@#$ up fairy

General Discussion
1

Ok, let me tell you about my latest visit with the **** up fairy... on my latest blank, I grapped her, skimmed the bottom, and really set my goal on the bottom rocker, I got it beautiful I tell ya, just beautiful. Problem was, I was concentrating so hard on the rocker, whittling away all happy like and focused, focus focus on the task, withgoing food and drink apart from dinner till I got it, took 2 days of mucking around, looking, walking away and looking from a distance, adjusting,  dont laugh I procastinate a bit, have lots of time,  and am a bit of a perfectionist, try my bloody hardest ,  Then I looked at the deckline after a light skim, looked to roll it in from the bottom up,  to tie it all in, and screw me, the deck line would just not be there. lol.

I know if anyone out there has A.D.D like myself they will relate to this, you can just get lost in the moment, focus on it and block anything else out, even if that moment lasts 2 days without much sleep, eating, or drinking or thinking of anything else, drives my wife nuts, lol.

My mistake was I did not look at the blank and read it properly before picking up the planer in excitment and just got stuck in focusing so hard I forgot about the next step.

So instead of getting a perfect deckline Im going to have to settle for something that I know is not perfect, but my fault,

All backyarders, sit back, look, relax, pick and read your blank better than I,, learn from others mistakes, and if you make one yourself, share it but still have fun.

HAPPY SHAPING

2

now you come to Swaylocks after the trouble starts, there are countless references on where and how to start off.

I have on so many occasion said, look over the deck, alter or fix any flaws that are evident, …then go to the bottom, you need to start with a level playing field, this is what you will reference the bottom to for the rest of the shape.

Also, once you’ve hit the frustration wall, walk away for a day, come back and look it over with a fresh mind, I seldom just start skinning a blank and finish it up in that session.

One, the blanks are often under tension, glued to a rocker other than the natural, remove large amounts of foam and it will move over time, trying to return to the “natural”.

I just did some blanks for Xanadu, Brazilian Surfblanks, glued to the 9’5"s rocker, Xanadu wanted some extra foam stringers close to the center t-band.

I had the center already glued, when I added the extra cuts, the outter portions went right back to the original rocker before I re-glued

3

jimmie, if you notice how many posts ive made, stuff all actually, you will see that i have not just come to swaylocks once the trouble starts mate.  All I was doing was posting a very rookie mistake that I made because I was focused on only 1 aspect of the job instead of looking at it from the whole big piture with the blank.  I was hoping that anyone out there who is a hobbyist would read this and not make the same mistake as me.  Once I reliased the mistake I ended up laughing pretty hard at my own stupid error.  Its easy to do when you focus on only one aspect of shaping.  I have shaped a few blanks before, Im no expert, in fact im crap, but I love shaping and just wanted to share my error. 

 

I wasnt looking for judgement, I wasnt looking for advice as I have a mentor who is able to laugh with me when I stuff up like this, its all good, its all fun mate.

 

Again, I just wanted to post a rookie mistake.  I will keep occasionally posting my rookie mistakes I make in the hope that others wont make the same mistakes.  On swaylocks most here really know what there doing, there is so much information and good information that can help you.  But in the end everyone starts somewhere, if you can think back to when you started and the mistakes you made along the way, sometimes this sort of information is gold to people like me, it makes you relise what can go wrong and what to look out for.

 

bloody hell jimmy, I walked away often, I take my time,all I did was make a rookie mistake, just wondering jimmy, have you ever made a mistake or are you perfect.  It took me two days to get the bottom done, as a good shaper, which Im sure you are, im sure you could get that done quicker than me, that should tell you in itself that i took my time.  In fact mate, i havent even put the concaves in yet, so the bottom is still not finished.

 

The second part of your post is great mate, thanks for that info, but its all good, you obviously dont know me because if you did you would not have put in the first part.

 

Cheers

 

Di99er

4

Advice:

Cut your own foam from EPS. Never have the problem again. Make nice rocker templates and now take 20 minutes on your bottom and deck.

Become a board builder and never be owned again by a store bought blank.

5

One, I never try to dance around a subject, second, my ass has more scars on it from the mistakes I’ve made, so i’m not perfect, but as damned close as God lets a man be.

