I will build a space shuttle made out of sticks and mud. I will use the soft, doughy interior of my grandmother’s hot tub cover to make a nice, lightweight core. When it’s all shaped up, I’m gonna dip it into a vat that has a swirling layer of paint suspended on a viscous pillow of water laced with borax, and I will watch with glee as the colors fold onto my creation as it is submerged into the drink. It will be more beautiful than Joseph’s technicolor dreamcoat. I know I will be weighless for most of my intergalactic voyage, but just in case I hit some devious pockets of gravity I will make some serious traction on the inside of my bronze age-futuristic hybrid by pressing backer rod into fiberglass in a routered, spiral pattern. If I mash my vessel on a meteorite I will make a knee rocket out of the surviving wreckage. If anyone has any snide comments about my space shuttle, I will get drunk and attack them on swaylocks in an aggressive, juvenile manner. I will apologize later, when I am sober. Construction of the Dopus Opus will commence after I finish my current project. I am doing my best to blatantly copy the beautiful cold-molded/strip look of a board Crex posted on ‘show your wood’. Are there any boat builders or woodworkers on Sway’s that know how to do this quickly? Because what I’ve come up with from my researching has me looking at a long, tedious process ahead. Also I’m wondering if there is anything inherently ‘wrong’ about having the thickest part of the rail shaped like a perfect semicircle. Flat top and bottom all the way to the rail. it looks odd to me. I am trying to do this one from a single sheet of 2" xps, going 22" wide to make up for thickness loss, hence the minimal foam removal and consequent rail shape. Already I think I will add a half inch either with foam or routed cedar to a good part of the deck before it’s done, maybe 16" wide. here’s all I have for now…D[img_assist|nid=1049036|title=wrapping with 3/4 poplar|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480][img_assist|nid=1049037|title=this slows down the aging process.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480]
looking forward to it mate!
nice and i think it should be know as the Craig Rex Harris Technique … Ha Ha…
tip one do it in two halves glue a thin stringer to foam. To this small stringer attach a sacrafical stringer that you will remove later. cover sac stringer with packing tape and a mould release.
tip two in your case glue to foam and staple to sacrificial stringer. remove staples and then sac stringer. Trim overhanging strips back to the thin stringer.
Timber selection is the key lighter is not always the best. Just do a little research into what timber is used in boat building in your area.
pics should also help i recommend setting up in the living room worked for me. Kettle is used for steaming the tighter curves.
good work starting from mid is a great starting point.
As those “down under” are reported to say,
“Good on ya!”
Crex I’m glad you got my pm…thanks for checkin’ up. As far as I’ve gotten I can see that this is a thing for which time must be irrelevant. A few pieces a night, a dozen over the weekend…but I think it will be worth it, in the end. Have quicker projects going simultaneously to satisfy the need for visual progress. Like I said I know this is not ‘cold molding’ like how you did yours with a removable plug, or how a boat would be done with several layers at different angles to one another, but I like how it looks ok right on the foam. I have a flat piece glued into a routered slot top and bottom to staple to. After, I can router over that area again and lay a fresh piece of wood where all the staple holes and strip ends were. The physics of wood/flex are above me like most higher design theories going round on sways…but I like to think that laying strips like this would be less rigid than laying longer pieces parallel to the stringer, but probably meaningless when you have something going that way to staple to. I was using poplar, bends ok. I found by research that tighter grained hardwoods bend even better, so I have switched to ash, which I had some of on hand and milled it down into strips. On a tip from a boatbuilding forum I am wrapping my pieces in a wet rag and microwaving them instead of doing it over a kettle. Works great. It should get interesting heading into the hard edge leading to the tail. I have two methods in mind, I’ll find out which goes better! D
thanks for the encouragement fellers. The way I am doing this is like watching a glacier melt. I’ll update this in a few weeks. Later, D[img_assist|nid=1049146|title=mummification|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480]
cool
I see your approach is good. when i was about half way through my board i realised i only needed two layers going across the board the rest could be longitudinal i think i did four across and three long to make my shell. Anyway.
If you are marking off the previous strip then cutting marking then cutting and so on. you should be able to cut two strips at the same time and transfer the second strip to the other side. so you don’t end up cutiing a little to much off here and not enugh there and start to through things out. mark from the right hand side of the board and put the second of the two cut on the left side then mark of the left side then place the second one on the right and so on as you go down the board. this should halve the marking out time. it took me about 2 to three hours to mark and cut my top layer. I taped them down then un taped them stapeled and glued then vac baged this took extra time. the new way is to tape down but also use veneer tape to tape each strip together then i can pull off the shell of timber then vac bag it down.
re the hard edges just take your time go slow i used my hand to add support to the timber slowly folding the timber over use the webbing between your thumb and pointer to help. or you could use a thin strap of some description to support it and pull it over.
