Making my first board.

General Discussion
1

Hi all. Go easy on me, I’m new here ;) 

I recently restored an old 10’2 longboard my gradfather made back in the 50’s and it’s given me the “bug”. Ive never surfed in my life and I’m determined to learn.

So I have gone out and bought myself a blank and shaped up a 9’0 board to learn on. The advise I need from you learned fellows is if my measurements are about right.

Im 44yo, 6ft and about 194lb (88kg). As I said, Ive shaped down to 9’ long, 24" wide (620mm), 3 5/64" (78mm) thick. 

It’s a noserider with squared tail.

Dont worry too much about the photo as it was leaning on an agle so it doesnt look straight, but in reality it’s pretty good. What I need to know is if I need to reduce this any more or will it be ok to glass now and get learning on it?

Ive learnt heaps from this page so far and most of my knowedge has come from here and the University of YouTube.

 

Cheers,

 

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2

Difficult to answer without more detailed photos (rocker, rails, volume distribution…)

Please, do not take my critics badly, a first board is a first board and starting with a 9’ longboard is a bit foolish in my opinion (the longer the curves, the harder it is to get them right); the photo angle may not be optimum but numerous breaks in the outline curve are obvious nevertheless; those are not easy to correct, especially if you don’t “see” them. Very often, novice shapers have not developed eyes acute enough to spot flaws in a curve; This comes with time and looking at hundreds of boards.

If there are flaws in the outline, it’s a safe bet to guess that there are even more of them in the rocker, rails, foil…

Now, will that make your board unrideable? Certainly not. Will it ride as good as one made by a seasoned shaper with thousands of boards under his belt? Probably not. Will it look good? Well…

3

GeeLong,

My first board, that I shaped, was a 10 foot long balsa board.      I was VERY proud of it.       Were that board to surface today, I’d deny all knowledge of it.       It was a fright.      Your first effort looks way better than my first effort.     So, glass it, ride it, and learn from it.       Soldier on, to your next board.    You might want to drop down to 8 feet long, for your next effort.

4

Hello Gee-

As Balsa m.entioned, it will be hard for anyone to give advice or opinion off of one photo.

I think that at the start, having too much advice and opinion can be as damaging as having not enough, so I will give you an eyeful anyways :wink:

I would suggest getting a BYO surfboard guide (or even a kit) from one of the houses like Foamez or Greenlight or an Oz equivalent and work the steps without making up shortcuts.  Or if you like informations that is a lot less mainstream something like Surfer Steve’s website could be useful…but mixing and matching too much information will likely give you a surfboard with too many features and not enough cohesive design.

Another alternative is to get with a shaper and have them tell you what is needed to get the best results with what you have already been working on so far.

There is progression in surfboard shaping and glassing, don’t expect #1 to look like an old master’s.

Decent stands and sidelights make a huge difference, as it is hard to fix what you cannot see.

And if you are starting like me, in a relative ‘vacuum’ from being inland, having a decent board to look at/ feel the rails makes all the difference too.

If you are tech-saavy, you could also download one of the free or inexpensive shaping programs and look at the sample designs, pying attention to the sections/slices that show how the deck/rails/bottom work.  

When the time comes, buy real surfboard glass fibre and real surfboard resin (PE or epoxy, I use epoxy). The upcharge for getting away from boatbuilding or tooling materials pays dividends in ease or use and better looking results. Once you have gained skills then try the ‘alt’ materials- cheap epoxy, hemp, XPS foam, etc…

I would also suggest glassing something smaller with your materials before going after the 9-footer, if that part is new to you.

All the best, keep us posted.

5

As was pointed out, its difficult to answer that from the picture, but it looks good from here.  Mainly a matter of cleaning up the shape, making sure the nose and tail are foiled out to the right thickness, the rails are where you want them, the bottom has any concaves or vee to your satisfaction, and so forth.  Viewing it in a variety of different lighting conditions will help, the more oblique the angle of the lighting, the more it will reveal irregularities in the shape.  

