A friend and I decided that it would be fun to try and build some alaias in Massachusetts and see how it goes. Havent seen anyone riding one of these in the area so it will be fun to experiment. We got some pine and glued the first one up tonight. Ill keep a continuos thread here with picture updates and all that to keep you guys posted. Feel free to leave advice or give advice to anyone who might be interested in doing so. I figured posting step by step pics of a first timers build might help out others who wish to try this too. Here is a picture of the first alaia being glued up.
Same, here. I tore down about 50yds of what I thought was cedar fencing at work. Come to find out it is all clear redwood 1x6. Shorts, only 6ft tall. So I did a glue of two panels that are 3/8 thick--ie--made a 3/4" alaia. Dont have any Idea about outline, so I just made up my own. And Im shaping it how I think it should work. I will post pics also. I used gorilla glue on mine but read in the archives that west marine two part epoxy is the way to go. OH Well I dont think its going to fall apart. If it does I have enough material to make 8 more. :)
Stoked to hear about everyones Alaias! Im pumped to cut mine tommorow. We glued up the 2 pine planks by cutting 8 2x4s about 27inches along apiece because the pine was 24 inches wide. We then cut 8 1x4 blocks to wedge in between the 2x4 pieces. We laid down 4 2x4’s, placed the 24 inch pine on top, and sandwiched the pine with another set of 4 2x4’s. We then screwed the 8 1x4 blcoks in between the 2x4s, clamping down the pine. Checked them today and the glue held up well. We will be cutting the outlines tommorow and I will post pictures. 1 will be have a fishtail and the other will have a moontail.
Ok guys so I cut my outline today using a jigsaw and and surform. Took about 45 minutes and was very easy. I reccomend using the jigsaw if avaialabe because it is quick work. I still have to do the rails tommorow and a some type of tail. ( I was thinking moontail, battail or fishtail?) Its about 6’7" by 19" by 1" (probably end up closer to 3/4")and it has a slight hip in the outline so the width varies. I know that might be a little wide but feel free to chime in on how it looks or if I am doing anything wrong Im going to do a concave on the bottom and all that later. I was thinking sharp rails, like 70/30 woould be good throughout the board. Even if its bad Im sure it would help out some guys that are thinking about doing it. Heres the outline I cut today.
Can you see the picture? It wont show up on my computer from some reason.
thinned it out so the width now has a max point of 16 inches, had second thoughts after reading the archive. Looks kinda rough now but Ill keep you posted I think it should come out pretty nice.
Here is some pics of my first time alaia. Sandwiched two boards to make one. Kept the lines from linning up with one another to keep it from possibly spitting there. Redwood fencing old and dry and a waterbed edging Mahogany old old and drie. A little on the heavy side but whatever. I have a sucker friend who said he would give it a go. Im almost done with the major shaping then onto the finish sanding and oil. What do people use- boiled linseed, corn, or walnut? R
I oiled my first one with turpentine and boiled linseed oil 50/50 mix. It seems to repel water pretty well and has worn alright. It did get a little dirty though but you can always sand it back and apply oil again. Ive only taken it out a few times though (prone ) so I have made another a bit bigger I am finishing up soon. Will oil this one with Tung oil and post the results as soon as I have tried it:
6’8’’ x 17 1/2’’ x 1 1/4" Flat bottom /down railed/slight tail rocker and nose rocker. Paulownia planks and two ceder parallel stringers:
Add a little Japan Drier to the linseed/turps mix, that helps it harden. I like about 1 part drier to maybe 8 parts boiled linseed, add turps to get the viscocity you like. I start with pretty thin stuff so it penetrates, then thicker (less turps) as the wood fills. I make it in small batches, pretty much per-use, as linseed has some spontaneous combustion issues. You want to spread the rags you use for applying it flat and outdoors, where they can't build up heat and start a shop fire.
Real nice furniture finish, by the way.
Most good paint departments carry Japan Drier, though as a lot of them are phasing out oil paints it may get tougher to get for anything but the art market.
Been awhile since I have last posted because I have been working hard on the alaia for the past couple of weeks. The shape is done I am just fine sanding it and planning out a logo to burn into the wood. I narrowed the outline out so its max width about 16 or 16.5, and the board has a slight hip with very sharp rails. It was a fairly easy process. I just used a surform and coarse sandpaper to get the rails and slight fish tail to a desired shape. Here is a picture for about a week ago, so the board is not completely shaped in this picture.
