not sure of the numbers but say :
blank - $200
6oz glass 2x1 - $75
resin - $50
fins 2+1 - .....$150
Leash plug, paint & decals $50
sandpaper, brushes, electricity $100
So maybe $625

now one for the shapers, how many working hours on a board........ i have no idea. But say an average custom longboard with colour was $1200, considering what i do for work, in a clean, air conditioned office, a board shaper would have to charge $100 an hour or at least that what i would want (if i had the skill). Similar trades like panel beaters or trades charge $100 per hours minimum.
so im bloody sure there is more than 6 hours work in a longboard including, tire kickers lol.
i think for the effort that goes into a board we get a pretty good deal.
That might be why the chinese pop out boards can sell for about $500.
So i guess the question is how many hows does it take to make a quality longboard?

Figures might be close there - it would be spread out over a few days the labour , and it's years of experience of what works & what doesn't ..... Chinese rubbish apart , it's still cheaper to get custom local than a good import from the U.S.

Yeah I reckon we do get a good deal & from some world class shapers too ....


**** Disclaimer ...... the addition of the legendary double overhead Bulletti Glovebox & matching E-Hip Tissue Dispenser / Hipster Beard vacuuming kit is a stand-alone option only offered to high tech uber cool wankers , actual cost can depend on Wank distinction level

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**** Disclaimer ...... the addition of the legendary double overhead Bulletti Glovebox & matching E-Hip Tissue Dispenser / Hipster Beard vacuuming kit is a stand-alone option only offered to high tech uber cool wankers , actual cost can depend on Wank distinction level

Thats Ronnies disclaimer inst it?

Rent

Electricity

Insurance

Super

One of the highest wage countries on the planet

.......plus the ones above....


Here is how much REAL SHAPERS are being screwed.

Set of fins 150 min pretty much.... a longboard single fin min 150 and board is how much...mmmmmmmmm


But peeps whinge about prices lol....

And the suckers paying the big boys (shorties) is funnier.

So where was your question leading mate?

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chrispy said..
So where was your question leading mate?

After picking up my new board i was just thinking how much effort went into it and how relativley cheap it was. Hence when i ordered it i rattled ifof a list of specs and when the shaper went to work out the price i just said "it will cost what it costs, so dont bither with the quote".
I just wonder what happens when all these old board shapers finish up, as there are not many young cats around here making boards. Apart from Jye Byrnes maybe.

Not counting tools, I've spent as little at $320 making a 9'6", the board looks like rubbish, but it worked and I still like to ride it every week, but apart from all the overheads previously mentioned, it really does take a long time to make one, there's lots of processes, and if you add some fancy painting or finishes, each step adds more time.

Just getting the stringer at the right height is time consuming, if someone wants a triple stringer, multiply that by more than 3 because it's much harder to get the outside stringers right at the front and rear than it is the just get a centre stringer right.

Just masking off for a simple spray takes time, and the best quality masking tape is needed, you can't use a 3 for $5 bunnings special.

The sanding is tedious and must be done perfectly, it's really an art and some would say a sander is the second shaper, get it wrong and the board looks crap, if you don't believe me, look at some of the sh!t sanding I do.

Finishing to a showroom shine must be done right and along the way there's all sorts of other little time consuming jobs, fin boxes, fin plugs, side bites, cut laps if you've got them.

All the time the board is being moved from here to there and back again, it just all adds up to a very time consuming job if you really want a high quality board.

Sometimes I'm surprised that they can be done as cheaply as some people sell them, then there's others that I see and I think, how can they have the hide to ask so much.

^^^great post

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OlSteve said..

chrispy said..
So where was your question leading mate?

After picking up my new board i was just thinking how much effort went into it and how relativley cheap it was. Hence when i ordered it i rattled ifof a list of specs and when the shaper went to work out the price i just said "it will cost what it costs, so dont bither with the quote".
I just wonder what happens when all these old board shapers finish up, as there are not many young cats around here making boards. Apart from Jye Byrnes maybe.

It's a relevant question to ask Steve.."where do the old board shapers finish up"...there doesn't appear to be many newbies coming through the "ranks" as the old shapers get older. Of the few I know personally none have an off-sider doing any work for them, prob due to costs and lack of interest by the younger generations...there are a few younger guys making quality boards by hand but not many...Gen Y have more lucrative careers on offer these days.

Kids these days seem just as content surfing with the pop-outs being sanctioned by their last pro-hero...our only remaining local surf shop has only the poppers on offer.

^^^^^the other eg of that is ,is that I know a few young/older crew who are getting into shaping way it would have been done in the past.. cleaning floors all the way to sanding and mucking around with old /damaged blanks

A big problem is not so much lazy kids,but a industry without any accreditation.. Bit hard to sell that job to mum and dad these days..

Also the big boys are now just the fast food standard issue crap....workers are underpaid and overworked...hard to get a kid excited about that.

Plus a lot of the old shapers are just plain carnts when it comes to learning or working with them...which also makes it hard to get peeps to work in a factory ...

I paid around 700 for my hand shaped oceon blue 9/6 seems pretty good to me im happy ,i see someof the chnes crap second hand thats almost the same price as ,mine newand that was with frieght

There is a new wave of shapers coming through - you just need to spend some time looking. The art of hand shaping a board isn't dead yet. Some are spending time learning the craft from the old guard whilst others are getting amongst it with other young shapers. It may not be immediately evident amongst the pop outs though.

there are HEAPS of young shapers, almost too many. The argument that was around about Chinese boards taking business confuses me because i dont understand how all these new shapers are making it work. That being said their boards arent <1k.

To name a few
Deadkooks
Corey munn
Maren
eagle sword
MS surfboards

some quality stuff coming out from them and worth the money i say.

Most of those boys are based around the Currumbin valley - there are quite a few others. You'll also see the sons of famous shapers doing their own thing. Neal Purchase Jnr for example or Ben McTavish

IF you have the tools, raw materials can be between 300-400(depending on fins/boxes ect....theres a cheap way and a less cheap way)

A board can be made with no power tools, it just takes LONGER!

Making boards may seem glamorous from the outside looking in BUT, poor margins, high toxicity of the materials make it a crap job

July 1,2017 is the start of GST on the cheap Asian boards online, so some more underground( one man) operations may appear.