One step closer

Finally heard back from the KingMac blank distributor I submitted my order with. He finally has everything in order and will be shipping my blanks. Shipping costs sting a little though...$130! Thats for a box of five blanks. Hmm, I wonder if I'm getting ripped off? Lets see, thats $26 per blank, blanks were about $50 each. I could've gotten them locally for about $70, I guess I'm not too out of line.

Apparently, templating is not as simple as I thought. It only took reading one 3-page Swaylocks post on the topic to make me realize yet again how ignorant I can be at times.

First off, scaling up/down from an existing board isn't so straightforward. You could either scale geometrically (keeping the aspect ratio throughout), or you can use Greg Lohr's 1/8th method, or you could use the force and go by "feel" like all the master shapers seem to be able to do so well. Well, since I don't have any experience I can throw the "feel" method out the window. The geometric/aspect ratio method works up to a point, but fails thereafter. So, that leaves the Greg Lohr method, by process of elimination.

It doesn't end there either, once the template has been drawn out, I must somehow cut it out onto a piece of masonite (or similar material) without the dreaded wiggles. Or at least be able to blend them away afterwards with a plane/sanding block. Apparently, those wiggles turn into a big can of worms later, so its worth the trouble to get the template right the first time.

Sheesh, and here I thought I could just trace my old board. Silly silly me.

Shaping Stands

Finally finished my shaping stands today after slacking off for a few days. I used some leftover foam from an old mattress pad for padding. On top of the foam I used some rubber cabinet liner material to make the "U"-shaped part that holds the board on its side. Zip ties and tape in various places keeps everything together. I dunno if its technically correct, but it looks good enough. Take a look:





Called the guy at KingMac foam and inquired about my blank order. Apparently, he's having trouble getting an estimate for the shipping cost on my blanks. Not to mention one of the blanks I ordered is out of stock in his warehouse. I just told him to substitute the missing blank with something similar. I'm getting really impatient now, I submitted this order three weeks ago, and its still not out the door! Grrr. He said he'd email me when he got the estimate sometime over the weekend. Well, weekend's almost over, and my patience is wearing thin. Maybe its time to try a different foam company. :(

I guess I should focus my energy on things to do before I can shape (even if I did have my blanks in hand). Namely, making a template. My first board shall be a twin keel fish. Slightly thinner than my Brom fish, and one inch shorter. Will have to do some research on how to do this correctly, but I'm thinking of just tracing my Brom fish onto cardboard/masonite and then cutting it out. Must research on Swaylocks for validation and/or other ideas.

FlexTails

Ok, once I get good enough to not eff up a blank, I want to make something like this. Its a flextail quad fish with tapered stringer by DK...and its sooo nice:



DK is an up and coming shaper along with a bunch of others (M. Caro, I. Zamora, D. Hess, and J. Hall) who are re-"shaping" (sorry, couldn't resist) the custom surfboard industry. These young, Pavel/Frye-influenced shapers and the shapes they create are just so much more interesting than the old school big name sellouts like Merrick, Rusty, JC, Biolas, et al (ahem, *cough*cough*... Surftech... *cough*cough*). Dunno, thats just my $0.021563. Man, ever since this shaping thing has taken over my life, I've become such a shaper snob.

Anyways, get a glimpse of the new school here.

Still waiting for blanks... :(

Waiting Game & Tag Team Shaping

Still waiting for blanks. 'Nuff said. :(

In the meantime, feast your eyes on some TagTeam Shaping Action...and the end product.

Fins and The Mandala

Seems like there's some movement in the development of fin systems these days thanks to RedX, ProBox, and SurfTrux. RedX and ProBox are adjustable fin systems that allow you to move a fin forward and back depending upon surf conditions and desired performance characteristics. ProBox has the added option of adjusting the cant angle on a fin by using replaceable inserts in the finbox. And finally, I happened to hear about SurfTrux from a friend (Chris K.) a while back and I saw them pop up again while lurking Swaylocks just now. SurfTrux are the first fin system that feature dynamically adjusting fins. They adjust toe-in angles automatically while you're surfing to minimize drag and maximize maneuverability. The toe-in angle on the outside fin adjust to minimize drag produced as seen here in a pic taken from Teahupoo (notice turbulence coming off outside fin)...click here. If you're not careful, all this fin theory will put your head in a spin. But, I wouldn't be surprised if the next big innovation comes from this area of surfboard design.