I would be interested in hearing and seeing more of your steps to get to this point, and you will get more useful advice as you share more information and photos.  There is a wealth of experience and knowledge available here, once you learn to navigate the ins and outs of the forum.  I am a backyard builder, but guys like Thrailkill and Balsa are professionals with years of experience.  You get a good cross section of professional and non professional advice here, and the board archives show there is no shortage of talented builders on Swaylocks.

I would also like to hear more about your grandfather and his board.

Kudos to you for jumping right in and shaping your first board, I wish every surfer in the water had that experience, instead of going the Costco Wavestorm route.  

I started surfing (again) at age 54, and made my first homemade board the same year, and haven’t turned back.  The orange longboard shown is 9 foot by 23" wide, one of my first efforts, probably wouldn’t hold up to comparison with a modern showroom board, but a lot of fun to ride.

Surfboard making is almost as addicting as surfing.  Both have a pretty steep learing curve, but with a little stubborn determination its do-able, and you’re on your way!

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6

only other people have ugly babies… 

board number 1 - it’ll float, you’ll get waves, grow as a surfer and be the happiest guy out there - a successful build by almost any standard. 

 

Glass it and ride… 

 

 

7

I agree with Huck and WideAwake. My first board was a 10 footer with foam painted panels, pinlines,all that jazz. Still ride it today, 15 years later. Just one beast of a board, even though it’s now a 9’6" thanks to some guy who headed straight for me even though I was paddling away. Your first board will be your baseline. It ca only get better from there.

8

I agree with these guys - glass it and ride it.   I think that part of the surfing experience is how connected you are to the board you shoose to ride.  The more ownership you have in that choice the better it will work for you.   Besides, one thing building your own teaches you is that it doesn’t have to be perfect to be fun.   

 

As far as doing better is concerned, the next step in your progression will be that you’ll find yourself looking at what other board builders are doing, feeling rails up on boards at the shops, looking at rockers and templates, even of board types you have no interest in building.   I’ve eye-groped 1000 boards, maybe more.   You will, too. 

9

Thank you all so much for the insights. Granted some comments about it being foolish to start on a 9’er come a bit too late considering I’ve laready purchased the board :wink: But I take the point. I know it’s not perfect in shape bus many of you have said (and I fully am aware of this) I am not a pro by any means, I dont purport to be either. I’m not out to do this as a business and take anyones livlihood away either. 

I still have some time before the glass gear is delivered to refine the shape and I mainly did all of this shaping outdoors as im limited in space and didnt want to make a huge mess in my garage.

I only posted this photo as a reference of what I’ve done. I was more curious to know if my measurements I listed sounded about right for this project?

Huck, I have lots more photos on my web site brettcarroll.com.au of this build and also the resotration I did. I shudder to think what the pros would think of how I went about it but I also dont really care either. I did it to the best of my own abilities and knowledge at the time :) 

I should also point out that I do have a proper shaping stand and pretty much all the right tools as used by every other shaper out there minus the dedicated shaping room with lighting.

The surferSteve and Greenlight pages have been major references for me and I’ve spent MANY hours sifting through this page and Youtube for info and inspiration. 

Don’t get me wrong, Im not looking for perfection on my first board. All I want to do is learn to ride the thing and make another one. This for me, is more about an outlet from my stressful work and so far im more than happy with what I have produced :) 

Finally, one of you mentioned about approaching shapers and asking them how they do it etc… I have the advantage of living in Geleong, Australia which is only minutes from the surfing hub of Torquay/Bells Beach, but, Im not exactly an outgoing person who strikes up conversations and to be honest not sure who or how I wold even do this considering I know so little on the subject, but I’m hoping as I get out on the water maybe this will come later on down the track.

Thanks again everyone

10

Glass it and get on out there!  I think you are doing fine and your determination is inspiring.  You should have seen the board I learned on back in ‘63.

11

Yep…  Glass it and get out there!  Looks great.  I’d keep it exactly as it sits.  Any further fussing and you risk the ‘bad haircut’ syndrome.  I.E. not enough here, not enough there, too much here, too much there.  When all is said and done, it turns out narrower, thinner and maybe shorter than intended.  

