Brookvale, the home of the start of Australian surfboard building, at least design. I was lucky enough to move across the road from Dee Why point in 62', about a mile from Brooky, so as a kid growing up, my hobby was to ride my bike around the factories and check out what was going on. My 1st job at Shane's reminds me of a sheep shearing shed, with some talented shearers. Simon, Bob Kennerson, Frank Latta, Bill Cilia, Peter Cornish, Ted Spencer, Larry Levine, sorry anyone I forgot, don't worry , it was a super group. I was just the grommet. Then with Geoff McCoy, PeterLawrence[ Norah Head] Reno, Jim Beardsely, BK had a stint. Then I went to Byron, worked with Warren Cornish, Bob, Brian Ingham, Tony Cerff. I always thought I taught myself, fuck I'm a dumb bastard, I've never put those names in print before, yea that's the real men who taught me, hey I'd like to pass it on , but they don't need it now, H.
Nobody yet, apart from online help through Sways.
Who is willing to teach me and at what price?
I want to build EPS/Epoxy boards, preferably stringerless for average up to head high waves.
…hello Harris,
that Bill Cilia is related to Martin Cilia who played in an Aussie surf band called Atlantics?
or this is a common last name there?
thanks
…very funny when in a few years more, this question be obsolete.
“who taught what?” “man, you nuts, no humans involved in the process of my HP board”
I should add I don’t know how to make surfboards. I’m still learning to make surfboards. Kind of a philosophical question really. Mike
I learned from the Jim Phillips trilogy- ( Jim I actually purchased it) . Also lurked on swaylock’s allot too. One of these days I’ll upload photos of my boards. Ive made some beautiful longboards with balsa and cedar tail blocks ,shortboards, fish. Lately ive been working on applied balsa rails and some mini simmons shapes . Love experimenting. Jim’s vids were an excellent base to kick off with. Unless you know someone in the knowhow you have to go to the school of hard knocks to learn the hints and subtleties and all the rest. Thanks Jim. I bought the carper vids too but they didn’t cut it for me. There is no shortcut around the learning curve even with vids and instruction. Making boards brings me great joy-pulling in on one or watching my kids shred them …well I live for that.
I had a lesson in glassing from a high school friend, Brian Higa back around 1973 or so. Bought that paperback book in the late 70’s when I stripped, reshaped and glassed a couple. Then Charlie Price helped me shape an EPS blank and taught me how to make my first Compsand about 2005. Never really cared about making boards until 2004 or 2005, and I only do it for myself.
A lot of really good shapers and glassers have given advice, but I’ve never seen them work, and they’ve never seen me work either. Everything else has been via the internet or videos.
What about you ghettorat?
Jeff mccallum used to let me watch him shapes a few boards. then just bugging any SD shapers I could…
I will be seeing Gordon Quigg next week, we are going to go surfing and drink a few beers. I’ll say Hi for you.
Wayne Land, taught me the basics. Del Cannon taught me a desciplined way of shaping. Phil Edwards really opened my eyes about the hydrodynamics of surfboards, and fins. Along the way there was quite alot that I ''discovered'', (recognized) on my own. While it was not about shaping directly, discussions with Jim Fisher, Buzzy Trent, Al Nelson, and so many others, helped bring the design process into clearer focus. At the time I did not understand the value of the knowledge that was being passed on to me. Fisher and Buzzy used to room with Simmons in the early days in Hawaii, and I'm sure their understandings were influenced by Simmons. While it may seem like name dropping, It's not. With the exception of Phil, I surfed with these guys on a daily basis, and it was ''normal'' to talk story/shop with them. I was lucky enough to surf at Windansea during a time of flowering surfboard design advancement, and to be exposed to the men responsible for it.
When I was 12 in 1967, we learned from the neighborhood teenage boys. They did not know what they were doing. I made boards from the 7th grad throughout college. I stopped making boards after college and worked on my career. In 2004 I started making boards because I watched Charlie Wong shape and glassed my boards. Charlie ran the factory for Naish Hawaii and was a world know builder of sailboards. I CONSIDER HIM MY SURFBOARD GURU AND MENTOR. He was using UV resin and I was hooked. Little by little, I would finish the boards he started. I started with the final sanding and polish, then after the lam the take the board, then I would glass the entire board by myself. Later I would spend my lunch hours watching him shape. I then started shaping my own boards. Then Dec. 5 2005 happed and no more Clark Foam.
