Nose and Tail details.

As I work my way toward the center of the boards it's important to put in some transition pieces between the skin and frame.

It's also a good idea to glue in some support pieces on each side of the rib when coming to the end of a 36" balsa sheet.

I build a little vent box out of paulownia.  The vent gets installed later.

Building out nose and tail.

It helps a lot to have the copy board around for making patterns.  I do strengthen both nose and tail with pieces of paulownia.

Now the boards at a point where the top can be planked.

Outside stringers

There are lots of ways to build a wooden surfboard.  It's been trial and error for me for the last 10 years.  My first boards were mostly longboards and were heavy.  Then a friend got me started using balsa wood and that changed everything.  Now I'm using paulownia, balsa, red cedar and luan ply.

For my outside stringers I mill red cedar to 1/4" x 1/4" and wet it down for an hour.  The wetting makes the cedar much easier to clamp and glue in place.

The outside stringers add a lot of strengthen to the frame and give a stable surface to glue the rail strips.

I do both lower ones and let them dry overnight.

The next day the upper were glued and clamped.

Little Details

The bottom panel is glued to the frame.  I usually let that dry for a few days.  One thing that I can do is glue balsa tabs to the end of the ribs.

These little pieces give me a way to clamp the outer stringers to the frame.  They also offer more surface for gluing.

Next step is gluing up outer stringers.

How to strengthen the frame.

It's important to make the frame strong by only adding the minimum amount of weight.  I use 1/4" x 1/4" pieces of red cedar for my stringers. Stringers keep the frame and ribs from shifting under load. That way you won't lose rocker.  I start by gluing the top ones and let it dry overnight. Today, I glued in the bottom ones. It makes a tremendous difference in firming up the frame.

The other important step is getting the bottom panel prepared.  That takes a couple days of adjustinging and spraying with window cleaner.

The next step is to marry the bottom panel to the frame.

Little Tricks help.

What I try to do with my projects is keep the process simple.   I do my spar layout and build my jig.  It's simple if you have the drawing.

I work from the center and the leading edges of my jig meet the leading edge of the ribs.  Maybe that will make sense to some.

My next step is glue the ribs to the spar.  No big deal hopefully.

That needs to dry overnight.  Another little trick for balsa and paulownia bottom panels.  I preshape them with window cleaner spray that has ammonia.

It's much easier to work with in the steps ahead.

Oh and we have been getting a little bump.  We need more.

Bottom Panel and jig prep.

I finished the bottom panel.  It's mostly balsa with some paulownia mixed in for support 0f the spar and stringers.

I did all the layout to build my cradle jig.  It's my method instead of a rocker table.  For me it's easier to build the jig.

The water is warm and the waves are fun for boogie boarding.  Life is good.  Also a shout out to the wood surfboard crew at: Wood Surfboard Builders

Funboard Ribs and Spar

It takes me a couple days to get all these parts cut out and notched.  I did a test fit to see how it is.  Everything fits like it's suppose to.  I'll start making my bottom panel next.

Ormond by the Sea Wood Surfboards Gathering

Date:                   October 13, 14 & 15th

Location:            Renick Park off A1A in OBS

Time:                  9 AM - 3 PM  Saturday/Sunday

for more information follow this link:   OBS Wood Surfboards Gathering

Old school drafting.

It's a lot of fun for me to do some drafting on my latest project.  Today, I transposed the drawing of the spar to the luan ply.  For me it's much more rewarding to do this by hand instead of using a computer program.

When I draw my spar on the luan I only do from the first to last rib.  The nose and tail sections get built out later.  The rib patterns are ready to get glued to the luan and then its cut out time.  We have been getting small fun waves every once in a while.

According to the weather people there is a tropical depression headed our way.  That's what we really need.