Wood shaping

Hi again people, wondering who shapes wood boards on here and what kind of tools/tricks they might use to make their rails, domed decks etc. or if it’s a lot of the same tools used on foam, and just more physical labor into it …

I plan on starting one this year when I get some of these other projects (see orange camo) out of the way. Expecting a lengthy process but hoping for a nice finished product to look at much and surf occasionally.

Billy

basics

HWS / kook box (hollow wood solid): make a wooden frame, and then put a wooden strips and skin over it.

solid / chambered: glue up wood blocks with or without holes, then shape like a block of foam.

tools . . . wood working tools, planer . . .

do a search, this topic has been covered to the moon and back, look carefully at any post made by Jim the Genius Phillips, he’s one of the masters of wood.

i’m going to get one going this fall

Hi Billy,

If you browse through the archives I think you will be shocked at all the different ways Swaylockians build wood surfboards. Each of them have many advantages and you will just have to find one that matches your needs.

We build chambered wood blanks for shapers that they hand-shape using either planers or belt-sanders to start with and sanding blocks to finish up. There’s a little more physical labor to it and the blank costs more than for a foam board but the rewards are great!

I am sure that your wood boards will both be beautiful and rip!

Good luck with your project,

Lars

I have found the following tool to be very useful:

It is basically a 2x4 with a cut off roll of 50 grit belt sander paper glued to it. If you’re sanding motion is mostly forward and backward along the long axis – with a little anlge added – you can take off a lot of material. This is because belt sander paper is designed to cut as it turns around the drum. If you just sand from side to side you won’t make mush progress. I used this tool to flatten out my bottom deck, shape my rails, and foil my fins. It is nice if you have wood pieced of varying densities. Since it is such a long sanding surface you don’t get grooves in the lesser dense pieces.

Swied, I have a whole collection of those really complicated & expensive tools :wink:

What I like to do is buy the 24" belts & cut my wood at 23". Then you have 1/2 an inch up each end, where you staple the cut belt. If you get your wood at 1" thick and 4" wide (like the belts) you can put one on each side… I have a 50/80 for moving fast and a 100/150 for foam :slight_smile:

Tools

Tools that are essential for building a Hollowsurfboard…

Pencil…
Tape Measure…
The best Utility Knife you can buy, always with a very sharp blade…!!!..
Jig Saw, they’re all about the same…
Small, hand held router with a “Flush Trim” router bit…
Block Plane or Surform…
Drill & drill bits…
Belt Sander - I like the 3" x 21" Bosch or Ryobi…
Orbital 1/4 Sheet Sander or plenty of elbow grease sanding…
Spring clamps - At least a dozen…
Fine Tooth Handsaw… I only use Japanese “Pull Saws”…
A Table Saw
and maybe a Surfacing Planer
If your lumber yard is any good, and you have any kind of working relationship with them, they will have both of those that they can use to cut and mill your wood strips that’ll be your deck and bottom skins…
If the lumber yard can’t do that, most Door Shops will have that stuff in back and can help you out…Again explain what you are doing and make them part of the process…It will save you from having to buy those two big tools, unless you really want them…They do come in handy for lots of other things around the house though…Just my opinion…
You’ will use a lot of masking tape, don’t buy really cheap tape, it just doesn’t stretch…You don’t need that more expensive “Blue Tape”…Just get a high quality professional grade tape…
A roll of non-stretch “Filament Tape” is great on the stubborn areas…
Have fun …!!!..
Copyright © 2002 - Paul Jensen

While I think that you’ve just heard from one of the best sources, I’ll add my two cents worth.

When I started making wood boards I had a fair amount of foam board building experience, and just what I would consider standard woodworking skills. While I’m still gathering tricks, and tools, I basically use my regular board building stuff and techniques. A lot will depend on the type of construction you are planing to do.

For a hollow or chambered balsa, starting from lumber, I use a band saw at a woodshop next to our glassing shop to cut my rocker. If I have a board that’s really bent I can use their planer as well. If you’re doing a one-offer, I’d find a shop or a friend that will do it for you. As Paul indicated, most shops are really friendly and helpful once you’ve explained what you’re doing. It’s interesting for them as well.

I cut my outlines with a decent handsaw, and clean them up with my planer. I’ve switched to a Makita planer for wood as it’s heavier and more precise than the Hitachi that I use on foam. I drop my rails with the planer in the first stages, and then I use a hand-plane (very sharp!) to do the fine shaping of the rails. The more wood board I build, the more I end up using the hand planer. You can take off a lot of material quickly and with great precision. Plus, it’s relaxing and those long curlies of balsa get me stoked.

The other guys have covered blocks pretty well. I use a big one (23") and a couple of smaller ones (10") of varying densities of wood. A big oak thing for stock removal and flats, then a small hardwood one for the basics on the rails, then a few balsa blocks for the fine stuff.

Hope that helps a bit. There is some great stuff in the archives. Let me know when you’re ready to glass, and I’ll share what we’re currently doing if you’re interested. The results on the last boards are been really satisfactory.

Mahalo.