Boys,
I think I may have a crack at shaping a longboard in the next few months. Who has done this, is it really hard ??
Any good websites to get all the materials from ??
Any help would be appreciated.
Hi mate am just about to start glassing my first boards...I got me gear from teh following :
www.shapers.com.au
www.surfblanksaustralia.com.au
and check out Surfer Steve and you tube for tips
One I get the ball rolling do you mind if I PM you with the occasional question Tux ?
I had a go at shaping a board with a mate who knew what he was doing. Unless you already know how to do it and pretty skilled get someone to help you. Keep some progress pics coming too and good luck.
No worries bro....I have shaped 3 glassed none so please take all advice with a grain of salt...here is what I have learned :
1. Have a clear idea of what you want to make and then write it down
2. After a couple of passes to get rid of the outside crust put the power plane on the shelf
3. Have an understanding wife/partner
4. Take time to make good templates
5. Measure, check, measure, check...repeat 1000 times
6. Buy shares in a sandpaper company
Tux,
You make me laugh. Looks like its going to be damn hard just getting a blank in SA.
getting the shape even is a good start. most guys i've seen make a mess of the glassing thus giving themselves big sanding problems. i knew one guy that was at it for two weeks. the glass just got harder and harder. a clean glassing job can be make the rest of it easier.
keep a off cut or something and laminate it, sand, finish coat and sand, wet and dry. know what you need laid out. prep ed etc. that way you know the process and hopefully made your mistakes if any on the practise piece
cheers
Select to expand quotelaceys lane said..
getting the shape even is a good start. most guys i've seen make a mess of the glassing thus giving themselves big sanding problems. i knew one guy that was at it for two weeks. the glass just got harder and harder. a clean glassing job can be make the rest of it easier. keep a off cut or something and laminate it, sand, finish coat and sand, wet and dry. know what you need laid out. prep ed etc. that way you know the process and hopefully made your mistakes if any on the practise piece cheers
Yes, the glassing is harder than the shaping, for beginners...
You will notice that most shapers don't do the glassing (or at least employ others to glass). Glassing is often done by "contract glassers".
Even Hobie Alter employed Gordon "Grubby" Clark in a separate role, as 'foam blower'...
Today, they are 3 separate jobs;
1 - foam blank manufacture
2 - shaping
3 - glassing
McHenry, I want you to have a go at glassing, but on the other hand, have a think about paying a contract glasser to do the job.
200 to get the board glassed, I will see. Any help would be appreciated. I am thinking of something easy obviously to start. 9'4 x 23 x 3 relatively flat number. I have spoken to a buddy who has shaped about 15 boards and he said he can help me with any questions I have. I will have a go I think, but who knows.
Even looking at the lists of blanks is confusing!!
I'm thinking about shaping a board too. i think a list of blanks would confuse me too, but if I saw them in the flesh, I know I could figure it out quickly!
Also, try drawing a minature "scale" version. Template and rock/deck profile, and rail profiles at 1 foot centres... Helps you visualise what you want... Look at the boards you like, and take a blend of that.
I like the look of the redline squaretail. I wonder if anyone has one to hook me up with some dims.
Thinking something like that, should be fairly eay. Flat, wide nothing too freaky.
Trigger Bros in Vic have Burford Blanks, hook it up Simondo.
If there are no blanks in SA, I'm happy to go blank hunting... for me & you at the same time!
www.surfblanksaustralia.com are the go to guys for blanks...you need to do a minimum order of 3 I think and you should get free frieght...so maybe find some like minded souls or get a box full...you can get the boards in a variety of rocker templates, various thickness's and stingers...they have rocker templates and all that stuff on thier webiste and I think you can even d/L the aku shaper files if you want a computer cut blank...they alos answer heaps of dumb questions over the phone and get stuff on the truck super quick...seriously have nothing but good things to say about these guys....shapers.com.au are the same....all good dudes...shapers order process takes a bit longer if you use credit card for some reason...but thats it
Got a PM from McHenry and thought I would share my response here in case anyone else finds it useful
Funny question to ask me today of all days as I just order 2 new blanks this morning!!!!
I got help from a couple of mates who live locally and have worked in the industry previously. The easiest thing to do first off is to order a blank and get it machined (put through a CNC) and then hand finish it yourself. Pay careful attention to do exactly the same to one side as you do to the other to ensure it remains symmetrical e.g 10 strokes on one side, then 10 on the other and repeat etc. Try and use long strokes where possible. You can either get the people you order the blank off to give you a standard Mal shape that they already have or you can design your own one on Akushaper and send them the file. You can also get them off the net if you want to troll for them. I would suggest it would be alot easier to use one of their files to start.
As for glassing - you really need to get some help here.....I watched loads of youtube videos first but nothing prepares you for it!! Try and use the suncure UV resins so that it gives you loads of time and will not go off whilst you are farking around. Especially with a longboard where you need so much resin and it takes a long time when you are new at it. Especially working out how to lap the rails etc Be very careful about the day that you decide to do your glassing as the temp has a huge effect on the speed at which the resin goes off. If its a 1% mix I would encourage you to use it at 0.25% - this will give you lots and lots of time to get it right. If the day time temp is over 30 degrees I would be very careful - depending on your setup it may be best to leave it to another day or do it earlier in the morning. If you use the UV resins this will not apply as much.
Have a good read of this - like a 100 times!! Especially the Tips and Misconceptions sections
www.surfersteve.com/cgi-sys/suspendedpage.cgi
I took several templates off boards that I liked and wanted to base mine off - e.g. I used a nose from one board, a tail off another and a scoop from another! I also based the rails off another board I liked - my board is a collection of many other design elements that I like and have tried before. I did not try to do anything fancy or too creative on my first effort as there is (as you will find out) so much to get your head around the first time.
Riding the first wave you catch on your new board is as good a feeling in surfing as I have ever had - its an amazing feeling when you realise that it actually works! Enjoy the experience and make sure you document as you go - as it will help with the learning process the second time around - plus the Beer Garden loves board build threads!
If you have any other questions happy to help ya - but I am no pro - just someone who likes to play around in the garage.
.
Nice tip there LL - I might just have to give that a go on my next one Happy for any others you may have as well......I imagine those canoe shaped front end of the 666's need some special attention.
+1 on the great comments from Tux and Ted. As ted said, try and keep the strokes long and even, go from one end to the other all the way nice and smooth. No stopping in the middle and the same number of runs back and forth on each side.
Also try and see out one step of the process the whole way through from start to finish. Don't stop half way through a step then try and pick it up an hour or so later. Try and keep going until that step of the process is finished and you are happy with it.
Also a few different pieces of foam cut into squares around 20 - 30 cm will make things a little easier when hand sanding foam.
If all else fails go the chainsaw and lawnmower option.
Good luck, Don't rush it and have fun. 
Don't suffer interuptions from your children until you have finished both sides or you will forget what side/number you up to!!
