Hey I just started my first board and its gonna be a 5’7" round tail shortboard and I don’t have a power planer . I was wondering if this is too thick I weigh 135 and I am 5’ 11" . The board is about 20.25 wide . Can I start the rail at this thickness. Also what is the most effective way to bring down the boards thickness. I am also having problems with the block planer trying to shave it down that is why I’m asking.
Even with a power planer, you’ll still get some blanks that tear and look just like using a dull hand plane on them. The way to address a ragged surface is learning how to coarse sand using the long blocks (or long surform). Know when to stop early with the new planer, or else you’re going to have a too thin board after sanding. And don’t even attempt to do rails with it until you can easily do them by hand. On the Ryobi, set the cut depth less than 1/16 and leave it there. Run it forwards and backwards (scrubbing) crosswise, or going lengthwise just repetitive overlapping passes.
Get the primarly thickness points about 1/4" oversize (each side) using lengthwise and crosswise planer passes. On both the bottom and deck, make a flat reference band about 2" on either side of the stringer which is at finished thickness nose to tail. After the rails are almost to shape, use the long blocks and make sweeping passes (working from the opposite rail) using that center flat path as a guide with minimal pressure. Sorta like reverse-banding out to the rails. Same thing on the bottom, but a bit different depending on the contours. There was a different post about how to get both sides of the deck even, and this is how to do it. The key is that flat 4" center band as a guide. Remember that you should have about two rail bands cut previously and that’s what to sand out to. Maybe too much info here, but possibly of use to others.
For a beginner, the best way to learn shaping is to get the process down first with hand tools and then use the power tools only to make it more efficient. In the early stages, your primary tools will be calipers, sanding blocks, and the block plane (maybe a spokeshave also). So just use the new planer in place of your hand plane for now.
Go toYoutube, go to the archives.....we can't tell you how to shape a board, we can show you. But You first and must have an understanding how to do it. There is a process, some vary from the process, some don't..some have good results, some don't. I'm putting your board in the some dont pile.
My process:
1) skin blank, and true up for lumps and bumps..and plane for thickness of board. Blanks are never perfect from source.
2) Draw outline, and cut. Now put rail up and run planer over outline at 0 cut to get any humps or low spots on outline out...never touch outline again
3) Get deck all perfect
4) get bottom all perfect
5)Turn rails and blend
6) scrub out lines and oops's for final glassing.
7) glass etc
8) look at board and figure out how you could have done it better
9) dream of how you could do it better
10) day dream during school or job as to how you could do it better
11) start process with making new board
12) repete step 1)
"Sager" advice. The disease that drives Swaylock's. Well said Mr. Head.
You guys seem to have skipped right over Ace’s comment. That doesn’t look like tearing from dull blades, it looks like he is still going through the crust, and not into the consistent foam yet.
Second point, how can we possibly guess the thickness from a picture? Lens angle. distance to object. Put a tape measure against the rail, and then take the picture. I’ll bet that also shows you are still at max thickness.
Before you ruin that $70 blank, go get a $10 piece of EPS foam from Home depot. Learn to use the tools on that first.
Yea harbor freight planer will get you by,I saw a ryobi on amazon for 40$.Craigslist, flea market, etc. Be on the lookout for old skil planers. If you put your location in your profile you might find a member here who’d let you borrow one for a six pack.
Craigslist...or Harbor Freight if you have one near by?
Harbor sells cheap quality tools, but I have some that have lasted prettty good. I got a few nail guns and sanders that refuse to die. So there planer might be decent for a few 100 surfboards?
Go toYoutube, go to the archives.....we can't tell you how to shape a board, we can show you. But You first and must have an understanding how to do it. There is a process, some vary from the process, some don't..some have good results, some don't. I'm putting your board in the some dont pile.
My process:
1) skin blank, and true up for lumps and bumps..and plane for thickness of board. Blanks are never perfect from source.
2) Draw outline, and cut. Now put rail up and run planer over outline at 0 cut to get any humps or low spots on outline out...never touch outline again
3) Get deck all perfect
4) get bottom all perfect
5)Turn rails and blend
6) scrub out lines and oops's for final glassing.
7) glass etc
8) look at board and figure out how you could have done it better
9) dream of how you could do it better
10) day dream during school or job as to how you could do it better
Lots of threads on here about how to use the planer do a search. Some
More blue tarps to build a tent plus some form of sidelights will make a world of difference to your shaping it will also help contain the dust which will go everywhere and stick to everything.
EPS ? Looks like a poly blank to my old eyes. That being the case you gotta get thru the “crust” first. looks like you are using two tools surform and block plane both incorrectly. Clean up that outline !!! Welcome to shaping.
It’s a poly blank what am up I doing wrong with them. I was gonna go get the ryobi Tomorrow morning enless someone can show me or teach me how to use both
I agree with the above posts. I tend to make boards with more float than most but if you turn the rails at this point I think your board will be way to corky feeling for you making it hard for you to put it on rail. Make some calipers or just use your tape measure since it's EPS. Bring it down to no more than 2.5" and then start to turn your rails. At your weight and your demensions the board will have plenty of float even at two inches. An easy way with eps is to shave down the stringer and then sureform the thickness to the stringer. Pay attention to not changing rocker and to keeping everything even and square relative to the bottom. If you are using just hand tools you cant get in a hurry. It takes a long time to get it right. Thats why most use power tools.