Later I met Manoa and we learned how to hot wire EPS foam and make blanks. With Swaylocks, later I met two wonder brothers Shark County (Harry) and Oneula (Bernie) and they showed me how to do wood veneer boards. I learned a few really good tricks from Bud. He has a very efficent and effective system.
I was very fortunate to talk about shaping design in detail from Mike Casey, Chuck Andres, J. Vicente and I was very fortunate to spend and entire lunch hour talking to the master Ben Aipa. He was measuring blanks and rockers at the time. He shapes his rockers, bottoms, decks and later cuts out the templates and finish the rails. It was a beautiful thing to watch.
I am pretty confident with my glass work and now I am working on my shaping. I get a little intimidated because I am surrounded with so many great shapers in Hawaii. What is cool is that the good shapers I know are willing to talk to me. The master shaper and shaped by Dick Brewer DVD's are very helpful in my shaping education.
What a great hobby!
Mahalo,
D
MISTAKES are the best teacher, mistakes and learning from them, not another person, they can advise and show techniques but that isnt shaping, having a true knowledge of what does what makes a great shaper....I am doin my best to work towards knowing as much as possible....it will be a lifetime of learning but alot of fun also......too many people drop names in this world, it isnt who you know or worked with.....
Pretty much Jim Phillips. He I and were in high school together and building backyard boards in Hawaii. Jim went on to learn from Tinker and the other Masters. Later on Jim hired me as his apprentice at Phillips surfboards and I learned the trade. I had several small factories over the years and worked for a lot of other folks. Basically I learned a little every step of the way. Jim was the primary source though. He has been very generous with his knowledge and has tought scores of people over the years.
I had the fortune to spend a weekend with Lanny shuler a couple years ago, while he made my wifes board. Mostly I just watched him mow foam, but when it came glass time, he let me do a lot of the work. I will be forever gratefull.
Aloha Bill, I met Wayne through Plastic Fantastic since when he wanted he could just come in and shape for them since he was good friends with Gary T. the owner plus he was the PF collector when they had problems getting their money from some retailers. You must ahve met Gary since he was a long time builder and I remember him telling me that he worked for Foss foam and they gave him a shaped blank and he gave them back a totally done board, Glossed and polished and they paid him a whole $25 a board. He also worked for Greg Noll and a few other companies. Aloha,Kokua
Hey Reverb, I'm thinking it's Bill Cillia, with two l's , no I don't think so, he has a brother named John, it's not a common name that I know of, cheers H.
Pridmore wrote......too many people drop names in this world, it isnt who you know or worked with. ...
This thread is about who taught you or who you worked with, mistakes are what you make along the way. This is coming from a bloke who started a thread called 3rd board for Mr Nick Carroll. The guy who got some advice from Dick Brewer is entitled to say it once, me, those names were when I was between 16 and 19, from then on noone showed me a thing, I was priveleged to work with those guys and it's part of my history, a lot of people wouldn't know most of those names, H.
fair point...
making your boards was part of the surfing way as i was brought up. my pops taught me how to shape and glass the traditional ways. my godfather shaped surfboards and sailboards at a small surf/sail shop he had on the way to the beach while i was growing up so all the people i was around rode his boards or boards they shaped themselves. I shaped my first board at the shaping shed at his house. once i starting glassing a few years later, i learned some tricks from local glassers who were glassing my shapes. i started building boards for friends in my garage. i became pretty confident with my skills and moved out to hawaii to pursue the craft and surf the north shore. worked in a factory as a sander, but also did some of everything else (laminating, hotcoats, polishing) from time to time. learned a lot about how to do things professionally and efficiently during this time.
i moved back home to start a family and use put my degree to use, but am still making boards in my garage for myself and for friends. when i moved back, the clark fiasco was going on so i started messing around with polystyrene and cutting up my own blanks. that has been a really fun direction in boardbuilding. opens up so many avenues of creativity. i dont think i would have ever gone in that direction without swaylocks. there is a small community of garage boardbuilders around, and we like to bounce ideas off each other and share tips and new materials/tools.
I sure would like to hear a couple a good stories about some of the guys who helped you along the way. Not to drop names but to give credit to those who deserve it.