Hi all, I was cutting out an outline for a 9’2" using a 9’4" B blank. Unfortunately I started angling the saw blade from a vertical position to a slightly canted angle through the cut. The board was supposed to be 22" wide. At the center point, the deck measures 11 and 11. On the bottom though, there is now a half inch difference side to side - 11 and 10 1/2. Any suggestions? Is this salvageable or am I looking at making this board a shortboard. Loooking at the cut topside it looks perfectly symmetrical. Flip it over and you can see the dip where the blade began to angle.
Re template the board to 21" wide. That’s about the best suggestion. These things happen.
Well unless you want an asymetrical board then you gotta lose 1/2 inch on the wider side to even it up.
dig this - 1/2 " to the bottom edge then its like 1/4" at the middle o’ the thickness so pretend you didn’t notice and ,just shape the board …then notice just before you turn the rails then retempate you may only lose 1/2" overall(1/4" each side)just see the perfect finished board in your mind and it will be as perfect as we all are in the eyes of our parents and “our " creator . anal?make a new template off the small railand transfer it to the fat rail and what ever YOU DO don’t measure and change it so much it becomes 15 1/2” wide like george weavers … aloha from waipouli
Another lesson learned, the hard way. A few years ago I watched in horror as one of the shapers who is across the hall from me began sawing out a 12’6" tandem board. To start with, the blank is 5-1/2" thick, secondly, he was sawing right on the pencil line, thirdly, I watched the saw start tracking farther and farther over, until it was a good 10-15 degrees away from vertical. When he trued the 1/2" of foam that was salvagible, the outline dipped in a good 3/4 of an inch at the deck line. He just turned rails as if it was completely normal, the board looked like Mr. Peanut when it was done. So much for “Pro” shapers. Tip, give yourself plenty of room outside of the plan shape pencil line, you can take it off, but never put it back on. The old adage, “he who hasn’t time to do it right, has time to do it over”
To avoid this you need to either take your time OR use a full template and a router.
Consider that if you take a hand held jig saw with a long wood cutting about 8 tooth per inch, which will give you a perfectly vertical cut and follow an eigth of an inch outside the scribed line of the projected outline of the board that has been penciled on the top of the blank. It’ll go pretty fast and easy too. When you have roughed out the bottom of the board you’ll be ready to flip it, do a little prelimary work on the deck and then you can work to the outline by feathering off the excess with a planer. It’s one approach that I’ve seen used and it seems to work beautifully. There are many experienced shapers on this forum that know far more about shaping than I. I’m sure there are several tried and true ways of approaching this stage of shaping. Mahalo, Rich
yeah, i’ve seen the jigsaw method, but i’m not so sure that it’s a true vertical cut, the blade isn’t that stiff that it can’t angle a little. however, if you do like you suggest, giving adequate room on the outside of the template, it should work. just remember, go slow and steady!!!
Allen, If you have the right jig saw you can get blades for it that are about 7 to 8’ long that are plenty stiff. In the end having the right tool for the job and knowing how to use it is what makes a project turn out well. Off to the fin shop, Rich
I use a jig saw and grind the tops to fit into the saw right. I even have a blade that does paddle boards. I’ve used all kinds of saws for cut out and I can tell you that in the end it’s not the saw, it’s the hand the saws in.
greg, i most definitely have to agree with you on that last point!!!
i find it much easier to get a straight outline cut if you stand next to the blank and saw straight up and down with the saw close to your body. almost touching the blank with your hip. austin
My son, Richard, uses a hand-held jig saw w/ long woodsaw blade. I tried it once, but didn’t pay close enough attention and the blade angled toward the deck for an uneven cut. Re-templated 22 inch width to 21 inches. His friend did the same thing on his first longboard attempt. Richard simply glued the cut railband back on with contact cement and re-templated the outline. shape the blank and fill in any crack lines w/ spackling, then laminate w/ opaque glass job. Jeff Sewell of Mana surfboards on Maui used to use a circular saw w/ a masonry blade. Too scary for me!!! I prefer a sharp wood cutting handsaw and careful attention to keeping the cut as vertical as possible and not too close to the line.
Keep your cut line about an 1/8 of an inch away from your outline and angle the saw a degree or two from top to bottom. By Doing your cut in this fashion the bottom of your cut will be slightly wider, which you can true up with a surform or a planer. If you cannot attain perfection, seek the illusion of perfection.
If you really want to have 22 wide then gluing a piece back on makes sense. addinig to the rail is a lot eaiser than trying to add to the deck or bottom. If I was ordering a board from you I would prefer you took the time to get it to the requested width. Blending in even a 1/4 inch can throw your whole outline out of whack if you are not careful.