to you handtoolers(actually anyone)

I have been in watching michel junod shape some and i am getting antsy to start on a board.

so i have a couple questions, while im gearing up for my first board.

1)for you guys that only use handtools, how do you get accurecy when taken thickness out of the board with a surform? it doesnt seem very accurate unless you just take long small width strokes(pointing the surform parellell to the stringer). I tried a sharp block plane and after i get through the skin it just tears the foam.

2)on shaping stands i understand they need to be level, however has anyone managed to get their stands perfect by just adding padding or sanding down the wood were the board rests? I have some solid stands however they are tweaked a little and just want to get them level. should i just weld up some new ones? its been awhile since the welder has been started might burn down the shop: )

3)anyone have a cheap electric planer for sale in the bay area? hopefully with some life left.

4)anyone have any suggestions on boards(not just normal thruster shapes) that could be made out of two clark blanks that have already been cut down to 20in wide? maybe a little disk-like single, i have seen onw made by tudor

5)what is the easiest color to glass with, I would prefer to have my boards colored.

thanks for any help

Cliff

Cliffg, from the shaper that you have been watching I would say you are in Santa Cruz. Which side of town? I’m on the East side, I have a plainer that is just setting around. I do not want to sell it but I would lone it out to the right guy, just as long as it comes back like it left ie sharp.

Bagman,

thanks a ton for the offer. I would take u up on it but I’m going to be going home for a couple weeks(way northern california) and I wouldnt be able to return it for while.

thanks a ton

i don’t only use hand tools, but i do use them quite a bit.

  1. get a long surform and get the microplane blade that used to be sold by clark foam. should be able to get it online from one of the foam distributers. the microplane blade makes a smoother cut than the standard blade. get a level and get a set of calipers. if you can’t get them, get a good chunk of 2x4. long strokes, holding the plane at a 45 degree angle or so to the stringer. use the finger plane to bring the stringer down. then surform the foam down to the stringer to the stringer. use the 2x4 laid as necessary lengthwise/sideways/etc…to check for dips/bumps/etc. the level does the same work but costs more. caliper will chek for thickness. 2nd surform purchase should be a short surform with the same micoplane blade. third surform shoud be another shortie with a standard blade. that’s good for getting chunks of skin off.look out on the standard blades. some of them are smooth all around the edges and some have a jagged extension of the cutting blade all the way to the edge. the jagged ones are not good.

also, you can measure desired thickness along the rail of the board, after you cut the template, mark it, outline it and shape down to that. you could make up a rail or thickness template for that, also. but that is quite a bit of work for someone who hasn’t shaped before.

an electric planer would svae a lot of time in skinning the board. you don’t really need a pro type shaping planer if this is your first board. any old planer can skin the blank. run the planer along the length of the board until it won’t cut any more…then adjust the depth as the nose kicks up. you can finish skinning it by going sideways with the planer across the width of the board in the very curvy sections. chek the local pawn shops for a cheapie.

  1. perfect? that’s hard to do. you can get close though, by using the aforementioned level and any combination of sanding/padding, etc. you just need to verify with the level. often just winding a layer or three of cheap 2" tape around the arms of the stand will help level it out.

this of course is backyard stuff. not production pro shop information.

  1. depends on the length of the blanks. make a rocket-fish from the shortest thickest one and a 2 + 1 single from the longer of the two. old style outlines and modern rail/bottoms.

  2. pigment is easier than tint. spraying the blank with paint is easier than pigment. recommend paint for the first few boards, unless you’re going to a pro glass shop. on the other hand if you’ve done some glassing before…whatever.

pete.

You can get a reconditioned planer for cheap on Ebay or other online source that will work for you. Or, just go buy one. I recommend getting a planer learning how to use it from the start…even for your first board. Plus, you’ve got a tool you can use around the house, which is what most of us tell our wives!

A planer isn’t just for skinning the blank, although you can do that in a matter of minutes instead of more like an hour with a surform, which is probably the MOST innacurate tool used in the process. You’ll be using the planer for cutting the rail bands, truing the sides of the outline, adjusting rocker… Get one and learn to use it, brother.

As for color, you can get great results with a mini roller and some laytex paint. Really. No need to spray paint unless you’re doing something artistic. As for resin tints, a little goes a long way. Yellows are easy, as are lighter colors in general. Stay away from red for your first board, or it might come out pink…big oops. Get a few colors and mix some together little by little until you like what you see. Test it on a peice of wood first.

Have fun!

Cliff,

Re:Leveling your stands…Simplist way is to have them in their final position for the size board you’re working on and then shim the base(s) with shingle points until level. If no shingle points handy, you can use cardboard, matchbooks, etc. Lumber yards now sell little packs of shims pretty cheap.

I use all wood stands myself and have one for short and one for long boards. The concrete floor in my shop is not perfectly level and I have permanent shims tacked to the feet of my racks and have marked the floor exactly where the racks go so it’s a no brainer when switching around.

Also, if the plane tears foam - it’s not as sharp as you think, or it should be. Especially if it just planed skin off cause that beats the edge on the plane.

Lighter colors easier than dark. Purple is a bitch - just did one and wasn’t that pleased.

Pete

A surform is, as you have noted, not an accurate tool. Get a low angle block plane and sharpen it often. Better yet get an electric and set the blade shallow.

Stands don’t need to be level. Planshape is cut in relation to the center line. Rocker in relation to bottom. Thickness, usually in relation to the stringer. Rails in relation to the planshape, profile and rocker. It might not be convenient, but you could shape a board on a sloped beach, as I imagine many have.

Assuming you are planning on tinting the resin use yellow. Stay away from the dark colors - they are more difficult. If you want an opaque add white and test.

Hope this is of some use.

thanks guy, i appreciate all the help. ill run a thread with my progress.

thanks

cliff

Hi Cliff -

IMO a hand plane is the main tool you’ll need if you’re on a budget and don’t plan to do a bunch of boards. I really like a block plane with a dial adjustment. In a pinch, you could even shape a close tolerance blank with just a mini-plane - just get ready to put in some serious whittling time. You should also have a sharpening stone for maintaining the blade.

If the blade is sharp and set shallow, it should cut decently although slowly. Some of the light foams are particularly easy to gouge.

Using it on glue and stringer will definitely muck up the edge but it’s a good tool (IMO much better than a surform with any type of blade) to get the stringer down by hand. Eyeball the edge of the stringer as you shape… it’s a good reference line to determine deck and bottom curve. Any grain variation can result in dips and bumps so look for a clean smooth stringer edge - top & bottom.

You’ll need a couple grits of sandpaper blocks to smooth things out. Initial block sanding might be most effective if you go to a rental yard that handles floor sanders - they’ll have some extra coarse grits. Again, (in a pinch) you could shape a close tolerance blank just with one of those - 36 grit takes off foam in a hurry. Final sand with drywall screen wrapped around a soft upholstery foam pad or by itself around the rails.

Maybe a final stringer cut with a super shallow setting should finish it off before an easy tint with yum yum yellow.