since i joined this site ideas on building boards have poured into my head. so i was wondering if you could make a solid pine mini simmons type thingy and if so how??? i was thinking just get some 2X8 boards and drawing up an outline, cutting it out, drilling out and sanding some holes, glueing the thing up, and shaping the rails. whew thats long lol. ohh yea and do you have to glass or can you varnish it up.
give me your thoughts (keep in mind im 16 and have little to no budget to work with)
Strategically place the knots!! Check out swieds wood build. The knots would be your only drawback, find some clear 2x’s and run with them. There was a mini simmons thread also a while back.
Since you are on a budget, check Craig’s list for free stuff and low price lumber. Maybe redwood decking?
If looking for new lumber, kiln dried 2x4 from home depot are cheap and light for pine. You may need to scarf joint to get your rocker. Definitely get ahold of a drill and jigsaw, so you can chamber the board.
A 1 ft by 1 ft scrap of ply could yield two keel fins.
May be you could get all your wood for free on this one?
I don't know how big you are, but 2" thick sounds too thin to me. And 7' sounds too long to be a mini-simmons, if that's what you're after. You might do a search on "Simmons", and also spend some time browsing photos (click resources, then click photos). I would't want to discourage you, but I will say time spent in the planning and choosing stage will pay off in spades when you get to the building and surfing stages.
Might be able to give more specific advice if you tell us a bit more about yourself, your experience surfing and shaping, and what type of waves you'll be riding.
well im 6’1" 177 lbs . i ride cold fronts, hurricanes, and trips to the east coast of florida (all beach). i was kinda leaving the idea of a simmons just because i see the 3+ inches of foam for more float than speed, and pine is heavy. the funboard creeped up on me because its the only board i have never really ridden and i have a friend who has aboard shape i can copy. (unless you have some cool specs you would be willing to hand over lol)
the waves i get at home are never more than 7 at there best unless i travel. quick close out and windy/choppy. i am fairly noob at surfing, maybe one turn and down the line… (again rides are super short so i dont really know)
the idea for this board is, i guess, to be as fast down the line as possible (not an alaia) and have the ability to have some fun on longer waves too.
If I could make a few suggestions, go narrower in overall width(21 or less) and narrow in the tail(rounded pin instead of squash) with your funboard. Pull the nose in also, more speed egg than classic egg. This will help for the fast waves you are going to ride.
I am about the same size you are, and I have a 6-10 wide tail that does not not do well in steeper waves unless they are chest high and below. I also have a 7-0 rounded pin that does much better as those fast breaking waves get bigger.
Thickness around 2 5/8, because you want to be able to duck dive this board reasonably well in that beachbreak.
Fin set up depends on what you like? Thruster probably because they hold real well in steep waves, but two plus one could work well. 2+1 would allow you to put a bigger fin in the back for stability when transitioning down to this size, and hold when the waves are bigger.
6-10 or so is plenty of foam for 177 lbs, once you get used to it. Good Shaping.
I don’t really like squash tails so the rounded pin was what I was planning on. How about 20" for the width? The fin setup was puzzling me though. If I do a thruster can I put in FCS or would a single 7"-8" be ok too?
FCS, Futures, or probox would all work well for the thruster set up. It just depends on what you like or what you can afford. You know, fins, boxes, alignment jig, router bit to cut out the box opening.
2+1 with the big box in the middle and whichever boxes for the side bites could be set up as single big fin, sides with medium center, or thruster( if you buy or make the special center fin that fits way back in the box). You could have it all.
If you go FCS, use the new fusion boxes. The old style plugs get damaged too easily. They take some real work to fix properly.
20" sounds good. I have a 21", and I keep thinking I would like it a bit better if it were thinner. It would be easier to duck as well.
I am going the chambered route now lol. 42 lbs is killer and I’m not skilled enough yet to do a HWS. I don’t have a router or know anyone that does so I think I’ll just go with a glass on.
BTW should I glass or varnish the Board? I have never glassed before and have no idea how to, i have only fixed dings and holes punched by rocks or heads.
Just the balsa for your blank would run 800. That is with the best price in SD (6.58 a board foot).
I just did a HWS in bass, redwood and cedar, for about 300. Including instructional CD from Paul Jensen.
Shaped board and hand made quads with leftover deck material. It just needs to be glassed. It was a lot of work, but any wood board is going to be. When the exterior glass goes on it should be close to a pu/pe board with a good glass job, as for it’s weight.
You could keep the cost down by using recycled lumber( redwood, cedar) and going with some poplar, which is cheap, light, and strong compared to a lot of other woods. Do you have access to a thickness planer, tablesaw, or bandsaw? Thickness planer or drum sander will save you a ton of work.
I wanted to do a chambered balsa, but it is just too much money for me right now. I am going to try and round up some agave stalks. Not exactly the same as balsa, but they grow in my area. And some people just give them away, if I do the work of removing them. Almost as good as free.
Is there a good way to finish a board(wood) without glass. Away that doesn't require a lot of maintenance? Honest question.
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Some of the wood board builders at http://www.grainsurf.com/forum/index.php finish their boards without glass, resin only. You could post a ques. over there, and probably get an in depth answer.