Is a Surfboard kit worth it for a first time builder?

General Discussion
21

I was going to make some stands from here http://www.surfersteve.com/stands.htm

As for the spokeshave handplane you mean this one? http://www.foamez.com/hobby-multiplane-p-872.html

22

This one seems even better as i can get free 2x4’s http://greenlightsurfsupply.com/images/PDFS/shaping_rack_drawing.pdf

 

23

I actually meant this one.  I think Greenlight sells these, too.  

 

http://www.foamez.com/spokeshave-p-156.html

 

Better to get both types of planes, but if you can only afford one I think the spokeshave might do better at handling both the flats and the curves.  With care, you can bring stringers down with a sureform and finish with a sanding block, too; but I’m not a fan of that.  

24

If you build those Greenlight racks I’d suggest adding cross braces to stiffen things up a little bit.  Particularly if you are shaping without a planer you really want those racks to be as stable as possible.

25

The little planes I showed have an option for putting the blade on the round side to cut the nose area. Building racks with the cement in a bucket for the base will allow you to store them in a smaller footprint.

This can become quite an obsession, before long you’re going to start looking at vacuum systems to keep the dust down, and all kinds of other ways to spend a lot of money. Start with the minimum tool set, improvise on the things that you can. I shaped more than one board on a cardboard box on my knees under my house. Then I spent several months digging out my man cave so that I could stand up and work. I currently use a black and decker workbench and swap out my shaping/sanding stand with my glassing stand. I really like the B&D workbench. I clamp my belt sander in it upside down and use that for a sanding machine to work on fins or other things like paddles.

For your first one think outside the box. The main thing is to have a sturdy enough surface, and that your board doesn’t move around. Working with power planers is dangerous. The cardboard box was terrible, but I was shaping EPS and I didn’t use power tools, so it wasn’t dangerous. The photos don’t have the heavy blocks I place on the stand to hold it down solid.