Yeah, I have a lot of nerve. I’m building a Thrailkill Pig with Bill’s help. It’s a blend of some pigs he has shaped over the years and in so doing has adapted outlines and other dims from some of the best out there.
I have spoken with Bill many times over the years about pigs. I’ve attempted a few but was always disappointed with the look of the outline. Greg Loehr shaped an 8-0 for me decades ago and I loved it, but didn’t realize if was a pig. Doh. So this time Bill sent me an outlying in a mailing tube along with some instructions. I’m nervous about this. But here I am.
I have a Marko molded 9-0 LB blank that has been calling my name for a year of more. After mounting and trueing the outline template and realized I would have to put the template nose to the tail of the blank. BIll has a funny anticdote about this trick. It made me feel like one of the old pig shapers. For about a minute. Ha.
Anyway, here are a few pictures to get this started. Wish me luck.
Note in the one pic the sanding tool I’m using to true the outline. The hard rubber pad is just flexible enough to bend slightly and allow the tool to take off the high points on the outline. The Clear Spray is used on the edge after I’ve finished trueing to beef up the edge. I may use this template again and want to be sure it is solid.
I remember getting out after a session and as I was walking along the beach, watching a couple of guys riding “pigs” with classic old-school style; the waves were waist-high, crumbly and those two guys were obviously having way more fun and riding with way more style than any of the HPSB’ers out there.
Gave me a hankering for one…
Mind you, I suspect this is what happens when the first surf movie you’re ever shown as a grommet is the original “Endless Summer”
The weather broke for a bit this morning and I was able to do a little work on the pig. I had already done a preliminary outline based on where the rocker fell best. So I trimmed the ends, skinned it top and bottom, and foiled it.
Don’t you love my little cordless rough-in planer? Rigid discontinued them several years back and I picked one up cheap at Home Depot, along with a life time warranty.
Looking good Greg, may we ask roughly what dims you are shooting for on that 9" blank? My next project is playing with my Pig template and design and intrigued what others are doing with this faithful beast?
…hello; I understand about the dust etc but if you think that you are having a great outline, there is no way you can achieve that great level of quality lines (overall) shaping outside qithout shadows and side lights.
That is a fact.
Hope you can understand that. Is not my intention be a pain but in the end better to finish with the best as possible.
Well, thats what a “backyard shaper” does, lol. The lighting can be excellent, at certain hours. And if your goal is a board that works well and is fun to ride, its entirely do-able. You can always do some fine finish work, and glassing, indoors if needed. Cosmetic “perfection” is over rated in my opinion, although I do appreciate a beautiful high gloss professional board. But I’m always stoked to see people making their own boards using less than perfect circumstances.
…as mentioned, I am not talked about finish touches, I am talking about “lines and curves”. Pure lines depends on your developed eyes and technique.
There s a guy here who sells cheap boards and he did it a shape room too small and no good reflections etc, he said: “you can shape in whatever place…” you cannot obtain (or too wasted time and concentration to achieve it) pure flow lines of a big board shaped in a tiny space where you cannot see the lines (and bumps)
I see from here in plenty of photos posted the non fluid lines…and if you can see it in a photo imagine that live!
Thanks Reverb. You are right. But I have a lighted shaping room. I just like to do some outside to keep the dust down inside. I do my rough work outside and finish work inside.
I don’t even sand the decks on my personal boards. I sand the rails to the lap line, but I just block the deck with some 100#. Enough to knock down any bumps.
But you’re already 2/3 of the way there. There’s no point in stopping now.
…hi Mr Tate; not my intention to be smart or rude but this is an example of what I mention several times: photos can foul you; do not show the details right.
If I see that last photo; looks good and even think that is glossed but enlarging it I see the wobble pinlines etc…
By the time a board is nearing completion, the last thing I want to do is sand the deck. I have been making textured decks on my past few personal boards.
Even If a guy orders a board from me, I shape it as my personal board and sell it to him used. That way I get to mess it up with wax so he won’t complain about cosmetic flaws and I get to try the board and learn about the design.
Reverb, I think it is the photo. The pinlines are straight. The panels are straight. Also, I had just rinsed the board after sanding and it is still wet. So maybe that is distorting? Thanks for the feedback. I’m always ready to learn…
