ve always surfed mostly shorter boards, this is my first longboard. I really hope I put in enough nose rocker in it!
Thanks to everyone for all the help especially tblank! I’m really happy with it!
