So, school is almost out (still have exams during April but its close!) and I’m and itching to start on a new board. All I have time for now is the template, and thus I’ve done the outline (oh, it’s a beautifull outline 7’6 X 11.25-nose X 23 - center X 17.5- tail) and now am trying to do the rocker template without explicit rocker numbers (ie: previously I’ve taken rocker templates from catalogues and just copied them exactly). It’s not turning out how I want it (I dont have APS 3000 of anything like it, so it’s by hand). Question: how do you guys draw a rocker template by hand? I’ll get it eventually by trial and error and “that looks like what I want” but does anyone have a method (not eyeballing it) which wont take the rest of my life?
the way i draw rockers is by putting dots every foot or so and take a door skin, place it on its side, and bend it to the dots
the problem with this is the nose rocker never comes out just right unless you have someone else hold the door skin and you trace or other other way around
i’m sure there are better ways but this just works for me
Hey Skiny. That’s what I do too. How do you get the desired thicknesses at the right points, and end up with a nice flowing curve? Do you just copy rocker template numbers like below which tell you how high to locate each point? If not how do you pull it off? Anyone…
“I’ll get it eventually by trial and error and “that looks like what I want” but does anyone have a method (not eyeballing it) which wont take the rest of my life?”
It has taken me a whole lifetime, enjoyed every minute. Trial and error and that “looks like what I want” IS the best way to go.
are you designing a board to scale at this point or cutting your rocker template for hot wiring and EPS blank?
Ya, I’m designing it to scale on tar paper (roofing paper).
And I think I might download APS 300 at school next time I’m in. At home I’m on dialup so no go… But I’d still like to figure out how to do it all by hand.
Ah - old boatbuilder tricks strike again -
To make your pattern, or patterns, use this method:
Make your patterns out of 1/4" plywood. It’s cheap and good enough for this. Make your measurements from the straight edge, then connect the dots with a batten : a thin piece of straight-grained wood. Tack it so the edge of the batten is along your marks, scribe your line along that batten and then you have it. You can then cut your curve on it and you’ve got something to work with.
Oh, do it again for your other curve, the last on the right, using these numbers:
I would take a 4x8 sheet of 1/4 ply and rip it into four 12" x 8’ strips, then use them in pairs to hotwire-cut the curves.
This method is what’s used in designing and laying out boat curves. A professional boatbuilder ( me) will keep a good batten for years. Back in the day, they used battens to make all kinds of curves, like those of airplane wings:
hope that’s of use
doc…
