Ooh.
I love a challenge.
Game on.
I’ll get back to you Paul.
I’ve shaped both Balsa boards, and Foam boards, with only a wood Japanese plane, and a low angle block plane. Sandpaper, of course. Actually quite satisfying to curl up four foot long paper thin shavings, and reveal the finished board hidden within. All that said, a Skil 100 does make life easier. And I prefer using one. Close tolorance blanks? Hate 'em. They stifle creativity. Though if I was still doing production shaping, I might feel differently. Sanding ridges on a machined blank, does not a shaper make.
Me, i make near all like this. Accurately thanks to my home made hotwire CNC cutter.
Well said Icc,
But let me add a slight twist to this, Rather then fighting the New a artist/shaper could embrace it and do so in an honest way. Much as a Painter can make prints as well as original painting or a sculpter can make limited bronze casting as well as one off works in stone. a shaper could produce a " Limited edition" line of boards. boards that are off a machine but hand finished inspected and only after they are deemed worthy are they put up for sale. Sold as a limited Production not as an original.
No problem without POWER TOOLS. But man I really use the lights. The last time I used a shaping room belonging to someone else, he didn’t have his lights set up independently. Couldn’t use just one side solo. After I did some quick electrical mischief I had them set up for independent use. Once I showed him why you could tell he just had a whole new way of seeing revealed to him.
I Have heard the term" ridge rubber" for someone that cleans off a machined blank. One of the problems that is created by the use of a machine is that a young shaper will find it hard to learn the craft. Of course the gifted will learn on their own. But the learning curve will take longer. Some will come under the wings of a master. Those will be the lucky few.
Dumbest thing I ever heard Paul, and Barry accepting the challenge, that’s stupid. That’s not the future of surfboards. I think I have earned the right to be a good shaper because the best have put their signature’s on my shapes, but guess what? Nobody cares, because hype sells more boards than well thought out, designed and shaped. The future of surfboards is the next board you shape, and after that the next, so get your dumb asses out of your heads and get to shaping.
I do like the comment about all the miss cuts, Barry because nothing can f-up a blank like a machine, except some of the stuff people post on swinefolks.
even if you complete the challenge, you can’t show us because the internet is powered by electricty. you can send us a note via mail letting us know when you’re done and how we can meet you to see the boards as long as we walk or ride a bike to get there.
Another thread reaching the unreadable quotient…
Since its all about opinions and speculation here we go: in my industry I see a very similar thing happening. What seems to be the crucial factor is the attitudes of the generation (I call them generation D- in tribute to the previous generation X) is a smug, entitled, ignorant and ungrateful attitude towards ‘push the button = I am a genius’ Assuming this trend is just beginning and that these babies will soon be the wise older dudes who are core because they’ve been keeping it real since 2009, the future of surfboards looks bleak.
I have been talking about it with a friend who is VERY well known, I will protect his anonimity, suffice to say that anyone here who doesn’t instantly recognize his name is unequivocally a maggot. He knows his shit and has made really high quality boards for decades. We talk about:
A. CNC boards with fag boy pro designs pseudo credibility - usually overpriced by about $300 = you could get 3 great customs form a real core bro who pays attention to your needs for the price of 2 big names disposable jokes.
B. Exquisite pieces of shit coveted by the same retards who are ‘collecting’ and ‘restoring’ stone age jokes with some misplaced reverence. More than $1000 for resin tint / tail block / pre-Greenough finned clunkers that were bad designs 50 years ago. The beard posse are watching too many Thomas Campbell movies and feeling soulier than thou who ridest a modern well designed and appropriate board for the conditions…
None of this would seem to bode well for the future of the surfboard - the original thesis of this thread. CNC or not, what is required is the WILL to address surfboard design in a pragmatic way - odd thought since it has been that way up until now - rather than via sickening pathetic nostalgia, or cloying wanna-be surf idol mimicry.
I think it would be really fucking RAD if the future of surfboard design was mainly concerned with making better boards for the people who are riding them in the conditions they normally encounter - how wierd would that be?
