I agree that the original board is worth fixing. I always use beat up boards.
The other thing is I try to use as much of the nose rocker as possible. If you cut the tail off there’s enough thickness to get more tail rocker.
$60 for a new blank? Holy nut balls that’s a bargain! It’s almost impossible to get new blanks here now as I can’t seem to find any one who is importing them wholesale. You have to go to a surfboard factory, and they’ll charge you up to $200 for a blank! This is part of the reason why most of the boards I’ve made over the last few years have been re-shapes. Generally I’ll cut up a couple of boards and glue them together to to make a new blank, but I’ve also reshaped a few bigger boards into something smaller. Here’s a a few thoughts.
1/ I generally only cut up tired dinged up boards which are at the end of their useful life. I’ll cut up newer ones if they don’t ride well. Your board looks pretty decent. Maybe find something else to cut up.
2/ I’ve often heard people say that the foam is softer in the middle. This has not been my experience. I haven’t noticed any real difference in the foam density between a re-shape and a new blank.
3/ If you do end up cutting up your longboard you’ll have plenty of foam to work with for a new shape. This means just go rip-shit-'n-bust and tear the glass off. No point in pussy-footing around. Like others have said, spackle is your friend. It covers a multitude of sins.
4/ I don’t get too worried trying to make the end result look perfect. You’re making something new form something old so it’ll never be as good as a new shape. I reckon the new shape should tell a story about the old surfboard(s). Kinda cool when I ride my new board and still have the memory of the other two old ones I made it from.
Haha, thats good advice. I really appreciate all the feedback and time you guys put into the comments.
I think ill salavge this board, but will be looking to buy a beater to try this on. Actually looks like alot of fun to try now that i got the idea stuck in my head.
If i can get my hands on one in the near future ill be sure to repost some pics. The techniques on how to pull glass in this thread is great information to share.
I’ve had issues with the foam being softer along the stringer on the boards I’ve reshaped. I also noticed really old longboards were made from a heavier foam, so the finished board is noticeably heavier.
Correct. Around 1966-67 there was a move to make boards lighter. So, the standard double 10oz glass jobs were abandoned and lighter foam became common. I think the older blanks had 4lb density, which eventually dropped to 2lb.