I ended up putting a solid nose and tail block on only to strengthen up these areas and also to have a pointed weapon up front for a little SUP damage if they were to cross my path. You should be able to get away with not doing the sold nose and tail.
carry on
SUP damage, that’s hilarious! Nice, thanks fer the tips. I know exactly what you are talking about regarding the marking, cutting. Your advice would speed things up, especially for you, doing it in a bag. I haven’t gotten to a point in boardbuilding where I want to mess with bagging just yet. But yeah, it dawned on me early on the only way the strips would work without any cutting is if your board was a perfect rectangle. I am kind of winging it in regards to segmenting the pieces…every third strip or so I am knifing off from 0" at the bend to 1/8" or so at the end points, clamping to a metal straight edge and knifing off the excess. Yeah, I’ve been using bands, it helps. Glueing to the foam, thats what slows me down the most, compressing the gaps between the wood and foam. I tried buttons and wire at first, now doing bands and shims. Could’ve used more stapleing stringers, but this works. Ok, good, just be patient in the hard edge, huh? Oh yeah, the microwave works but also just a squirt bottle for moisture and the wood stove or a hot light works too, a kettle probably best for constant steam. Several layers of wicked thin wood would be quicker too, my pieces are between 1/20" and 1/30". So I’ve been steaming all of them so they don’t snap on me. Alright, thanks Craig…you should keeps some tricks to yerself or they’ll be mass producing these boards by summer…D
A cheep strap for pulling down is that blue plastic packing tape the stuff that is good for braking into cars. Staple one side then form your timber over the board then pull on the packing tape to give you a little clamp type of holding support thing.
I dont mind passing on tips i am faltered that people want to make boards in this way plus it takes time. If someone wants to produce boards like this go for it i would find it hard to make money from it.
yeah way too much time to make any money unless someone devises a machine! I like sharing what I’m doing too, but I was trying to trod with respect, cuz yer board was my inspiration. Since you don’t mind…for bands, I’ve cut up some sheet metal into strips, like 5/8" wide by 2’ long. Its not so much on the rail where the wood separates for me, cuz the staples hold enough down pressure for that. The wood behaves however it wants on the flats, though. So I am strapping the pieces down with the band right over it, stapling through the wood AND the metal band over it. This way I can shove wood shims between the band and the wood strip to get it snug to the foam where I need to. Yeah, I could make 6 cents an hour on this board…IF I could even sell it to someone 
I’m about 3/5 done wrapping this thing. No point in more pics yet. Wash, rinse, repeat. In between work, and maintaining peace with my little family. ‘F the damn surfboard…’ I have heard more than once, now. I wanted to add this link I came across…I found it useful in selecting wood types, and there is some basic info on bending. Old news I’m sure to Crex, Wood Ogre, and the wood pros, but may be useful for somebody to read. I mean, I am in the trades, but framing siding roofing trim etc I don’t pay minute attention to things like grain direction every day like furniture and cabinet guys have to. What I learned from this is to try to constrict the elongation of the outside of the piece, which is not so big of a deal with these thin strips, but if I pinch or clamp a band onto the piece prior to bending, it does work better on the tighter radii. The stuff about grain direction is true, it can screw you trying to bend a piece that is simply NFG… I went from poplar to ash, available as scrap at work. Ran out of ash. Milled up some more strips from another stick, didn’t pay attention to the grain, ended up with half the pile unusable. I glued one questionable piece on, and it buckles up where the grain runs off the edge of the strip. There should be just enough to do this board without having to buy anything else except the one bottle of glue I bought, until I get around to glassing it. I’ll add pics at some point, when I go about adding some thickness to the deck…http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Rx_For_Bending_Wood.html"> Rx_For_Bending_Wood.html </a>
cool jets.
…ambrose…
the least exciting build thread, just for you! But I am having fun, despite a warble in the tail of my board that will piss me off forever. I have five strips in the front to bend and glue. Yeah, theys better ways to go about this. Some areas needed a line of glue, after the initial gluieng.But it feels tight as a frogs and I think mebbe next weekend I can router the center and fill that in nice and crisp-like, and then figger out the top. I post when there’s is a lull. Makes sense to me.[img_assist|nid=1049911|title=wants to be a fish so badly|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480][img_assist|nid=1049912|title=if I am 1 inna 1000 then this picture is worth 100 words|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480][img_assist|nid=1049913|title=All mos deh|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480]
The best board in the history of the known universe
is not measured in the relm of calipers and rulers.
