Hope this thread is helpful for those looking for inspiration in their quest for finding that perfect tool to help out all those shaping / glassing needs!
Please share tool pics and ideas!
I’ll kick this off with my solution to the cutlap, pin line, and rail band tool. Thats right, one tool that does ALL three! Hope you all like it…
What I did here was very simple, very cheap, and so far VERY efficient. First stop… the dollar store, no joke. You can buy these same items at a hardware store, but the cheap stuff works great.
Shopping List:
*carpenters square
*small c-clamps
*window lock (or something similar to the black clamp)
*pack of razor blades
Now take the carpenters square, bend yourself about a 1" tab. Now used the clamp and window lock to firmly hold either a razor for doing cutlaps, a carpenters pencil for doing rail bands OR if you take to razors, and place a thin shim between them and clamp them parallel to eachother, you can even lay tape down, and cut out a perfect pin line!
Couple more shots of the tool, in action. Would like to mention that the c clamp doubles as a nice handle to help guide your cuts or drawn lines!
Here’s a Harbor Freight planer I modified to have smooth depth changing and the handle makes it easy for anyone to adjust. It’s very light and great for anyone who i starting out, all my friends who have tried it love it 
Calipers. Just some scrap wood, a bolt, washers, and wing nut. Making a template first helps!
Wood sanding blocks. Lets not forget the basics. Very simple and really handy! Scrap wood, adhesive sandpaper.
I prefer to use 2 different grits per block. So with my 2 favorite blocks, I have 4 different grits at my disposal in a snap!
The infamous ‘Fred Tool’. JC Shaping 101 Video presented this tool as a great alternative to free handing the rail edge with a regular surform. Scrap wood, 2 small surform blades, wood glue and some small tack nails and you’re all set!
Shaping Stand. Scrap ply wood, thrift store egg shell mattress pad, 2 buckets, and top off with sand!
Okay everyone, gave it the old college try to get this thread started. Hope it grows, and helps
the community out along the way!
Shoots,
not really a ‘home tool’ but a tip i guess. i found that my home depot 5 gallon pails filled with sand were still quite unstable and often twisted as well. probably since i’m a back patio guy that’s often moving the setup to keep out of the sun…
took some scrap 5" melamine and cut to length and screwed the two horses together. squared them up, made them a HELL of a lot sturdier and also made a little tool stand below to boot!
my only other homemade tool would be a couple of 2.5# weights i duct taped together and wrapped in foam to act as a weight to keep the blank from moving. since i don’t work out, it’s a good use for them.
jp
Allow me to elaborate on the stands, and using sand for weight and stability. What you can’t see in the picture is the framing I built in the base of the bucket that the 2x4" is attached to. It actually has a base plate, and some cross framing, then the sand packs on top and around it. Doesn’t move one bit on me, works great.
sandpaper
…Finbox install…got it it from Swaylock’s…
I use Visegrips to hold the jig… Note on Jig says…“fin box 1 inch , wood 3/8 inch”…I am not a woodworker…router bit has a bearing on it…took a few test runs to get it right…I have marks where the router goes so you know where to put the clamps…Look at it again…make something that works for you…
Ray
I eventually bought the pleskunas domer but this worked well for me-
a 2x3, a piece of redwood and sandpaper for a belt sander glued down.
a couple wood shims (wrapped with packing tape) wedged between at the ends
plastic bag with sand - weight the blank down
Quote:
sandpaper
What’s that, Stingray? Going directly from 600 grit to 1000 grit? Where’s the 800? (Kidding).
This is my contribution. It’s my version of the Fred tool only you can have just about any angle you like. You can also use it for tidying up bands on the deck. Just replace the hinge with an engineering bolt and then tighten. Then set your angle and away you go.
Might have to try that one! 
Good one Deanbo, will be knocking one of those up later.
Just done a fin base mould/jig this morning. Will take pictures if it works, if not I probably won’t bother.
I will take a picture of my fin box alignment tool later though.
Peace!
Skil 100 vacuum attachment. Epoxy, weighs a few ounces. The vacuum pulls through the motor housing- runs much cooler.
