How slow do you shape

General Discussion
1

I have been shaping for 50 years. Used to crank out 5 a day  Last time I shaped one it took 5 days.

day 1…skinned the blank an cut to length

day2…got thickness right and did rough foil

      3  cut it out and looked at it for an hour or so with my friend (I was impressing him with a bunch of bullshit about foil and rocker)

      4 rail bands and planed in the roll…ready to sand

      5 sanded

It only takes a couple of years to get board from me. I never take deposits so no one can bitch and whine. Anybody slower???

2

You’re funny. I’ve seen your boards, and they would be worth the wait.

3

I’m shaping one in my mind right now…it should be done sometime in March.

4

I don’t.

I drive my Skil-100 on the Autobahn.

Wide open baby!

5

How do you guys get so fast at planing a blank? I was watching the JC shaping 101 video, and it blows my mind how fast he moves through a blank. You too Barry, saw that video from one of the Agave boards you made. Do you guys get the fast after 100, 200, etc … boards?

Is there performance enhancing coffee that you guys drink?

6

…An interesting thread !!

back in 2004 / 2005  , I watched , as 'Hicksy’s " Moonrocket " [ and , also , the 'Auslocks ’ board ] , took months to do …

 

  but , ‘in fairness’ , they WERE cut  down from 9’11" windsurfer blanks [complete with metal inserts in the blanks ?!]. And neither he nor I are what could be called ‘SHAPERS’ ,  by ANY stretch of  the imagination !    :wink:

 

Does the quantity of orders received have any bearing of the ‘speed of shaping’ per board ?

 

and also , is there a[ny] point in 'rushing ’ the job , really ? if you can do QUALITY quickly then … ‘maybe’ ? … yes ?

 

I can see if it was hardcore production , with quotas or whatever [ ?! ] then  there may be ‘pressure’ ,  and ‘expectations’ ,  to 'knock out ’ a certain number a day .

 

But , if you do the whole shaping , spraying , glassing , tinting / pigmenting , pinlining , sanding , finning , [ and , the ?buffing ? ] process[es] yourself , then yes … it WILL take T I M E  , eh ?

 

  and I think you do it ALL , don’t you , ‘cleanlines’ ? …

 

  cheers !

 

   ben

7

2–3  hours for a standard longboard.  Another half an hour or hour if there is anything unusual about the design.  Concaves, tailblocks, multiple stringers etc.  Shortboard—1 1/2 hours.  I just don’t see any reason to stop and start over a period of days.  Once I’m in a groove;  I try to stay in it.  If I am also doing the glass job;  I will shape five to ten blanks and then glass those blanks. 

8

And , josh dowling / "speedneedle " …

 

… I’d be really interested to hear how long YOUR intricate wood inlays and such , take , per board , too ?

[ not to mention , when you do **airbrush **jobs … like ,  THIS one , for instance , mate ??!! ]

 

http://www.swaylocks.com/forums/speedneedles-j-lo-board

 

  cheers !

 

   ben

 

  

9

I will also add;  I have dome 'em quicker and slower.

10

I usually take between 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Would like to swan around and take longer but I mostly do them after work hours as the neighbours to the shop do not like the noise. I have also found that if I stop half way through it is harder to get back into the rhythm for that board. Bit like when I was at uni and you would start an assignment early in the term, trying to be conscientious, when you looked back over it before it was due it would be crap. Always did my best work the night before it was due. 

Ben you know my cramped setup, this time also includes the sweeping and cleaning up, ready for the next days trading.

11

I jsut started getting my EPS blanks quite a bit more close tolerance from WNC in San Diego.  This has shaved all the skinning and thickness time from my build, plus a lot of clean up time has been saved.  But it still takes about 2 hrs for a long board, and 1 hr for a short board.  I like to do it in 2 parts. template & bottom, rails.   Set aside, come back next day look over fine tune and spackle / sand.

12

cleanlines

i like to break it up too

1 measure blank and draw up outlines

2 cut out outline/foil/rocker/

3 bottom contours rails and blending

4 fine sand/sign/mark fins

a lot of times i will combine first 3 steps but i always leave 4 for another day. helps to come back and see it as a new shape instead of one you have been working on for a while trying to finish up. also it is good to fine sand immediately before glassing/taking to glass shop otherwise they always seems to get dirty…

13

Once I start shaping a blank I have to finish all in one session. If I stop I’ll forget little details I wanted to do/fix. Shaping for me takes about 3-4 hours. Since I am a backyard shaper I have all of the time in the world to research/plan what I want to shape and that takes atleast 5 hours if not more for me. 

14

Back in the 70’s when I was busting ass I had a Pre Shape machine…( His name was Rick). While I was shooting pins and glosses in the morning He would skin the blanks and cut out the outlines. He usually did 5 boards.

    After lunch I would come in and finish the boards. it usually took thirty minutes to do one… All of the boards were single fin lightning bolt style with boxy rails.

     Hell I was 23 years old. I wish I had that energy back.

    

15

Back when I mwas a production shaper,

I did 4-5 handshapes per day.

Pre CNC days.

And I squeezed in a surf.

That will teach you efficency,

and in time speed.

Practice makes perfect.

16

Once I start I stay on it till completion.  I’ve noticed that my best boards are the ones that take the least time to shape.

17

Short boards if I’m only shaping one board from start to finish (Non production) I take about 1 1/2hrs. maybe 2 with concaves or wingers. Long boards 2 to 3hrs.    A little longer depending on length or nose concave for nose riders etc. That is, without nose or tail blocks or breaks.

18

I’m a hack with ADD. I take about 2-3 hours to cut a board out of a flat rectangular slab of foam, EPS or XPS. I often shape and laminate one side in 4-5 hours. I only work on boards on weekends, so once I decide to build one, I try to get it done ASAP.

If I can get it shaped and laminated (XPS or EPS foam using epoxy) in one weekend, then it can sit for a week curing and I have the next weekend to finish it. Compsands take a lot longer.

19

Been thinking about this thread, while I’m out in my shop shaping. I like to go slow, don’t really measure the time, because its not an issue for me, as a backyarder building my own boards.

One, I like to savor the experience. I love shaping, and don’t get to do it nearly enough, so I’m generally not in a hurry. Once the shaping is done and its time to glass, I’m always a little disappointed (even 'tho I love glassing).

And two, I remind myself to intentionally take it slow, since its so much easier to take foam off than put it back. Every board I do is a prototype, since I never make the same board twice, and I don’t copy other boards, but design as I go. I mean, I have a template and general idea of things like rails and foil, but like to work out the details as I shape.

I guess if I ever make a duplicate of a board, or know everything about the shape before I start, or have a backlog of blanks just waiting to be shaped, I would approach it differently. But for me, the original post is closest to my m.o.

20

A couple of locals came by today and talked about getting fancy wall hanger type boards. I asked them why they they wanted to spend big money.

 They said I would be dead and gone one day in the near future and it was a good investment (they don’t surf). I took that as a compliment and jacked the price up even more. Gettin’ old can be fun if you do it right.