Okay, a week or so ago I was wondering whether it’s better to plane first or cut the outline first.
I just finished planing first, then cut the outline second, and I’m blown away by how much easier it was to get a good outline. So much better! Outline is smoother, easier to cut (less foam, no hard skin), 90 degrees the whole way, much less physical effort…
it took me 5 boards before i noticed the pros all did it this way…i switched and will never go back…planing first, outlining second is much better, IMHO
You can just skin and level it off or do the whole works before linining.
I line before cutting usually,(impatient,lazy)but it takes loads of shapes/years of experience to get it correct this way.the other way is much more accurate.Herb
I was surfing the other day with Ritchie Collins. He told me thats how he does it , but I wasn’t sure if he was full of beans. Thanks for the tips I’m going to try that method on #2. I think the outline using the software might be #3 because of the learning curve. Thanks DR
this is how I do it. I either just skim the crust off the blank and sand smooth or not at all…then I template, cut out, true it up then I make marks/lines on the rail side/edges as to how deep I want to go. mow some foam and check the rocker and thickness as I go… I find doing it this way I get the board very even on both sides/rails…I aint no pro but that’s how I do it…
I’m with Soulstice, always thin the rails as much as possible with prelim cuts, so you have less meat to try to 90 degree. Big fat 2" rails are hard to get true.
Modern boards with down rails, template on bottom.
I would normally sit back and defer to the veterans on this one, but I have a different approach and Lee’s last post raised some questions for me. This is my process (for a down railed board, say a modern shortboard):
I plane the bottom down to the desired thickness
Cut appropriate length off the nose and tail with a handsaw to get the desired board length
make any rocker adjustments (i find that it’s easier to do this accurately once the board is cut down to its final length but before the nose and tail have been narrowed to the actual shape of the board)
My question for Lee – do you ever find it difficult to keep your rails even when you take down the rail thickness at the same time that you skin the deck? It has always felt more controlled to me if I skin the deck and leave the rails as square as possible and then start in on the rail bands.
One last thought here . . . while I agree with Lee that it is tougher to true your outline when your rails are 2" thick, I also think it is safer in that if you do happen to dip or undercut your outline while cutting, there’s a good chance that the problem will be corrected when you do your rail bands. (that may take more explanation – if you template on the bottom and cut with the board on the racks deck down, then any undercutting will impact the deck foam, but if you have yet to skin the deck or take any foam off the rails, then you have a safety cushion.)
Different strokes for different folks I guess, but it’s interesting to hear other approaches.
I thinks it’s a preference thing: I like to cut my outline and true it up first. I feel that foil, rocker, and deck consistency is more easily measured, viewed and maintained with the rails in a square 90 degree state. Progress and symmetrics are simply checked by measuring rail thickness on both sides at an equal distance.
As far as achieving an easier and/or better outline. If your template is precise, and you’re using the right tools (a planer), I can’t see where either method has much of an advantage. Any short distance, template transfers errors such as the pencil jumping over lump or around ridges will not be followed by the planer anyway.