Folks- I’m making my own PLAN SHAPE for my personal 6’4" twin fin fish model! Here’s how:
I took a 40" long x 30" wide piece of thin card board I bought @ art store for $2.65, bought a pencil sharpener and had a pencil. Also bought a bendy ruler (my idea) @ home depot for $2.67 otd.
As we all know how surfers and shapers check and measure dimensions; 12" from tip of nose is for nose width, center for wide-point, tail we measure 12" up from end of tail.
I didn’t have a square to do my lines across board to make my template so improvised my spare piece of card board as it has straight edges…
Ok, now measured from the bottom to top 38"- cos I’m building me 6’4" x21" wide twin fin. From here I went back down to bottom and measured up 2" and made line across with my improvised square, and measured my width @ 10.5" for my wide-point forward twinnie.
My nose I did The same by using the makeshift square to draw my nose dimension at 7.5", made a straight line with my square. Next, I took my card board and set it on the floor, got down and used my knees as I didn’t have a holder to bend my rular to meet my wide-points line to the nose width line on outside…
I bent my rular edge side up and drew a clean even line on outside as I held the wide point end between my knees and held the front end with left hand. Now I carefully drew my line for my paralelle curved front half of board. Lastly I met my bendy rular to my nose width line back and let the rular bend out the front of my nose end at the 38" point, then drew my line.
Looks good to go!
More to come…
Next phase to do rear half! I will do similar, but in going 14.5" wide for my tail width, so I will measure 7 1/4" for tail width and so on…obviosly it will be same witdth 10.5"… Gonna pull in my tail with a bit of “HIP”- with 8" fish tail width, and 3.5" to 4" deep? Well see.
Ill worry about fin placment later. Anyone like it? Fyi the bendy rular was my own improvised idea. Got the thin flexie rular @ home depot for $2.67- f’k computers!
About design:
I’m reviving a memory… Back when I was 16 I had a 6’4" twin fin X21" wide 15" nose x 14" tail- dunno what wp was? But I’m modernizing this baby! Lol a bit wider in tail, gonna toss in a single concave and spiral vee and down hard rails…usual fish type rocker…lowish…
After I build it I will post pics, and hopefully make it a big brother- a quad. And tri! sound k?!
Sounds like fun! Don’t care if I dunk it again- cuz I’ve dunked it bout 75 times so far anyhow…just hope like hell I make it! Just geussing, but I think I should attempt it on a 2 foot wave first to get the motions down… Then try it on a 3’ barrel! Lol
Cool avatar- bro! You should make a logo / painting of it-with same blue color! Use black background too man! That’ll be a winner!
Cool site!
Mickey Munoz (sorry no tilde on the keyboard) used to say he would put his eye on the board and envision himself as a drop of water traveling along the foam. When you do this the anomalies are quite evident. Da eye no lie!
I’ve only done a couple, but all of them the way you describe, shapaholic, except with a long metal ruler which has a pretty smooth curve when bent. I then made spin templates out of 1/8" ply, but I noticed that sometimes the paper planshape was always still a little rough. By going just a hair bigger on the plywood template, I could then use my surform, and smooth the whole template out, to the eye. You’ll be surprised how accurate that eye method is when sighting down the edge of a curve, & you can really get it smooth.
hope that made sense & good luck to you on your project!
No offense to anyone. I would urge you Shapeaholic to keep going and draw more outlines. But this seems to be a sign of the times where this is seen as innovative versus the cad method. I like and enjoy playing with Aku/Boardcad et. al. but this is the real way to do it. Guys have been drawing their own plan shapes forever.There wasn't any other way. I know a guy that will still pull out his sling (Hawaiian) to draw his curves. There is not enough "EYE" work being done with a lot of shapers. Just calculating volume to plug into an outline leaves me cold. Admittedly I'm pretty thick in the head, but it seems a new shape needs to be stared at and digested then refined. I truly believe that if the shape turns you on, then it will surf good for you. Of course, you need to use all the knowledge you have in coming up with a design to perform as predicted. There is no shortcut to the magic shape. You've still got to know the functions of all the different features ie; rockers/concaves/vees/wings ect. to achieve the predicted outcome. Computers are cool but drawing curves by eye is really the heart of it all.
ps. I draw on butcher paper first and have found the rotary cutters are the only way to fly. MUCH easier to follow the line with a wheel than scissors.
A tip on cutting out template- make relief cuts just short your scissors length and cut off clean even portions( cut the whole length out at a time) at your line for plan-shape… It payed off man! Got to do a sweet job for my tail now.