I have no idea how you went at it but I’d suggest you consider making a template pattern out of hard material like Masonite.  Spend some time getting the curve just right.  Once the pattern is right, try tracing it out on both sides of the blank - top and bottom with a pencil. You might have to shift the pattern a bit as the top and bottom length might not be equal but this will help in several ways.  

  1. You will have a pattern to trace around and it will be much easier to keep things symmetrical.

  2. Using a pencil allows a thin line and if you follow that line, your template will be exactly as you planned.

  3. Tracing top and bottom makes it easier to make sure your outlined blank has squared edges… use a framer’s square anyway to double check.  

I saw your website and it looks like you have good glassing skills.  Best wishes glassing your new board. 

 

 

12

With regard to your measurements;  I usually try to maintain my width and thickness in conjunction with each other.  I use the distance of my shoulder thru my thys to determine where I want my widest point and average thickness.  The idea is that  this is where most of my body weight rests on the board and the place from which I paddle.  I usually roll the bottom under the chest putting a little belly in that area helps the board paddle thru chop.  What I am trying to say is that when I shape a longboard three inches thick; it is generally speaking three inches thick throughout this area.  Same thing for the wide point.  I don’t just hit maximum thickness and width at just one spot on the blank.  It is distributed (ie foiled) into the overall shape.  The average longboard ranges in width from a narrow 21 1/2” thru 23” or 23 1/2”.  Thickness 2 3/4” thru 3 1/4”.   Most of the time you are looking 23” wide and 3” thickness.  That or anything over that will handle your weight and size no sweat.

13

johnmellor and mcding- THANK YOU. 

Those posts contained just the info I have been looking for and had not been able to find reference to until now!

im not going to play with this one too much more. I just want to smooth out the rails just a hair more and I’ll glass it. 

Like all projects, practice makes perfect right!

Thank you so much for the help and encouragement. 

14

I realize that my post may have been a bit harsh, although I said not to take my critics in a bad way; as Bill Thrailkill said, our first boards back then were horrible but you have to consider that Bill made his in the ‘50s and I made mine in 1968; what’s more, making a board in France at the time was more than a challenge as materials were nowhere to be found and I had to strip my old 10’ 3-stringers log and re-shape it into what was supposed to be an 8’ heavily V-bottomed “mini model” (8’ was ultra-mini at the time… We were just making the transition from 10’ or 11’ boards)

The difference between Bill and I (other than the fact that Bill has probably shaped thousands of boards in his career and that my production would rather be counted by hundreds, thanks Huck for comparing me with Bill but it’s just not true) is that I do not reny any of those first monsters that I built, just like you, in my garden, without proper lighting, without proper tools and without any advice or supervision; Actually, I include a photo of that very first board: it’s the one on the left in the photo and yes it’s a beast; nevertheless, I rode my very first tube with it, which is a proof that pretty much anything that floats reasonably well can be ridden. (I suspect that Bill’s comment about his first board was humor, not truth. BTW, any of us would kill to own Bill Thrailkill’s first board ever in his collection.)

My point was only to help you progress and this can only be achieved by looking at hundreds of boards, feeling their curves with your hands and eyes, until you come to the point when you will resent any flaw like a personal agression. Lol.

When I started, the only source of information was SURFER MAGAZINE. I would read and re-read each and every issue (that reached France with a two month lag and SURFER was bi-monthly at the time, no wonder that we were always a trend late…), articles and ads alike. To this day I still remember some of them by heart… That’s how I gathered info like a power planer was the tool of choice for shaping, how to build racks, how to make a template and so on. Today, you have it much easier: pro materials and tools are easily available and, if you cannot get a shaper to give you a few hints, well you have Swaylock’s and a ton of video tutorials on You Tube.

Well, sorry if I sounded agressive or else, it wasn’t meant to be; Your board is far ahead of my first, see below. Keep up working.

15

Hey Balsa. I have much thicker skin than to take offence at your reply :slight_smile:  I’m grateful you took the time to chime in and share your knowledge. I’ve learned not to take things written on forums to heart because the written word can be read many different ways depending on your mood.