I recently had a thread on here re: custom shaped vs off-the-shelf boards.
I was leaning towards the custom board....
As per previous thread, wife-boss has decided she wants to breed. The current wrinkle is that she's now decided that if there's a new sprog turning up, then we need an extension to the home. Yay for me.
Yep, feel my pain. Go on, feel it. I dare ya!

Chatting to a mate, blah blah blah... the topic of machined blanks came up.

A bit of time on the google machine, beer in hand, turned up surfblanks australia. The machined longboard blanks are designed by Midget Farrelly (RIP). I like the idea of a machined blank from an in-house design, as opposed to ripping off someone else's hard work in R&D.

Anyway, I would tend to consider myself somewhat of a handyman... the wife may disagree.
Nonetheless, the idea of some finishing sanding, and glassing, isn't overly scary to me.
That said, the thought of attacking the blank with a router for the fin box scares the bejeebus out of me.

That said, it would appear that I could get 3 blanks (1x fish to practice... for the kids, and 2x longboards), with all the resin etc, delivered for about a grand.. and I'm currently more cash-poor than time-poor. Of course, once there's a new sprog, time-poor will likely be an understatement... But I'll be cash-poor for the next 20 years, so learning to build my own boards may not be a bad thing.....

Right, so two-part question:
Am I smoking crack thinking that I can 'finish' my own boards (buying machined blanks to start with)?

Anyone have any experience with the machined blanks from Surfblanks Australia?

Cheers!

Been making my own on and off for 40 years. Not sure if it is worth the saving it used to, but it is challenging and rewarding.
I've had a few plans from Midget, prior to his untimely departure. RIP. Both standard off the shelf and my own designs.
The advantage of the machined blank is that the lines are much more regular than I can achieve by hand. Having said that, there is still a hell of a lot of work to finish the blank before it is glassed. The pro's use a circular sander to machine the cut marks off, but I'm not that clever. Just a tip, sand across the machining grooves to finish the blank.
It used to be that I could drive to QLD, have 2 blanks shaped by a mate, bring them home and glass them for the cost of 1 board. Now I make a board for the cost of 2 imported Chinese (or whatever) boards.
The biggest cost of making your own is setting up with the gear. I made do with minimal tools for years. It wasn't until the mortgage was paid that I splurged on some of the toolery required. Makes it MUCH easier, but costs money. There are some things you may be able to make yourself, such as fin installation jigs, rail sanding pads etc.
There is nothing like having a set up work shop to be able to work as able, without setting up and packing up each time you have time. It's luxury I've never had.
Regarding routing the fin box slot, make a jig. You don't need a big router, just an edge trimmer. arrange the guides for the edge of the trimmer, rather than the the shaft of the cutter. That may prevent cutting into the jig, and getting an uneven slot. (Ask me how I know!)
For some guidance, have a look at the sanded.com website forum, as well as swaylocks. I haven't yet found a tube video that give a reasonably complete guide to shaping or glassing. There are a host of little tricks that they don't show. Many of them need to be learned.
Glassing is a wonderful experience! Each operation needs to be completed before the next can be started. You can't leave a bit and do it later.
Most important is to have a carefull hand when sanding. There is nothing worse than taking all the cars possible just to sand through the glass near the end.

Enjoy.
Jim

Thanks for that, that's some of the feedback I'm looking for.
I acknowledge there's a bunch of peeps out there shaping and building amazing boards for themselves, and they all have to start somewhere.

And I guess that's part of my hesitation. Sounds great to build a few boards for about a grand, but I could be completely challenged, and end up blowing that coin on boards that end up being junk (through my own 'workmanship')... Given tools & time, I could be better off getting something shaped for me.

That said, I am the kinda guy that likes to mess with stuff. And while completely different, I was a fisherman long before I learnt to surf, and love making my own lures, and modifying ones that I buy... and then catching fish on said lures... I can only imagine the buzz of catching waves on a board that has my own sweat and tears (and blood) in it.

