I just got done shaping my first two boards ever (still need to do fin boxes and glassing)! I’m stoked on the results but I just wanted to share and see what everyone/anyone else thinks.
The first one was a retro twin fin fish, started with the dimensions of 5’6" x 21" x 2.5" but then figured out that would be too much volume for me, only being 140lbs… So I brought it down 2in. to 5’4", kept the wide point at 21" and brought the thickness down to 2.25". Has a slightly convex nose about 12in. into the board and then goes to a single concave through the tail.
The second board is based off a …Lost Rocket. I was going for 5’6" x 19.25" x 2.25", but messed up with the concave and it slimmed down a little. Ended up being 5’6" x 19.125" x 2.125", so not toooo bad of a loss in volume, and like I said I don’t weigh a whole lot so it should go pretty well for me still. Single cocave that transitions to a slight double in the tail.
I’ll post the pics in a separate comment. Tell me what you guys think!
…hello; its look ok for the first ones. The outlines seem to have a few spots not so true; put the shapes on the rails again and check against the Blue and you ll see.
yeah in the pictures they definitely dont look 100% symmetrical. i think they were leaning and not sitting perfect on the foam pads i had on the ground. in person i couldnt really notice anything wrong and i looked very hard at them haha. but im in a class at my university “surfboard design and fabrication” and our first project was to shape a scale model out of foam and we used those mini racks for it. (wasn’t anything like a real blank but it was a cool learning tool)
Yeah i know i still have a lot to learn, buti was happy with them for them being my firsts, and i dont even have a board thats in rideable condition as of right now so im even happier!
Looking good. I see you have a rocker jig? THAT is a nice tool to have!
Not criticism here - just trying to help:
On the photo of the fish with bottom up on the rack, take a really good look along the bottom edge/rocker curve on both sides. The more you develop an eye for that curve/edge comparison, the more you will drive yourself crazy.
Don’t go too crazy or you’ll end up with a ‘bad haircut’ that got chased back and forth until you didn’t have much left. In the Damascus shaping video Jim Phillips uses a nifty long handled sanding ‘paddle’ to reach out and hit any high spots that are otherwise out of reach. A hard pad or block is much better for knocking down high spots than a soft foam sanding pad which might only make matters worse - especially if any high spots are due to hard/soft spots in the foam. Too much running the full length of the board with a soft pad can introduce problem areas if the foam density has inconsistencies.
…I am not talking about the symmetry; more like J Mellor says about high and low spots but in the rail line; when you put the shape in the U of the racks, move the shape back and forth in the U (to the sides) to see the roundness of the rails and how those lines interact with the deck and outline (checking from middle to nose; middle to tail) You have those bumps there; and still you have possibility to smooth out everything; the dims still have room for your weight if that s a concern.
