I have recently started shaping boards. As expected Im destroying all of them. Mostly while using my skil planer. What I am trying to figure out is how you guys afford to destroy these blanks with how much money they cost. I live in Boston and the closest place to get them is Rhode Island. Im paying $180 a blank. Im assuming this guy Im getting them off is adding his shipping price into that $180. The blanks are usually fish blanks by surf blanks america. Do you guys have any suggestions to get my cost down while Im in the learning process. This is getting pricey? Let me know, thanks.
you are getting surfable boards tho right? define destroyed...
Just work from the mindset that failure is not an option. I destroyed one blank while trying to learn to use my Clark modified Hitachi. It was a 2nd, though, and only cost me $20. After that board I learned to take lighter passes. I still keep it around. Before starting on a new board I'll take it out and do a few warm-up passes on the junkblank.
I highly recommend getting Jim Phillips Shaping 101 video. Watch it several times, and try to emulate his technique.
Try finding a better source for blanks. It looks like you're paying $100 more per blank than you should!
If you’re really that unhappy with your planing technique then perhaps you should try buying some practice stock. Go to Home Depot or the like and buy a couple flat EPS sheets in 2" thickness for cheap and practice on those. You’ll have to put something under the foam to support it on your stands but a single 4x8 panel should give you several passes for your template work if you just do one side per pass. Start out with the entire 4x8, cut one side of a template, blend your rails in at 3-4 inches and when you’re done retemplate 4" inside of that for your next pass. In theory the one 4x8 should give you 12 or more template passes to work on your technique. I think those panels are only something like $30 each. Buy one for practicing your rail technique and another for working on foiling.
Then when you go back to a regular blank your skills will be a little more refined.
Buy as many blanks as you can afford at the time and have them shipped. You can ship several boxes of blanks for what you are apparently paying for shipping. Freight for 3 boxes (10-15 blanks) from Fl to NC is less than a $100. That is to a biz address though. Go to the Surfblanks site and get the number for the East Coast Distributor and see what they can do.
Next, how destroyed are the blanks you have shaped?
Dave
How many have you "destroyed". Watch a few videos and slow down. I would think that someone who is just learning and using a Skil to learn with would be expected to "destroy" a few blanks. I'll try to give you a couple of tips though that will probably be spit on by others; First-----------don't template or cut your outline until you have "skinned" the blank with the planer and leveled and blocked both sides (deck and bottom) with coarse sand paper and a block. Second--lay out your template and make darn sure it is accurate. Since you as a beginner spent the big money on a Skil you should be able to buy a shapers' square. Either the Pleskunas( on sale at FoamEZ currently) or the Versa Square at Greenlight (on the East coast). Use a Masonite template and a flexible straight edge(sailboard batten or metal yardstick) to conect the dots. Third -----------Mark the rail bands with a pencil. Deck, edge and bottom. If you can't control that skil to plane the rail bands use a sanding block and coarse paper to cut the bands. Blend them with sandpaper and screen. Since your a beginner stay away from the Surform and Dragon Skin. There are Pros who can't even use these two. As a beginner you'll get a better shape if you use the planer only for the heavy work. If you fail to "destroy" a blank and get a decent, rideable shape out of it, your confidence will gradually bulid and you may try doing more with the planer. Buena Suerte Hombre
They are so destroyed I threw them out. Thanks for all the info guys.
http://greenlightsurfsupply.com/US-surfboard-blanks-polyurethane.aspx
Located in Philly; they apparently are working on shipping costs.
As a sidenote, have you considered working with epoxy instead? In your case it would probably end up being a lot cheaper. Using EPS blanks from Greenlight you’d save $60/blank just for starters, what with the lower blank costs and the lower shipping costs. The resin is a bit more expensive but depending on your technique you use less of it so the difference isn’t that much. It’s easier to work with, lots more friendly in terms of fumes and cleanup, and you end up with a much stronger board.
Hand over the skil, kid… nice and easy.
Spit on me, too, then. I’ll echo McDing’s advice.
Also, I think the skil 100 is the main problem and you need a nice light plastic Hitachi. i’ll trade you mine for that obsolete planer of yours. Mike
I stripped an old board of its fiberglass and practiced on it before I touched my blank. I started in on the new blank with the electric planer and then switched to a sureform. I think it’s pretty hard to mess up with a sureform. Have you tried that yet? Also, $180 seems really expensive for a blank. I paid $70, but that was without shipping. Have you looked at Foam E-Z? They sell blanks for a reasonable cost, but I don’t know about the shipping. I’m also in the process of reshaping an old long board so if you know someone who wants to donate to your cause, give it a shot.
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I have recently started shaping boards. As expected Im destroying all of them. Mostly while using my skil planer. What I am trying to figure out is how you guys afford to destroy these blanks with how much money they cost. I live in Boston and the closest place to get them is Rhode Island. Im paying $180 a blank. Im assuming this guy Im getting them off is adding his shipping price into that $180. The blanks are usually fish blanks by surf blanks america. Do you guys have any suggestions to get my cost down while Im in the learning process. This is getting pricey? Let me know, thanks.
[/quote]
....$180 for a fish blank????......Yeah Bro...You've been bent over and don't even know it...............
.....ouch....
.....short board blanks cost about $50 retail..........
...2 blanks at $180 equals about $360.....
You can get a a block of foam aprox 36 x 36 x 8 feet for that much.....you've been screwed.....Big time....
Time to find a new supplier..........
.................
Stingray
P.S.......I'm really angry that this young man got ripped off......Someone on the east coast please help....I deleted all my foul words and smart ass comments....$180 for a blank is just WRONG.....
Get someone knowledgeable in your area to come over and mentor you on the next one. You should, after onsite mentoring for two boards, be able to make something you (and maybe only you) will be proud of.
I learned in the days far before the internet, computers, and all that. A pal showed me how to make a kneeboard from a broken Surfboards Makaha. No planer, just a long and short Surform, and some sandpaper, a 1/4" drill for a sander. After that I was pretty much on my own, but we lived not too far from each other and cooperated in a lot of boards. Now he's a postman and I'm and engineer. We're now islands apart. One of us is still going out, making boards, and mentoring others. I'm glad it's me.