I think hucks “rail first” method is the best. Check out any of his threads pics etc.you can find. I am sure it will help.
Kayu - Where were those pics taken? At a show? Nice, but I don’t expect anything less than outstanding from you.
I agree I think it’s genius I just don’t know how thick and wide to make them I’ve got a good idea on how to get the rocker that way I guess some trial and error lol
Yeah, a trade show at the Burleigh Brewing Co last year . ( you can see the beer vats in the background)…seems to be a growing trend around here . The shapers are Richard Harvey and Rod Morgan , who I build wooden blanks for occasionally . Harvs has been a key player in the OZ surf industry forever , and still produces highend boards . Rod is a tow-in enthusiast , with a love for wood - you can see one of his balsa tow boards in the background …both guys are committed hand shapers and custom board builders.
Yep, I see the foot straps. Pretty cool. Thanks for posting that pic. Surfboards and Beer. Couple of my favorite things. Lowel
I am super bummed that I just noticed this thread.
Huck I will definitely be joining your forum after this post and I am beyond psyched! Honestly your builds are what convinced me to start building wood boards. While I’ve only tried your rails first method once (it was a 6’ 45 lbs disaster) I still think it is probably the best all around approach for an all wooden board. Compsands are cool, but they seem like cheating to me, like the warp tubes in the original Mario Bros.
My last board just got finished at the beginning of the year (pictures below) and it was my 8th wood board. I already have another one started doing bead and cove rails as we speak. It will be nice to have a dedicated forum to talk about all the different wood processes people use. For the most part I only do fish bones with bead and cove rails, but I do want to try as many of the other methods as I can. Heck I even made a flat water SUP using a slightly modified stitch and glue kayak method. Still trying to work myself up to a chambered board, but I am fearful that my actual “shaping skills” aren’t as good as my woodworking skills and I’ll end up making a bunch of saw dust and fire wood.
I guess this also means I need to start taking more pictures of my building instead of just glamour shots at the end. Still I’m stoked for a new forum!
First I would advise you against adding foam. For the most part it adds nothing but weight. I did it on my last board and it was nothing but a headache. Also I would advise you to rethink glassing it. Unless you are a very good woodworker not all of your joints will be water tight with just glue and oil, even if you use something like lanolin. Eventually water will seep in somewhere and the wood inside will rot, especially if you have foam inside acting like a sponge.
For rails I personally draft it up in boardcad and print out the cross sections and use bead and cove pieces like the cedar kayak builders use. Silver paddle boards actually has a good writeup of this method in the tutorials part of their website.
I think the main other method people generally use is laminating thin (1/4" thick) pieces to the perimeter and build up the rails to the desired thickness and then shape as you would a foam board.
I’ve also seen small pieces (1"x1/4") glued around the perimeter so the grain runs vertically instead of lengthwise. Again you have to repeat until desired rail thickness and shape as a foam board.
As previously mentioned there is also hucks famous rails first method, which is awesome.
Chambered balsa 9’2" gun and 10’ longboard I made a few years ago. Unlike real hollow boards, chambered balsas are still “shaping”.
…I prefer to shape Balsa instead to the ribs construction regarding performance.
This is an egg that I shaped some time ago.
I admire the talent of guys like balsa and reverb. I have wanted to and still want to make a chambered board, but I’ve never shaped a board. I can’t imagine spending all the time cutting, spot glueing, and flattening a wood blank only to have it ruined by a first time shaper.
Okay, I’m going to try this again. The last I tried it crashed so…
These are all older - I’m terrible at taking photos of my boards and terrible at organizing those that I do. I’ll try and remember what I can.
This 10’2" was one of the first balsas I was happy with. That wide center strip weighed nothing! All cut from 4x6’s with mahogany stringers.
This was a somewhat problematic 9’3" blank… can’t remember who the supplier was but it turned out to be a fun board.
Tons of character in the grain and a nice rubout.
And a leash loop. Wood fin by Juan Rodriguez.
I think this was a ten footer… chambered balsa with home made fin and loop. Don’t think that I have any photos of the board finished - this may have been around 2004. The dark bands are cabinetry veneer - mahagony if I recall.
Okay, two of my favorites and then I’ll leave you guys alone.
The 9’7" is a double ender from a SharkBay blank. Fin by Juan.
The other is a 9’2" that was made for my brother.
fantastic work! Can we get some construction details and or progress photos of the build itself on any of these?
Gee Jeffery; I did not know you were so capable. Extremely nice boards and very well shaped and designed. Shapes in wood are sometimes a little limited due to the nature of the wood. ALL very well done. I have never seen one of Juan’s fins other that pics. They look really nice.
Some beautiful boards Jeffrey , and some really nice wood…is it from Equador ?