did it take till they looked like the ones you can buy at a surf shop.
does it take to screw in a light bulb?
…for the ONLY look- 100 + boards…if you are a bad one- more than 200…
…you need good feeling with all the tools…you really need PERFECTLY GOOD templates…
…need only the best materials…
…also need a perfect profesional workshop…
…you need enough time…
…to achieve that thing you have got in your mind- in some cases more boards…
…if you only do the shape and go for a profesional glass shop, you achieve a splendid good lookin (not in a closer shaper s view)
…in these years i saw some boards with number like 14000 or so, and for an average tourist or newbie it s pretty similar to an a number 100…so…
did it take till they looked like the ones you can buy at a surf shop.
I think that depends on several factors. Are you doing it by yourself or do you have someone that can give you pointers and advice on what to look for and techniques.
Personal talent and surfboard knowledge. As well as other factors. Could be 50-100 could be 500-1000
Like anything else, I feel it’s far less related to the number of “not so good yets”, than it is to the the amount of instruction, research, attitude, patience, creative ability, dexterity with tools, and most of all, desire for quality craftsmanship. If you decide to do all your learning simply by shaping disposable boards, it will result in a higher number of boards to get to that “like the ones in the surf shops”. If you watch instruction videos, re-watch, and watch again, take notes, sleep on ideas, draw, visualize, read, wonder, ask until you’re kicked out of shops, study other boards from nose to tail, first before plugging in the planer, the number of boards will be fewer – maybe even one???
I’ve seen unbelieveable craftsmanship by those with little previous experience, but a natural ability and flaming desire, just as I’ve seen shabby results by those that should have long ago learned better. Just a personal preference as to how you want to go about it, but remember to enjoy the ride!
ONE…but thats a surf shop of question but if you ignore everything but the price tag…well there you have it…make one ,paint the garage ,put up sign that says SURF SHOP…one board…sounds like a loaded question trying to talk your self into taking the leap of faith making board one…the industrial design collegians are enough encouragement for anybody…gooooo dddaaaaddddaaaaaayyyyyyy…the leap of faith includes a large helping of denial when you land on the rocks at the pit of despair… donot look closely at the boards in the shop and you wont see the mistakes present in all of em…the same mistakes in your first board are glaringly apparent because you are looking closer than you have ever looked at a surfboard before…If you suffer from a drive to self criticism skip it buy a shop board and believe they are perfect and go surf…ambrose…calipers and even electron microscopes show hidden flaws and some times up to 1/4’’ discrepencies in machine shapes from rail to rail
OK, so one board is a bit of a joke, but trying to get the point across that there is no magic number that automatically opens the “men’s” door from the boys section. Strive toward perfection… what is that? Compared to what and relative to what? Is good the enemy of great or is perfection the enemy of it’s good enough the way it is? I say it just aint fun unless it’s along the pathway to great, but everywhere along the pathway is what the trip is all about. Bottom line: It will probably take quite a few boards.
to the intellectually critical and discerning spirit only the ‘next board’ will be good enough to satisfy the quest… great is momentary like the tule fog when it clears you can see … great…ambrose…ha, only sombody else can say it’s great and maybe you can momentarily believe they are not being sarcastic , because you can see the flaws
Totally agree… singing from the same hymnal…on different parts of the earth still looking at the same star… Perfection is more a pursuit or a state than it is an arrival point. Cuz you’re right, if we do arrive, as in jumping higher than ever before, the stick gets automatically raised, and here comes the next in pursuit to clear it. Sooo did the last to clear the stick arrive or just another passing by on the way to his personal pursuit. Or… does style also count in the jump? Who’s doing the judging. Someday, I’d like to make a surfboard… I just made a surfboard… arrival? No, because before it’s finished the next one and how much better it will be has already come to mind. Ultimately, it’s all about your own place on the path of pursuit… your own ride. In cosmic terms, it still might only take one board if the shop selling it is not in “pursuit”. Back to the original question… lots of boards???
…The first!
That is…cut of a new blank (age 17)…not a strip down!
…Even my first strip downed longboard blank shapes were close.It took 2 days to sand my very first boards(I was 14,15 yrs old).That’s what happens when you sand the board with a drill motor,5" jury rigged diskpad…Most of my time spent sanding was by hand, getting the swirls out of the hotcoat that I put into it with the drill motor.The gloss and polishes is what saved these first few,and a handmade wood fin(s)…Oh yeah,all shaping/glassing was done on a orange crate these first few.When I moved up to a new blank I started using a flipped and modified redwood picnic table bench,Think about it,got one around?I put it on a pair of orange crates,nailed in place,Padded the ness. areas with teeshirts,packing foam,weighted it with sandbags,Tighted the cross members…and bang shaping/glassing racks…Lighting at first was no more than flood lights blinded,and filtered…TOOLS! you’d laugh…but all in all the boards had heart and looked and …even better…rode well…for fledgling built board(s)that is.I didn’t receive any professional instruction til the age of a early 18.Thanks to Mike Short(a Bell,Ca. Neighbor formally of Venice,Ca.)For showing me the very basics,and pro builders Rick McHale,and Les Pronier (Long Beach,Ca.) for taking the time to show me the ropes,and for taking me into there very elite group.Herb
2b ore not tubey?
did it take till they looked like the ones you can buy at a surf shop
Why set your standards at that low level…???..
back to the original answer the first board is the first board thats betteer than any surf shop in the whole flipper gator world ! get it ? go now pass through the mirror the real you is waiting on the other side standing with the leigons of the courageous that have gone before us all…ambrose…the blank is there the tools are there all thats necessary is one step…repeat after me…I AM making my next board