Hey folks,
I'll get things rolling with a project I undertook late this summer. Living a few blocks from the beach here in Southern California it is hard to avoid the surfing bug. I caught it pretty bad and couldn't help the urge to learn about board shaping. After months of reading and researching, I decided to make a shape that I'd never even surfed--the fish. It's an original San Diego shape from the early 70s I believe and has been experiencing a resurgence in popularity here. So, I picked up a board blank at a surf shop down the street, shaped it (what a mess!), shaped the fins, and glassed the whole thing in my garage.
Here are some shots of the project:
And finally, my little one helping me put the first coat of wax on it before the inaugural session:
Best,
Jeff
Surfboard
Re: Surfboard
Wow, does that ever bring back memories--I was surfing in San Diego in the early 70s, and well remember that shape! I never owned one, but had something similar in a twin fin. Great for beach breaks as I remember...jeff wrote:After months of reading and researching, I decided to make a shape that I'd never even surfed--the fish. It's an original San Diego shape from the early 70s..
Hard to believe that's your first board, Jeff. You are amazing!
Scott E. Thile
Collector, smoker, and aspiring pipemaker.
http://sethilepipes.com
Sysop: http://pipedia.org
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Collector, smoker, and aspiring pipemaker.
http://sethilepipes.com
Sysop: http://pipedia.org
---------------------
Wow, Awesome board Jeff. yeah you see that style mostly on the west coast. What's the size and where did you get the blank. I know that the company in Cali that most of the shapers got their blanks from close shop awhile back. It was big news over here, that's why surfboards in Hawaii were very high priced.
Not sure where most of them are getting their blanks now.
Jaden
Not sure where most of them are getting their blanks now.
Jaden
Thanks a lot guys. it was really a great time making it, but very frustrating too. The glassing is one of the more difficult undertakings of my adult life. Next time I won't bother with glassed on fins and will settle for fin boxes.
Jaden, the board is 6'4" and its nearly 3 inches in thickness should tell you something about my surfing skill. I'm no good, but I have a lot of fun getting beat up by the beach break down the street. It's a very unforgiving and fast break, but when the swell's coming in just right, you can have a great time.
I think I figured that the board took nearly 40 hours to complete. Most of that time was in the glassing. I suspect that board number two, if I choose to make one, will take about half of that time. I'm thinking about making a 9' classic single fin nose rider for the summer surf. But we'll see.
The blank is from Ice9. They make their boards using sustainable materials. This one, for instance, was from a foam that has a cane sugar base. Clark foam, the company I imagine you were talking about Jaden, went out of business several years ago due to the increasing regulations by the state of California. It became impossible for them to keep going and as the world's largest supplier of foam blanks, the surfing industry really was in a bad way for a while. now a bunch of new companies have stepped in to fill the void. Ice9 is one of many start ups that are doing quite well.
The bottom has 6oz E glass and the deck has the same with a 2/3 length, double-layer deck patch. And I used epoxy resin, so the board is light for the size and incredibly durable. I have yet to ding it and I've surfed it a lot.
Jeff
Jaden, the board is 6'4" and its nearly 3 inches in thickness should tell you something about my surfing skill. I'm no good, but I have a lot of fun getting beat up by the beach break down the street. It's a very unforgiving and fast break, but when the swell's coming in just right, you can have a great time.
I think I figured that the board took nearly 40 hours to complete. Most of that time was in the glassing. I suspect that board number two, if I choose to make one, will take about half of that time. I'm thinking about making a 9' classic single fin nose rider for the summer surf. But we'll see.
The blank is from Ice9. They make their boards using sustainable materials. This one, for instance, was from a foam that has a cane sugar base. Clark foam, the company I imagine you were talking about Jaden, went out of business several years ago due to the increasing regulations by the state of California. It became impossible for them to keep going and as the world's largest supplier of foam blanks, the surfing industry really was in a bad way for a while. now a bunch of new companies have stepped in to fill the void. Ice9 is one of many start ups that are doing quite well.
The bottom has 6oz E glass and the deck has the same with a 2/3 length, double-layer deck patch. And I used epoxy resin, so the board is light for the size and incredibly durable. I have yet to ding it and I've surfed it a lot.
Jeff