In other news, a board I'd recently ordered from Manuel Caro over at Mandala Custom Shapes has been shaped and is ready for an olive green tint and bamboo glass-on fins by the wizards over at Moonlight Glassing. Manny emailed me the other day to let me know he's finished with my "olive greenie" (as he described it) and will drive it down to Moonlight in the next day or so. Check out the stunning handywork:






While on the phone to deliver the good news about my new board, Manuel threw a few words of advice and encouragement when I mentioned to him that I would soon be shaping my own boards. He also mentioned he'd be out here this summer (July?) for the grand opening of the new Mollusk surf shop in Williamsburg. Hmm, I'll have to remember that so I can shake hands with the man in hopes of gaining some shaping wisdom via osmosis.

Speaking of shaping idols, here's one that I happened to stumble upon today. His name is Erik Hakon Olson, and his shapes make me drool...make sure to check out his shapes in the archive! Wow!

Tonight I put finishing touches on my shaping stand (foam padding) and attempt to seal off my work area by stapling plastic sheeting all over the place. Pics to come soon.

kc

Oldy

(Warning: touchy-feely moment ahead...)

So i was flipping through the discussions on Swaylocks this afternoon and got caught up in a thread that might be one of the best threads (on several levels) that I've ever read on Swaylocks or any other surf-related forum (after all, how many threads about surfing and shaping really hit home?...well this one does.)

Iits about a guy who decides to document the board-building process of a quad fish. The thread is entitled, "Journey of a Quad" and spans two months and ten pages on the Swaylocks discussion forum, making it one of the longest threads of the year. For potential boardbuilders like me, it was an eye-opener and will surely be a reference when i embark on my shaping journeys.

However...

The value in spending the time to read through all ten pages comes somewhere in the middle of the thread, where the author (who goes by the name 'Oldy') blindsides us with a revealing post and an even more revealing picture. It reminds me of what "soul" is in surfing, or in this case shaping. But don't stop in the middle, it gets better near the end.

If you don't have time to read through the thread, you'll miss the gist of it and you won't know why it meant so much to myself and everyone on the forum. it might take you a while (it took me an hour), but at least look through his posts, check out his pictures, and read a few blurbs to get a sense of what he went through. Then, when you finish the thread, maybe it will have meant something to you too.

Click here to read

kc

ps. Only click this after you've read the post!!!

Let There Be Light!

When I plugged in the lights last night for the first time, I felt this overwhelming feeling that I'd achieved one of the first major shaping milestones of my shaping career. Amazing how horizontal fluorescent lighting can transform just about any room into a shaping bay! (well, almost)



Shelves/light deflectors to come soon...

Blanks and Shaping Porn

My first official blank order is in! I have a 5-blank order in with a KingMac distributor in San Diego. They each run a little over $50 bucks. Here's what I ordered (see KingMac's catalog for blank specs):

1) 6'2" DE - small fish/shortboard
2) 6'2" DE - small fish/shortboard
3) 6'6" CB - generic shortboard
4) 6'11 M - large shortboard/egg
5) 6'3" CB Second - my "sacrifice-to-shaping-gods" blank (ie. scrap blank for planer practice)

There seems to be lots of discussion as to whose blank is the best since the closure of Clark Foam. Density, flex, weight, ease of use, PU vs EPS, symmetry, glue quality, stringer quality, rocker, and a myriad of other factors must be considered when choosing the right blank. Me, being the simpleton that I am, just went with the one whose guy on the phone was the least rude and most helpful. Actually, all the blank companies seem nice enough to deal with, but I just happened to click with one more than the other. I'm sure once I'm more experienced in shaping I'll be much more discerning. As for now, just gimme some foam, any foam!

