hey guys i am about to start shaping a couple of boards but i was curious where you guys get your templates from. i have the boards designed on boardcad and access to a plotter printer but i can’t figure out how to print to scale. any adivce?
send a PM to Haarvard he is the creator of Board Cad.
send a PM to Haarvard he is the creator of Board Cad.
i have designed the outline in boardcad to see what it's going to look like then i'll plot out the nose, tail, widepoint, etc. and use a batten to make the template oldschool style...
i guess that's kinda Fred Flintstone though if you've got a plotter printer. but, it worked for me.
Sometimes caveman simple is most efficient. Making a template is good practice for shaping. If you can't fair a 2D curve, you have no chance at all in 3D foam.
But if the OP has files, why not just get them cut? Skip the printer, etc.
Mark out your widths on your template, get a baten and bend it to the points, trace the curve, cut it. Throw a piece of masonite, doorskin, whatever, cut your template, flip it, now you have the template forever
I just draw mine to scale with a ruler and pencil. 1":1'. Expand to full size directly on to Masonite, door ply, or sheet plastic. Cut and fair.
By shifting/combining just a few templates I can trace out any number of full size curves on blanks and generally make them work. If not, I can make a new template pretty quick and easy.
Some of us, even with computers and designer programs, don't have cutting machines anywhere near.
Caveman style.
[quote="$1"]
If you can't fair a 2D curve, you have no chance at all in 3D foam..
[/quote]
SO TRUE.
“My secret, so dont tell anyone! Take a tape measure, and drive a nail
in the floor. Lay your 1/8” plywood on the floor. Draw a 6’ radius onto
the plywood. Cut on the line. There’s your last foot nose rocker
template. on a different piece draw a 12’ radius. There’s your
transition rocker template. Draw a 30’ radius. There’s your mid point
rocker template."
This was taken from a post about rocker from back in August. It works the same for outline templates, just with different measurements.
To which I'll add, if you do go down the masonite/batten route (which you should, at least at some point): Take your time. Breathe. Commit to it. You'll do fine.
1. Draw a clear, deliberate line. 2. Cut slightly outside the line. 3. Carefully, with a sanding block, fair the outline precisely to the line.
A good template will last years. A bad template will make an ugly board. It might surf great but it'll be ugly! Peace, C
[quote="$1"]
I just draw mine to scale with a ruler and pencil. 1":1'. Expand to full size directly on to Masonite, door ply, or sheet plastic. Cut and fair.
By shifting/combining just a few templates I can trace out any number of full size curves on blanks and generally make them work. If not, I can make a new template pretty quick and easy.
Some of us, even with computers and designer programs, don't have cutting machines anywhere near.
Caveman style.
[/quote]
Very similar. I always considered my method medieval, maybe caveman would be more accurate. I freehand a 1:12 scale sketch on 1/4" graph paper. Then I draw a 3" grid on a piece of plywood or masonite, and freehand a copy, using bent sticks as needed.
as you can see there are a million ways to skin a cat
I might mention that I only plot dots every foot or so until the ends where it gets a little tighter. The fiberglass rod I use does a pretty good job of connecting the dots in a fair curve.
I figure since I just made up the curve I drew anyway, a little fudging here and there when the actual template is being drawn is OK. I trust my eyes when the full sized curve is being trued. If I want a board with a 15" tail and the tail on my template ended up at 14 1/2" I just shift it out 1/4" per side when I draw my curve on the blank.
The straight edge of the template, if I'm using a half template instead of a spin template, doesn't have to line up on the stringer and the ends of the template don't have to line up with the overall length. As long as my template (or combination of templates) hits the marks on the blank, I'm good with that.
I also use some short tail templates for things like wings and bumps. On the last fish I did I used the leading edge of the fins to make the inner curves of the swallowtail.
I've never had a computer pre-shape done on any of my boards. As mentioned, I don't have a machine readily available.
For someone who does have computer shaper access, any and/or all of this can easily be dismissed as dark ages stuff.
I print mine off of aku shaper on 8x11 paper and spray adhesive them to masonite,cut the line with a skillsaw(leaving the line visible) and fair out any bumps with a block and 60 grit.I’m the cutting machine in my shaping bay haha.
What jesus said but with board cad. I'm speaking from the experience of 1 completed board but the process worked fairly easy.
[quote="$1"]
hey guys i am about to start shaping a couple of boards but i was curious where you guys get your templates from. i have the boards designed on boardcad and access to a plotter printer but i can't figure out how to print to scale. any adivce?
[/quote]
I steal my templates.....hate to confess but everyone knows it's happening......The rip off artist have been doing it for years....Grab a SurfTech board...lay it down on a close tolerance blank...trace the outline...shape a board....with a surform and a piece of sand paper.......Ha Ha...good times.......OK ...I don't really steal templates but you get where I'm going...
The close tolerance blanks are so close to shaped blanks it's AMAZING.....
I've never done an exact copy but it's tempting.................
Stingray
[quote="$1"]
hey guys i am about to start shaping a couple of boards but i was curious where you guys get your templates from. i have the boards designed on boardcad and access to a plotter printer but i can't figure out how to print to scale. any adivce?
[/quote]
If you have the software (adobe or something that will let you print to a PDF file), banner printer and paper then it is just a few clicks in theory. It is never quite that simple though.
In Boardcad or Aku select print outline (in the new version of Boardcad [1.1 alpha] you can select straight or over curve measurements, Aku defaults to straight). Boardcad can give you a background grid if you want.
Select printer options to print to your PDF software. Before printing your file select Properties and select Custom Size paper, you need to create Custom Size paper large enough for your outline and printer. That will give you a PDF file of the outline on one or more pages, depending on your custom paper size you create. Then print to create the PDF file.
Open PDF file in Acrobat. In Print Options select the Custom Size paper you created. Select your banner printer and print. Assuming printer can print from PDF Acrobat.
Varies depending on the software and printer you use.
Simple answer:
We all get our templates from our own two hands.
the first template you make will be crooked
like your skewed view of the world
and your peculiar physical deformity.
The 1st template you make will be a pile of stinky
crap that you will never fully appreciate until
you have finished the board
you make from it.
The board you make from the template will
be much cleaner and refined.
Use this board to redraw the template.
No mater wether you Cad the curve, ‘compass’ the curve,
aku shaper…jankow , conduct an abortive attempt
to plagerize a production product curve ( surfteque , Hobie ,
Bing or whatever)
the template you make will never be
accurate enough …
The surfboard building process can be liberating.
The process can be another Anal tracing from a coloring book.
get a pencil or sharpie or a lumber crayon or a piece of charcoal from the last beach fire
slap a board down on a piece of masonite ,doorskin.melamine corian ,craft paper,or even newspaper
that is full length ,or 1/2 length
draw out the curve that makes you glow inside and refine it to your own satisfaction
an hurry up and shape and glass that board
another wave just came through thet you could have ridden with the board yo made yourself.
Your life is passing
get this show on the road.
…ambrose…
or don’t.
it will just make a mess
of your garage and your life.
on the other hand
you can’t get into heaven
unless you are carrying
the board you made yourself.
pop outs are not allowed in heaven.
more classic ambrose.
and thank you Mr. Thrailkill.