OBkali, section B in your message is spot on.
I guess I’m going to take this thread on a slightly different tack, because in typical male fashion my attention span didn’t allow me to pore over ever last word written so far. I’ve been surfing for not much more than a year, and not even shaping for that long. My buddies that have been long time surfers give me a hard time because it seems they think I don’t “deserve” to be trying this so early on. That I get, and I’ll be the first to admit I know fuck all about quite a lot of it…ok, most of it. But who can deny the desire and passion to learn? So what if you shape a dog turd. If you enjoyed the process and it gives you fun…then that’s a nice dog turd. I’ve already discovered that the guys I’ve met that shape a few boards a year are relentlessly unforgiving in their criticism, and that’s ok. But the couple of guys I’ve met that have shaped boards for years and do so professionally or somewhat professionally are only complimentary, encouraging, and always willing to share what they know and have learned…just like many who have posted on this thread and this site. I’ll probably never shape a board for anyone but myself…and many will be dog turds…but who cares, I’ll have loved learning the process. So I’d just like to say thanks to Barry, McDing, huie, havaard, GregTate, chrisp, everysurfer, lillibel, artz, oneula, resinhead, and the many, many more I haven’t/or have forgotten to mention for all the great info. I don’t care how you go about it, I’m just thankful y’all are here and willing to share with the rest of us who have picked up the passion for learning the process of…well, shaping our lovely dog turds.
The main effect of the machine is loss of work for the smaller board builder .
As we bicker about the validity of methods in surfboard making in our modern world, the 3rd world makes due with what they have available.
**Atomized,**
**Absolutely killer video.**
**Reoccurring nightmare marooned with great waves all around.**
**The future is with those with skills and creativity.**
**Study and learn from the past.**
**It’s later than you think.**
**Aloha.**
Outstanding.
Members of the Sunset Surf Club look like they enjoy riding their handcrafted surfboards.
“One does what one must in this imperfect world.”
Atomized thanks for posting that. It kind of helps put things in perspective.
Barry, you’ll be happy to hear that my 9yr old step daughter is learning to shape from me and wants to build boards in the furture. I’m doing my part to keep hand shaping alive for the furture. And I too raise a glass to all the free thinkers on this sight.
Jaybird,
That is Awesome.
Overwelmingly,
I feel more support than discouragement.
Maybe there is hope after all.
I had a chat to a shaper recently who got me back onto this forum. He struggled to name 4 guys in New Zealand that were still shaping by hand and doing any sort of numbers at the moment. Next to us gleamed a stack of fresh, Indo-made, SUP blocks of butter and accompanying knives, that he had in the shop even though he despised them.
I think if you’re a kid a you’re too stupid to care and you’ll go for flavour of the month stuff, unless you’ve been exposed to some decent surfboard history. If you’re starting out you’ve got other things to think about. But if youre neither you’ll know whats up and support whoever it is that makes great boards however he chooses to make them. You’ll have tried different boards and developed a “touch” for the different feelings under your feet.
The difference now is our growing understanding of the flaws in over consumption and what we plan to do about it. Im probably one of the younger greasers on here and I can see how some older dudes might see younger generations as frivolous smartphone addicts, but that doesnt translate to a digi-everything approach. If the technology soon allows someone to draw a board, print it out in green plastic, surf it, melt it down and repeat without anyones hand whatsoever then shux, I guess then I could see an end to shaping as we know it. On the flipside that is one heck of a sustainable way of doing things, and as someone has mentioned the design possibilites would be all time.
The new flavour of the month will be the greenest, funnest, and most personalized surfcraft since flipper. Can’t wait to see it!
I still have** **practice material for about four electric planer novices. You can have 2 to 3 feet of thickness by 6, 7, & 8 foot long. FREE, stringered, 1 1/2 lb EPS. This would be a cheap way to build some skills. No replies so far. I know Sways is international, lots of people in Socal though.
sickdog