Anyhow, I recall my old board- similar to this one I will shape- rode super on some hollow reef breaks over a rock shelf… Very controlled -yet loose and carvie… This model tends to get that rockie feeling rail-to-rail…just jams and rocks! You be n the pocket and its rocking and going curvy rocking feel to this design-fun as hell!.I have a hard time believin as a kid I came up with dimensions out of my head that blew my mind-reason I’m building this new model. Trust me-this board is ideal for hollow reef breaks! Go with a bit more length than ur average twinnie though. If the average twinnie you rode was 5’10"- go 6’1"-6’2" and a bit wider. 20ish-21" and fins might not be too high up in front. Maybe less-like 8-9, maybe 10" at most? I’m still figuring it out? I think I will try 9" up? And a good 2" tow off stringer? I Think 3" might be too stiff? As for can’t I’m gonna just toss vee in tail and let it determine the can’t? Prob put the side fins in 1 inch and quarter?
Thanks for the encouragement- Hucleberry! Cheers! t c
What you’re doing will work and the board will definitely surf, but I do have a couple suggestions:
If it was my board I’d add a little more curve to the first 8" or so of your nose. Not a lot of curve, just a little, to better match the curve from 12" to 18". It’s really common when starting to shape to go even flatter in the nose on the blank than the template, and if that happens with the template you’ve got you’ll end up with a noticeable flat spot in your curve up there. You probably won’t like that.
What some people do for long continuous curves is use a long skinny/thin flexible piece of wood, like 1/4" baseboard molding from the home improvement stores. Bend it around your measured guide points and use some bricks to hold them in place. Some people even use a combination of bricks on top and small nails in the template material along the template line to hold the battens down for the curve. You’re apparently using cardboard, though, so the nails probably won’t work.
Not every set of measurements will get a “good” curve so let the measured flex in the batten find that curve for you by giving it a little latitude with respect to the exact measurements. Run the batten well past your "nose so you’re getting the curve from more of the middle of your batten rather than the end where you might not have as much leverage. Where you put the wide point in your template will have an effect on what your curve looks like with those measurements.
Although some people passionately frown on it for beginner shapers, you can also get a really nice curve if you draw it on one of the CAD programs like Boardcad. Really, if you have an eye for what you want the CAD programs can draw a cleaner curve than you’ll be able to do by hand. Then when you’re done you can print the template out full size on paper and transfer that to your template material. The “backyard” versions of Boardcad and AKUshaper are freebie downloads. The benefit to using CAD software is you can do as many “what-if” versions as you want before picking your final shape. You can also get an idea of what the blank will look like in 3-D. It’s not really practical to do that when building curves by hand.
Just suggestions. Like I said, if you want to stick with what you’re doing that will work and the board will still surf. I’m just trying to smooth your way a little.
GDAaddy- I appreciate your suggestions and tips… I may round out nose more debating? But I kinda like the cut I did? Also, the whole concept of using a flexie rular and pencil drawing in plan shape-to me is intensional. I want my board to be made by human art and not machine(pc/cad). Hell, I was also going to free hand the 12" to nose section but my rular could do the curve…
I may round out the nose curve a sliver? But I’ll need to get a new piece of card board! fyi- try the cardboard its fun!
No-offence to cad users, but I think a homemade design is more personal and more rewarding.
Vonwessels- ty for your input etc… The cardboard I’m using is due to myself preferring something I can cut out @ home with minimal equipt… Great ideas you shared and I may try some-thanks man!
The whole concept is to percieve my own reality into my board…but I agree the ‘eye’ can be very precise. I would not doubt for a min that I could have even free handed drawn out a accurate template as well! But the "flexie rular"I made up I find works wonders man!! I think I can def make a better plan shape later on… Maybe I just shape it and see how it looks?! Besides, once I sureform and sand my board as I shape it the curves with blend more right? Gentlemen, does that make sense? Thanks folks for sharing! And I do hope that more people will get involved with more primitive art related concepts-with good old human touch! I’m telling the soul is behind it all in feeling! It seems to give me total fullfullment! Its the feeling of doing it with your own hands, spirit and artistic creativity. Much, much more rewarding-period. :))
As for CAD design I’m pos it does fine-even as good or faster plan shapes. But it does not get one truelly inviolved in “art” and"handshaping"-as the human is always more intelligent then a computer. also the human should be the artist! Lol
I don’t agree the cad does it better or cleaner either when the board is done.I would say its prob the same. But the hand drawn method is simpler and prob more practicle for every day shapers.not to mension it cost nothing to do!!!