The finest thread * is not measured accuratly
in terms of corse and fine,but in deed itself.
The doing of the surfboard to derive satisfaction:
personal growth as surfer and applied craftsman,
are the highest measure of success,and self improvement.
self agrandizement and market share strategy pale in significance
to an obtuse build reinventing the wheel just for the halibut.
Kudos laddie for striking out where not many have tread
in the name of Duke K. ,Chuck Yara,and Felix Seidler.
not to leave out Terry Lidells dad ,that weird kid down the street
and untolled others that keep the essence of the true gift of surfing
…alive… May this board derive you the finest ride of your life…
…ambrose…
and may the perfect board guys
and the I just bought it guys
be revealed for their own real selves:
cartoons of real people standing outside
a rick griffin cartoon surf shop
watching a kid walk past with Stoby
on the way to the beach to outclass them
in oh so many ways.
*Ambiguity intentional
Sanding this feels like sanding a hardwood floor. Which is good because I am not likely to sand through. I expect this board will be no lighter than a HWS, but I don’t care. I will never attain aerial maneuvers or find myself wanting a ‘light’ board for any other reason, I think, other than walking far to certain breaks. I am only basing my weight indifference on the fact that my favorite board that I made weighs ~12lbs, it’s not much over 6’ long, but despite the weight, even in mushy waist-highs it goes like a king. I got the bottom routed this weekend and filled with a strip of cedar. Ambrose, thanks a lot for giving me a big forehead… I enjoy reading your posts; I’m glad you got a kick out of these caveman tactics. I’m not out to prove anything other than to myself, trying to envision something and make it happen. Reinventing the wheel for the hell of it is enjoyable if there’s no deadline…also, just seeing what can be done with minimal money and oddball materials, I like that. Circumstance, money, whatnot ends me up working slowly and without all the best materials. crex’s board and others by Oneula, nocean, and many others, I aspire to some kind of tribal element that I sense in the mix of materials I see in those boards as much as the sleek beauties I see posted that are just foam and glass. I have a long learning curve to follow, but it is stress free.[img_assist|nid=1050010|title=cedar laid into slot|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480][img_assist|nid=1050011|title=same|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480]
well it looks like some of you guys were following this one back in the spring and then I fell off the earth. Retarded episode of drunken insanity got me in legal trouble and family trouble and now it’s costing me immensely, moneywise at the least. On the upside I am dwelling in an indefinite period of not entirely intentional sobriety, which is good, been almost three months. Now not being an unpredictable alien in a me suit has changed a lot of what I do…regarding this forum I have turned into more of a reader of threads than posting every damn thing I can think of. Well, I just wanted to close up this thread. Working on this board was a long, pathless love affair, and in the end she had her way. I ruined it more or less, recutting the outline front and back. can’t figure this one out. Finally decided to stick her on the shelf, maybe go back to it in 5 years or let someone practice glassing on it. Couldn’t get over the outline which I didn’t like, I think I didn’t even finish shaping it really before I jumped into all the wood wrapping. Or the golf ball profile rails about mid length, or the flat deck…anyway, in hindsight: I gotta work on everything before getting all technical, especially being 100 % on the outline. I still think this wrapped wood look is wicked cool. Crex’s tip of doing it in 2 pcs is probably key, for better clamping access. And thinner strips. So, hats off to crex and anyone else who has pulled this off without giving up on it or messing it up! Only been surfing maybe five times this year. Hadn’t totally finished the board I made prior to this one, went back to it this past weekend and gave it a facelift, had all effed up artwork on the deck before, now I feel better about it. Hoping for Pt Judith to go off in September so I can take it out. Just gotta finish sanding. Thanks for all the fun reading, everyone. I learn lots of cool stuff here.[img_assist|nid=1053179|title=facelift|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480][img_assist|nid=1053180|title=scrap corecell reinforcement|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480][img_assist|nid=1053181|title=seven foot-ish, a lttle heavy…waiting for big rollers|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=480]
What a beautiful outline. Looks awesome
Hey was wondering what happened to this thread, good effort on the board, I reckon its a wicked look too just not brave enough to try it:)
Board above looks like it will fly! , all the best.