Tailblock + Longboard

General Discussion
1

This is a two parter…

Does anyone make custom tail blocks for sale? Or otherwise know where I could buy one?

Also, what is the preferred method for tail block installation?

Thanks guys!

2

Preferred method? Many ways to skin that cat. Most common is to install on the blank, after shaping, and prior to glassing. If wood, pre coat with lam.

3

Is this what you are looking for?

http://stores.greenlightsurfsupply.com/Detail.bok?no=109

If not, I made my own nose block out of some wood from home depot. i just glued some strips together with wood glue, clamped, shaped and glued it on to the blank with gorrilla glue. There is probably a better way but I used a bunch of painter’s tape to keep it steady, and rested the board on its nose leaning against a wall so gravity would hold it all together till the glue dried.

4

There are a number of suppliers who sell pre-laminated strips that you can cut into nose or tail blocks. Remember that this is for clear boards, it’s a very different (and more complex) process for blocks on colored lams. For a poly-board tail block, cut your strip to the proper length, saw off an equal width from the tail, bond the strip on like this: Make a very thick mix of lam resin + foamdust and/or thick cabosil, catalyze about 3%. Tape off the foam and the wood, spread the resin mix on the wood, press onto the foam and it should hold by itself. Pull off the tape from the wood, leave the tape on the foam. Shape the wood, pull the tape from the foam, put a light coat of lam on the wood. If you see problems with the resin on the wood, sand and coat again. Nose blocks are done the same way except for the joint of the 2 pieces of wood. Do EPS the same way with thickened epoxy, but you’ll have to tape/clamp the wood.

5

I make them all the time. I have a few laying around. I can send you one.

PM me and I’ll send you one.

I use 90 second epoxy. I’ve done them two different ways:

Pre-glass or Post-glass.

If you do Pre-Glass becareful not to touch the foam. I allways tape off the foam so that when you are shaping your wood block you don’t get distortions.

Tail Blocks give a nice finish to a longboard.

6

“Does anyone make custom tail blocks for sale? Or otherwise know where I could buy one?”

What???

It’s Swaylock’s…make your own…:slight_smile:

Resinhead taught me… go to home Depot and buy some Redwood lathe,pick up some stir sticks in the paint department…go home and start gluing…people see what you’re doing and you end up with some wierd stuff like Purple Heart for free. Ask around…tail block material is scrap to most wood workers…I’ve made some good stuff and some not so good stuff…You can do it!!! Some day I’ll buy a thickness planer…

Stingray

7

It’s Swaylock’s…make your own…:slight_smile:

Resinhead taught me… go to home Depot and buy some Redwood lathe,pick up some stir sticks in the paint department…go home and start gluing…people see what you’re doing and you end up with some wierd stuff like Purple Heart for free. Ask around…tail block material is scrap to most wood workers…I’ve made some good stuff and some not so good stuff…You can do it!!! Some day I’ll buy a thickness planer…

Stingray

Sorry for being a kook! I have wood scrapes of exotics that I just glue up and clean up on my bandsaw then run though my thickness planner. I have a few laying around my shaping bay. I was just trying to be cool by mailing off a free tail block. By the way your right about the purple heart. It’s in the tail block that I was giving if Orignal Sin wanted it? Built some solid wood boards from scratch so I have a lot of scrape. Anyway Stingray I’ll be careful not to offer anything as it tends to offend swaylocker?

Again Sorry,

Respectfully,

SD

8

I’m joking around…Did not mean to be disrespectful.

I’m not offended. Please call me out when I get out of line. Sometimes that’s what I need.

Ray

9

No Worries!

I love working with wood and love to share when I can or if someone let’s me?

10

This is the one I will send tomorrow.

Let me know if you need anything else?

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11

Attach the block to the board with the thinner waffer of wood to the foam. The larger piece is soft and shoud be easy to shape. Pre-cut the piece as close to size needed to minimize the amount of shaping need. Make sure all your hand planes are sharp. I use a grinder to rough it in then go to the hand planes to get it close. Then block it out. It normally takes 15 to 30 minutes to shape out a tail block once you attach it. Epoxy has always worked for me. 90 minute or 5 minute is best.