Often thought about myself ....there was a workshop in NSW that was teaching groups on making your own board ...duuno if its still going .

You have the primary trait, which is the need to be creative in a pragmatic sense.
You can't ignore it, and there are no failures, just steps towards an objective.

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damned67 said..

As per previous thread, wife-boss has decided she wants to breed. The current wrinkle is that she's now decided that if there's a new sprog turning up, then we need an extension to the home. Yay for me.

Don't be so dis-heartened - lots of blokes in the greenroom would love to have the opportunity to be still practising breeding or at least pretending to be breeding. Enjoy it

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Ted the Kiwi said..

damned67 said..

As per previous thread, wife-boss has decided she wants to breed. The current wrinkle is that she's now decided that if there's a new sprog turning up, then we need an extension to the home. Yay for me.

Don't be so dis-heartened - lots of blokes in the greenroom would love to have the opportunity to be still practising breeding or at least pretending to be breeding. Enjoy it

Go to the surfboard warehouse and look at the Seaplane an old and I mean very old mate of mine has a 10 footer,but look at the 9 foot version because he is about a foot away from nose riding,good solid boards his has been run over that many times due yo him dropping in and snaking the line up,hell its even been run over by a steam train a V12 and its still standing.Just don't get a white one because they look crap like my old mates

Damned if you do and damned if you don't

Why would you make your own ?
Is it a tightar5e thing or just for the experience?
Either way just leave it to the experts.
How can you possibly make a board to the level of a shaper with 40 + years experience?
My 2 bobs worth

I"ve made a couple of hollow wood boards and 3 "normal" poly boards from scratch then I wanted a longboard and didtn't want to f&^k up a 10" blank so I got a midget preshaped blank and had a ball with it.

costs do add up though, think about making your own stands (verge side collection is your friend), but sand paper, masking tape, gloves...all the little incidentals start to add up

Take your time - think about each step before you start - shaping and particularly glassing is not something you want to "work on the fly" have a plan!!

I'm not a great surfer but to get 5 over the nose on a board you shaped yourself.....its a great feeling. do it!

Built four, finished two both were completely and utterly botched :(

Will regroup and go again soon hopefully ???

Rip in there...I would suggest :

1. Get some seconds blanks to start with
2. Skip the pre shape and do it yourself
3. You can get away with minimal tools (Surform, sanding blocks, planer)
4. Take your time
5. Get someone else to glass them and spend the time on the shaping

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NewScotty said..
Why would you make your own ?
Is it a tightar5e thing or just for the experience?
Either way just leave it to the experts.
How can you possibly make a board to the level of a shaper with 40 + years experience?
My 2 bobs worth

Both.... Always happy to save beer money, and let's face it, and $$$ saved by building a board will be quickly negated by the beer costs while building said board. But also the experience. I love messing with stuff. Modifying stuff etc.
I own about 40-odd fishing rods. All different shapes and sizes and costs for different purposes. Still, for my son's 16th birthday, I built him a nice rod (made one for myself first... to make mistakes on). Is it as nice as one from the shop? Nope. Doe's it have value that can't be bought. Yep.

It's one thing to catch an amazing wave on an amazing board that you bought... but I can see it being a whole 'nother level on one you made yourself, even if it's not at the level of a pro shaper.
And don't get me wrong, I would never expect a board that I build to be anywhere near the level of a pro shaper. Hell, I'd be happy if it was waterproof and somewhat straight!

Using a machine shaped blank is the best way to "start".They are accurate, is only a matter of smoothing the machine marks away to get it ready for glassing.

GLASSING is easy as,when you know how!....learning is a hands on experience!

My advice is watch EVERYTHING on youtube first.

Use sun activated resin which gives as much time as you need.

Experienced glassers can still make errors but they know how to fix them.

It can be hugely satisfying when you have done a few and they get better, 3/4/5th will be pretty good compared to your first(probably).

Use all the protective stuff....gloves/masks/plastic coveralls/respirators

The joy is the first wave(making boards is crap)