should i build a mini simmons or?

hi all,

i’m 14 years old i come from australia and i really intrested in making and shaping surfboard i have been getting old boards and cutting them down and makiing them into fish boards and other retro baords like that and now i want to start from a blank.

Now this is where you guys come in with experience, do you think i should keep making them old board and cutting them down for a bit longer and then start making boards from scratch?

thanks riley edwards

great to see a young grom from Oz into shaping, its the age I was when I first chopped into some foam…go for it, shape from blanks of any sort, just shape as much as you can and ride every sort of board you can mate…and mini’s are great fun, but not easy to make a really good one I reckon…go for it…and check out the thread on here called " bars of soap"…

www.MOREsurfboards.com

My opinion is that if the board is an eighties board or older then it is properly more fun to seal the dings and ride it as it is. Boards from the nineties to today will tend to be too thin to bother stripping back and reshaping. Some chunky boards or snapped mals could be ok to play around with. When you want to make a board as a keeper the cost of a new blank is worth investing in. You will not be limited by the left over foam from the old board.
Have fun and keep in mind the learning curve of your finished boards is pretty quick and even the roughies you have made yourself are fun to ride.

Riley,

By all means, get a blank and start carving.   And yes, make a mini Simmons.     How ever it turns out, you will learn something       It will allow you to apply what you learn to your future boards.

thanks heaps for this information do you think i should try make my own fins?

thanks heaps to all you guys,

 

Oh yeah, you can do the fins.

Lots of information on Sways - ply is good for Simmons fins.

Some context: http://vimeo.com/15032156

 

Thanks moss,

have you made any before cause i dont know where to start from?

[quote="$1"]   ...do you think i should try make my own fins? [/quote]

No.    Concentrate on the board.     Buy the fins.    You don't need to reinvent the wheel.    

Listen to Bill Thrailkill. He’s the real deal.

 

okay but wont they be to big for my Mini simmons as it wont be as big as the average size mini simmons?

[quote="$1"] okay but wont they be to big for my Mini simmons as it wont be as big as the average size mini simmons? [/quote]

Who knew?     You never stated the dimensions.      You should be able to buy some small keels, or halfmoons.      If not, make what you want.    Perhaps a Swaybro has some.

Hi Riley
Like Bill says you may be better focussing on the board at this stage - fins are yet another challenge. You shouldnt wory about the size - they are availble in many sizes - take a look at the lokbox range - they have loads. Perhaps though the cheapest alternative would be the FCS FK2 fins - they are a small keel and have the regular 2 plugs - should be pretty cheap over in Aus.
I’ve made tons of boards with guys your age. Best advice is do PLENTY of research - theres loads of good shaping clips on YouTube. Equally if you are going to glass it yourself check out YouTube - you may also find that your local shapers and laminators may let you watch them - that is invaluable.
Finally just take your time…theres no prize for finishing first on this…
Cheers
Rich
www.thirdshade.com

Thanks heaps rich,

going to check out your website you gave me hope it helps me :)

Thanks riley