I bought your video “Master Shapers Series” and watch it last night… excellent vid, 100% instructional, no B.S… now I see why they call you The Genius…
If you don’t mind I have a couple of questions regarding your video:
1- I noticed that the side lights of your shaping bay are placed higher than usual… if so, is there any technical or particular reason for it? and what is the distance from your shaping racks height and the side lights?
2- when shaping a short board truster…do you have any tips or suggestions of how to power plane the railbands up the nose rocker as fluently and clean as you shaped the railbands on the first longboard…
My lights are set to throw enough light across the deck as to not leave me in the dark. How I hit uon what works for me is, I have my working rack height, wired my lights, put a blank on the racks and slowly raised the lights until I got what I liked best. I see some shapers with the lights way too low and shielded, I WANT light, sometimes I will lift one rail too get even more light to illuminate the board briefly.
The first bands on short boards is fairly easy, your way over on the edge of the outline, but as you get closer to being into the rocker, you lose the ability to get completely into the last bit of the nose flip. I let the band taper out and then hand finish the last 6 inches or so. I feel if this small amount can get away from me, then I better quit
Hey jim what advantage do you take from higher lights ? I know if mine are to high I tend to go snow blind, my eyes are definately getting sensitive after 20 years of this. Hows YOUR night vision? Idefinately think looking at high def images all day in the blue box has effected my vision. Low light evening session anyone!
It’s even worse in low light in the mountains boarding
I see enough of other shapers rooms and the quality of their work to see what works with the final results. The darkened rooms have the least contrast and the poorest looking products coming out. I have black walls and a little more light, I’ve seen shapers with their back walls lined with roughed blanks, a white distraction for less background accuracy. I’m trying to remove anything thatb distorts or obscures my field of vision, as you can see, I need glass, but at 58 that’s a given and my night vision has holes in it (could be from arc welding)fries the rods even with my welders shield
Jim- I personally like darker colors as well but Tend to stick to ocean hues - have shaped in black and brown(yuck) both tended to be kind of depressing - I think having good stiff and perfectly level shaping racks as well as level lights both front to back and in relation to each other is also key to a quality product.
Lately I’ve also really enjoyed having a clutter free and super clean room - much easier on the brain
I have another “student”, he says his wife hates me, but the Master Shapers Series isn’t a big 'ol pat on the back for me, it is tech school from the easy boy. 40 years plus, minus, all the mistakes I had to endure, the hard way. One poor soul recorded over the rail band part by mistake! Keep shaping