**Parota** is one of the common names for Enterolobium cyclocarpum also known as rain tree kelobra or Guanacaste. I first saw this wood in Mexico in 1968 while hitching a ride to an isolated village called Yelapa aboard a 30 foot dug out canoe with a three cylinder Lister diesel motor hauling sacks of cement. The wood has a Koa look to it but its density is somewhere between redwood and mahogany.
Parota is a relatively fast growing tree for an exotic wood that is plentiful and can get pretty big as you can see by these pictures. Some of these trees have branches that can reach over 5 feet in diameter, so there is a lot of good solid wood in one tree alone. Here is a younger tree with a gorgeous crotch section that will yield numerous large slabs in a few years once it is larger.

This wood has been used as a ceiling lid (see above and below), cabinet doors and casing. It glues up easily but sanding is a problem as it is somewhat irritating and makes me sneeze. A mask takes care of the problem.

We will begin bringing down large natural edged Parota slabs in our next shipment due to popular demand. We have carried straight edged slabs in the past, but will now carry quite a bit of it with the natural edge intact.

Sizes will vary but it will all have that beautiful honey brown look to it that has given it the reputation as an inexpensive alternative to Hawaiian Koa


This is one of about three large bookmatched sets that will be coming up. Once laid side by side, your looking at a table that measures roughly 2" inches thick x 14’ foot long x 6’ foot wide!


Its getting almost impossible to obtain Hawaiian Koa in nearly any dimension. Parota is a good alternative that is widely available-especially in these large dimensions.

Here are a few other examples of finished pieces out of parota

It can be carved relatively easily as can be seen in this front door.

Here is the other side of the door that shows off the natural figure of the slab of Parota

Because it has a great strength to weight ratio, one of our customers made a turn of the century Hawaiian style surfboard out of a solid slab of parota. Once sanded and finished it looked very similar to Hawaiian koa and weighed very little considering it was such a big piece of wood.
At times we receive crotch figured pieces that I think are as nice as any figured walnut I’ve ever come across

Here are couple small coffee tables using a round slab off of a “small” parota limb

As stated before its a great easy wood to carve as you can see by these two pictures.

You can glue it up using common carpenters glue or any other quality glue since it’s a relatively easy wood to work with. It looks great in cabinets, desks, book shelves, entertainment centers or any other type of wood furniture.


Many customers have been happy with the results of using this wood in their homes and tend to come back and use it for other projects once they know what it looks like.

Let us know if Parota interest you and we can try to recommend whether or not it is a good option for your project.

Tuesday

Parota slab used in entry way

We have several slabs in stock in various different dimensions. Give us a call to see what we have. This is a great looking wood from Mexico that makes a great, more affordable alternative to Hawaiian Koa.

Friday

Turn of the century Hawaiian style surboard made out of a parota slab

Board is now in Mitch's Dining Room, maybe one day he will let Marty take out in the water...
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**CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR ACTUAL WEBSITE- ****www.anexotichardwood.com**

This Blog was created to further showcase what we have in stock here at the shop and to display the work of our customers.

Please visit our website for more indepth information about the woods we have to offer. http://www.anexotichardwood.com/

-The list of “Labels” on this side of this page and below each post is to better locate the woods and posts that interest you.
-Not only do we label each post with the species of wood that it deals with, but we also use other Labels such as “customer gallery”, and “specials”.

Please do not hesitate to call if you have any questions.
760-434-3030
http://www.anexotichardwood.com/

Thanks,
-Mitch

Send pictures,interesting links to add to this blog or additional comments to Tropical Exotic Hardwoods at 760-434-3030 or at wood@anexotichardwood.com

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12

I sent the tail block. The picture is posted. If you dont’t like it I can make something else?

13

I sent the tail block. The picture is posted. If you dont’t like it I can make something else?

14

Did you ever receive the tail block?

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15

Hey Surfding, that tail block looks the business. I hope it hasn’t got lost in the post. I really like the look of some of that Parota wood, never heard of it before, shame you never see anything like that over here. To ship it here woould cost the earth as well. Shame!

Loving your work, and your totally top attitude and generosity.

16

Parota is poormans Koa. It’s ligher and shapes nice. It’s found in Mexico and Central America. I will look around my scrape pile and see if I have a piece laying around?

PM me your address and I will send you a piece. I think it may be hard to find in the UK?

17

So I’ve shaped my first EPS board, and wanted to glass it blue with 7.25 volan bottom, 7.25 volan + 6 on the deck.

What’s the complex part(s) I need to watch out for when doing a tail block on it?  Is it that you’d have to glass the board first, then cut the tail off, glue the block on and then reglass the tail block on?

18

ddub - this one was attached with five minute epoxy thickened with cabosil, after the first layer of glass, but before the second.  That way the foam is not so fragile to work with.  A little different, because it serves as leash anchor too.