You plain and simple got ahead of yourself and wound up with less foam that you would have liked, you have to set a system and follow it religiously, there is no jumping ahead to the next phase until the previous one is finished and correct.

I’m not bagging on you, the home boy shaper is not my target or enemy, the “pro shaper” who cannot find his ass in the dark with both hands is fair game though

6

Thanks you guys for livening this place up a bit, always entertaining to watch and learn from the other guy's goofs hahaha.

I'd post mine but I would clog the bandwidth.

7

jimmy, to say I only come to sways once the trouble starts tells me you started this off with your head up your arse, nothing more or nothing less mate

Everything else you said is totally true, yes there are references to stuff, yes I have read them, but sometimes you have to experience the mistakes yourself, well I do,I have no shame with my mistakes, just wanted to share it my stupidy

Oh, I dont bother dancing around a subject, dont have time for that crap.

 

Cheers

Digger

8

Lighten up Digger!  :slight_smile:

We’re lucky to have such experienced shapers like Jim giving advice freely on here just as those reading about your experience can also stand to gain as well.

Here’ a little bit of background to “Jimmie”.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050705/news_1s5surfcol.html

and if your interested in learning from him…

http://www.damascusproductions.com/MasterSeries.php?ID=Shaper

 

 

9

I fully understand and already knew jimmys background by researching him before I made any comments mate,   I respect his knowledge and its great that people like him will freely give advice to people, thats great, but maybe, just maybe, if you read jimmies first comment to me that I came on here only once the trouble starts, cmon now, why should people like jimmy make comments like that and then think because of his knowledge and expertise that he is above reproach, im sorry cuttlefish, but thats just not on.  I wasnt riased like that, I dont treat people like that, and I dont expect to have comments like that made to me.  

Hopefully Jimmie understands why I got my backup with that comment, if not then he just dont understand me.

I only wanted to have a bit of a giggle over my absolutely stupid error ( well I found it funny anyway), not have that crap comment made, mayhbe im better of not sharing my stupidity and just keeping it to me and the bloke who is doing a bloody good job guiding me.

Im thinking of getting a logo of a little fairy with the lettlers fu underneath it for a logo on this board, she certainly has been hanging around lately teaching me heaps

 

Cheers

 

Digger

10

In fact, yup, thats what Im gonna do, just not bother sharing my errors I make along the way, maybe post a pic or two, it just aint worth it.  Tempermental cranky old fart you can call me, and your probably right, my missus and kids sometimes tell me that..  :)

11

Aw c’mon keep sharing.

Otherwise I’ll have to go and see Tiger for the skinny on Sat mornings and the markets are getting too busy to leave my stall unattended for long.

Too many five finger discounts can result.

Just joking…about going to see Tiger for the skinny I mean.

I like the look of his latest compsand board.

12

[quote="$1"]

Aw c'mon keep sharing.

Otherwise I'll have to go and see Tiger for the skinny on Sat mornings and the markets are getting too busy to leave my stall unattended for long.

Too many five finger discounts can result.

Just joking...about going to see Tiger for the skinny I mean.

I like the look of his latest compsand board.

[/quote]

 

Tiger, jeez, I aint seen him in ages, great guy.   I agree, his compsand boards look awesome, he is only going to get better too with those things, cant see him going back to pu much anymore.  I mean why would you when yourve got the skill to do that sort of stuff.  He could sorta capture a little corner of the market up here dont ya reckon..  Cant wait to see one in the flesh one day, just to look and chat with him about it, feel the weight ect.....

Now, as for the markets, haaaa, aint been there for ages mate.....   Though the missus wishes I took her more often.  Is it getting busy up there, hope so, as so many business are really struggling in the area something terrible, aint good times at the moment, no matter what the goverment says.

13

Well I guess you told me, but the view up my ass is better than the board you’ve lost control of isn’t it ?

14

Pass the popcorn, learning hasn't been so much fun since Disney did those driver safety films with Goofy and Jimminy Cricket (although even as a kid I did kinda get burned out on that "I'm no fool, no siree" song!).

