{{tail block wood}}

can you use any type of wood for blocks, nose or tail? what about a piece of pine? i know it will suck water if there is ever a ding, but it is light and cheap. what are some good types of wood to use or to glue up? also…what is the best way to attach the block…with lam. resin?

I’m no pro by any means. but I have made tail blocks and a variety of wood fins. I do know some woods have certain degrees of oil. You want to use a low oil wood , preferably hard woods. From what I know, the oils in certain woods would eventually cause delams or other problems. I recently made a pair of twins out of zebra wood that came out beautiful. I also know that pine is soft and very oily from what I understand. Luckily I have this guy that deals in nothing but exotic woods. I just point and he tells me all about that particular piece. I believe most hard woods are low in oil from what I’ve seen. Maybe one of the pros out there will shed a little light on the subject. Good luck!

I glue basswood and mohogany together, with the bass wood being attached to the blank. Glue the block to the blank using a hot glue gun, this tip courtesy of Herb. Paint the block with lam resin and let it cure before applying your cloth. This provides a better bond between the cloth and the block, it prevents any oil in the wood from causing problems. This works well for me but I am still learning. Good Luck, Frank.

sea isle in the house frank… do you guys shape the block prior to putting on the blank, or shaping after it’s applied???

I shape it before I attach it and then blend the blank to it. So, when I am shaping the blank I only rough in the tail shape. That’s just the way I do it, I have only done 3 so I am open to suggestions. I’ll be out at 59th in O.C. or 37th street in S.I. tomarrow or Whale Beach. Winds are suppose to switch offshore. Frank

where at on 59th, left of the pier, or the right? i was in the water all afternoon on sat. small world!!!i guess that’s what you call my home break. i usually always surf there. i think it’s a more mellow crowd in that area. not like 7th, which is crowded beyond belief. maybe i’ll see you around. what type of board do you ride?..

anyone else have some tips or methods??

Teddy - I just did one. I glued and clamped a bunch of thin strips of alternate balsa/cedar using 5 minute epoxy. Rough shaped using a disc sander. Glued block to almost finished shaped blank with “gorilla glue” and let cure overnight. Disc sanded block with direction of spin toward block so any chunks and debris don’t chew up the foam. To finalize tail block shaping I use small sanding blocks or emory boards (used for sanding fingernails) and one of those tiny block planes. When glassing, it’s a good idea to seal the wood with a coat or two of lam resin before applying cloth.

Just curious but are we talking about O.C., MD??? J.C

Teddy - I just did one. I glued and clamped a bunch of thin strips of > alternate balsa/cedar using 5 minute epoxy. Rough shaped using a disc > sander. Glued block to almost finished shaped blank with “gorilla > glue” and let cure overnight. Disc sanded block with direction of > spin toward block so any chunks and debris don’t chew up the foam. To > finalize tail block shaping I use small sanding blocks or emory boards > (used for sanding fingernails) and one of those tiny block planes. When > glassing, it’s a good idea to seal the wood with a coat or two of lam > resin before applying cloth. Ditto on the above …I’ll always take several layers of 2" tape and wrap the foam adjacent to the block. This protects the foam while shaping in the tail/nose block. Good luck. JC

o/c , nj what types of glue do not work with the foam for a tailblock???

where at on 59th, left of the pier, or the right? i was in the water all > afternoon on sat. small world!!!i guess that’s what you call my home > break. i usually always surf there. i think it’s a more mellow crowd in > that area. not like 7th, which is crowded beyond belief. maybe i’ll see > you around. what type of board do you > ride?.. I ride my home built 9’ “Eastern Sol”. I usually surf the north side of the pier until it gets crowded. I am usually one of the first ones out along with my daughter. Lately I have been surfing between OC and SI on whale beach and I am the only one out. I don’t even think about going out at 7th. Frank

how is whale beach? what kind of break?? finally , where is it?

how is whale beach? what kind of break?? finally , where is it? It is between Strathmere and S.I., there is a school bus shelter on the ocean side of the street, that is where I go out. There is a little jetty there and breaks on a sand bar on either side. But it breaks all along that section of beach.