Did I mention that shipping costs can be a hard pill to swallow when ordering blanks? I contemplated renting a car and driving to a local source/shaper to get my foam, but in the end I kooked out and let my fingers do the walking. Like I've said before, I'm lazy and have money to burn. So, add to the cost of blanks about $100-$150 to get the blanks to my doorstep (er, my office's doorstep actually...they can't ship to residential addresses). Should be about 10 days, and I shall finally have my beloved foam...Muahahaha!!!

I spent a few hours this weekend finishing up my shaping stands, I poured the concrete in the buckets, banged together a stud-frame wall partition for the garage space (thanks for the help Steve!), and will mount lights sometime this week. Looks like we're almost set to go. Pics of the finished space to come...

Last but not least, I have discovered a whole new dimension as far as surf porn goes...Shaping Porn! Take a look at this, taken at Moonlight Glassing featuring Machado...click here. Mmm.

kc

Still sick...

This sucks, its been almost a week and I'm still all choked up with phlegm. I'm going to the doctor today so hopefully I'll be back in action soon.

In the meantime, I've been researching some stuff online. Here's a killer 3-page discussion of concaves on Swaylocks, click here.

Will be ordering blanks soon from King Mac. Yeehaw!

kc

Go Green!

The theme for this week is...green.

Spring has finally arrived, and the depressing brown and grey winter motif outside my window has blossomed into springtime greens and yellows. Unfortunately for me, I happened to get sick this week and have been swimming in green phlegm all week long. *cough cough ack!*

It all started last weekend when I began running around like a chicken with its head cut off gathering materials for the shaping bay. I grabbed four 4' fluorescent light fixtures, eight 4' fluoro bulbs, some plastic buckets (for shaping stand bases and resin mixing), and various other doohickeys from Home Depot. Then I woke up early one morning, and rushed over to the local hardware store (which closes before I can get home from work) to grab some cement to use as the base for my shaping stands. Mid-week, after work, I threw all the stuff into the back of my Zipcar and dropped it off at the shaping bay (Note to Brain: Never try to lift an 80lb bag of concrete by yourself...Sincerely, Lower Back). The next day, I found some people on Craigslist (ie. the best website in the universe) who were giving away spare lumber that I wanted use for lighting stands, shelving/light hoods, and wall studs (for a wall partition my garage-mate and I were planning on building). I again drove around late after work to pick up the lumber, frantically trying to beat my Zipcar return time, when my body said, "OK. Stop, I quit." That night my head and throat were on fire and since then its been continuous couging, itchy throat, and gooey green phlegm. Mmmm.

I've taken the downtime as a hint to step back and slow down. They say that to shape well, you must be patient. Jim "The Genius" Phillips makes this clear in his Master Shaping Series. Careful planning along with the ability to put something down instead of forcing it will yield best results in the end. This goes for shaping as well as anything else I suppose.

In keeping with the "green" theme, I'd like point out some things that were brought to my attention by someone (thanks JD) who sold me my current favorite board, a 5'6" Brom twin keel fish...(seen here in shameless pic of self taken on 4/22/07 by Charles Unger, which I've entitled "Springtime Greens and Yellows")


As JD points out, environmentally friendly materials are now available through Greenlight Surfboard Supply. Greenlight provides environmentally friendly EPS blanks, bamboo stringers, and bamboo fiber laminating cloth! Gotta love bamboo, its light, strong, has stood the test of time as a building material, and...well, it grows like a goddam weed! They are also devoloping bio-plastics which will eventually become used for fins, fin boxes, and leash plugs. I hope we see more bamboo and bio-plastic in our boards in the near future. I will surely try to use them in mine.

Speaking of bamboo, I recently ordered a board from fish guru Manuel Caro over at Mandala Custom Shapes. It will arrive with groovy Marlin Bacon bamboo glass-ons provided by 101 Fin Co. He just started offering them on his boards, and I just had to have 'em! Manny has begun dabbling in the enviro-friendly materials as well, you can read about it here.

Well, thats all for now. Time to eat cough medicine and soup.

kc