If I fix the front curve I will have to use the 80% of my outline, but curve that last 8-9" or as much line that is off
… I too was aware of it but I thought once I took surform and sanding screen to it- might blend out? But I think I’ll just fix it.also do the rear curves and fish tail here soon. If anyone makes their own template like this, or similar pls post a pic here! Pls no computer templates.to me too easy=not art, boring, no spirit etc…for someone else it may be of use? Just not my thing. That said, I use puters, can use any type of software but I chose not to. My main reasons are: costs too much for printers, software etc… Have to have a good pc etc…
But making or bending my own comes out better cos its actually what YOU want vs what a robot pushes out for you. So being you are artist- you feel more spiritual about it all… And feels like board becomes you in a way? Hard to explain. You just got to do one to know what I’m talking bout. The feeling overides the ease of using 'equipt’once you actually cut one out with the scissors.
Agreed- da eye no lie! Even if a guy used the latest cad online thing, but he still has to shape boards finer detail… So what happens if a guy wants more rocker, or finds out the shaper scrubbed too much on one side and board looks funky and off in design… I’m telling you most of the cad bs is just hype… How many of you where into pcs for yrs- like me to discover the latest new software is too advanced for your 1-2 year old pc? And…, you can’t use the software cuz your puter is obsolete and already outdated?? Put me in this circle-cuz its happened to me w/windows xp now…
So what are we gonna do? Pay for a $500 dollar+ pc, get or pay for surfboard cad software? Or just bend out a killer planshape in 10 mins with scissors and a friggin piece of cardboard? I’ll take the cardboard! And thanks-but-no-thanks to cad templates… Not happening for me cuz I don’t have puter access-other then my blackberry anyways.
anyhow, fixing my nose part will take me maybe 5 mins max as I just make sure my curve is a bit more curved then how I made mine here… But I kinda was rushing it. So when I get ba
ck home from my trip I’ll get it dialed in perfect, make the rear half… And I’ll have a formidable plan shape that will be perfectly fine and will be the design I actually want. Again, it won’t cost me tons of time or money I don’t have right now as well. And once its drawn onto my blank my surform and sanding block will smooth up the shape to be as one… But that’s the fun of hand shaping a board! If its just hitting a button and board pops out - there goes art and personal creativity… It’s gone. And that’s just not much of a challenge to me. Also, I feel the computer shaping is the enemy to artists and people who want to actually work on real art- real hand shaped surfboards. To me a hand-shaped board is second to none. If someone told me I could get a computer shaped board or a hand shaped board- I would take the hand shaped board cuz I gen prefer custom boards w/features vs a standard board pumped out of a shaping machine. Just personal pref I geuss? I also prefer mostly glass on fins-with the acception of a good old single fin with a longbox fin.
Yeah, I actually decided I will re-do the nose part to past that abrupt straight line there…just gonna make the curve continous and compliment the overall curves… But thanks all for pointing it out. I do want it totally perfect as I will be riding this as my personal board for gen all-around 1-8 foot surf.ps: cool fish board and ty for the pic!
It’s definitely worth the effort to start clean and stay clean at each step. If you’re like most of us you’ll run into enough mistakes and accidents as it is.
I use it to help design outlines, then transfer the outline template to masonite, takes about 30 minutes to cut out & fair out a template this way. electric planer and sanding block to shape/foil the blank. I get 4 templates from a $8 sheet of masonite
there’s a lot to said for a symmetrical outline, especially if you agree about how important multiple fin positioning is to board performance
I can’t fathom typing as much as you do from a blackberry
An artisan understands, designs and makes his/her own equipment. Turning dials and adjusting rpms or sliding a cursor across a screen until one gets it right isn’t quite the same. However, computers are wonderful tools to play with.
Long ago, I used posterboard (cardboard) for my templates. I would draw out a grid in one-inch squares on the posterboard. I drew the surfboard shape by hand on a sheet of 8.5" x 11" graph paper first. Then I transferred points from the scale graph-paper drawing to the posterboard grid squares. A large french curve or a set of ship curves can be used to smooth out the line connecting the dots. With this method, you can accurately transfer any shape you draw on a piece of graph paper to a full-size template. Afterwards, if you liked that particular template, you could transfer it to a piece of plywood or masonite.
This was in the time of slide rules – there were no calculators, PCs or WalMarts.
The best thing I've found for drawing long curves is a piece of 1/4 stainless steel dowel 10 feet long that I got at the local steel supply. This is very flexible and easy in use. By myself all I need are a handfull of pins to keep it in place while scribing. If you have an extra pair of hands, then it's a real breeze.
sound k?!
t c
fyi- try the cardboard its fun!
:))