So, back to the original topic.  Who hasn't gotten lost in the moment, or the task at hand, to the detriment of the overall project?  That's why they have the saying "won the battle but lost the war" hahaha

So, by starting with cleaning up the deck in preparation for shaping the bottom, you have already engaged an awareness of the relationship between the two, going into the shaping process.  Props for that point.  Seems like one of the differences between a pro (them that can find stuff in the dark with both hands) and the backyarders (like me) is that the backyarder tends to isolate design elements and work on them one by one.  Bottom (rocker), deck (dome / foil), rails, tail (V, channel, etc.), whereas the pros are constantly visualizing the whole as they approach each facet.

"Step back and look it over with a fresh mind".  Bill Thrailkill made the same point awhile back, and I think he might have even added with different light, too.  Sometimes you screw a board up worse by trying to fix a small goof and end up with a bigger one.  This is where the 'step back, cool off, and come back later' is so useful.  Also helps avoid stuff that you notice after you glass it LOL.

Blanks are under tension sometimes - I didn't know that either.  Wood almost always is.  Cut it, and suddenly it twists some other direction.  I didn't know blanks could be, but it makes sense.  Seems it would be easier to reglue an existing blank shape with a bit more rocker bent in, than to make a new mold, so I'm guessing that's what happens there.

OK, gentlemen, carry on!

15

to jim ,

and others,

 

maybe digs should buy his boards .........you know.....complete............i herd techs werk?

i mean..........it would save him alot of frustration............being A.D.D. and all.

 

 

you can lead..........

 

you can follow...............

 

or you can...............

 

get the fork out of my way.

 

herb

16

[quote="$1"]

Well I guess you told me, but the view up my ass is better than the board you've lost control of isn't it ?

[/quote]

 

ahh, jimmi, so bloody right you are in that, lol..........   as for herbs comments, so glad you can pass on your well thought out suggestions, being that Im a.d.d. and all.  ive even got some well thought oiut suggestions for you but im wise enough not to say them.

One facet of A.D.D is called hyperfocus herb, if you bother to look it up you would see that a person that has this can lose themselves in what they are doing, blocking out everything around them, in fact with me everything else just disappears from my thoughts.  To me this is a great advantage that I have this, it truly helps me focus more than a person without this can, the downside is that when concentrating like this I am unable to multi task at all or remember the simpliest things outside of the one task I am attempting to complete.  I have learnt in normal life how to get around this by having my own quirky habits, some would even call it strange, but with shaping a board at the moment it is a hinderance, because I havent done it much I have not built up techniques within my own thought patterns to be able to switch what i am thinking on to veiw the bigger piture, hence, beautiful rocker, suck whole deckline.  Over time I will be able to build my thought patterns to see more than one step and be able to process it inside my mind a lot easier, then once that is acheived I will be making beautiful boards with everything tying in well, but it could take me a while and a lot of lessons will need to be learnt before hand.

So agian herb, thanks for your wonderful suggestions.

17

you're welcome.

herb

18

Di99er,

Let it go.

Some folks on this site like to push buttons and criticize people with out any instruction.  

Hold your head up and keep mowing foam.

Dont sweat it. It's just a message board thread.

T

19

I would like to point out that I have one arm shorter than the other,

one ear lower than the other ,on the opposite side…my two thumbs dont match

and one big toe is bigger than the other from an accident involving go-aheads

and a soapy lawn.dont ever bring up these abnormalities to me in conversation

or text as I am likely to become very upset and it will set off my severe turrets

syndrome resulting in a profanity bashing and perhaps another post office 

incident like the last time  before they sent me away.

 

…ambrose…

nice board 

I especially like the color

20

so I was checking in with my cabinet maker who was building a new nursing station counter desk at the hospital I managed facilities for, and found him looking perplexed, a rare thing indeed, as Al was a highly taciturn man who spoke little and was all about precision cabinetry work.

“Al, what’s up.  You look perplexed?”

Al looked over, nodded once, and said completely dead pan.  “Yep, cut it twice now, and it’s still too short.”

Spent the rest of the day in frequent spasmodic laughter.

Point of it regarding this thread - zip.

On the other hand, life is way too important to take seriously, especially ourselves.