Frame lofted and married to bottom panel.

My little garage building operation has just enough room for my table.  I start the next phase by building the board's cradle.  This method works well for me. I match the spar to the cradle.

My next step is glue the ribs to the spar.  I use bricks to keep the spar and ribs in place overnight while the glue dries.

The next day I add the 1/4" x 1/4" cedar stringers to the frame.  Those get glued in also.

The stringers add a lot of strength and weigh less than a 1/3 of a lb.  Those get glued and dried overnight.  Now I can trace the frame on the bottom panel and glue those together.

I like doing it this way because it's simple.  I've never had a bad result.  There is a fair bit of set-up work.

Thanks for your support.

Half Way There.

It's possible to make a bottom panel without using clamps.  I like to use gravity, scrap wood and bricks.  The reason it works for me is milled balsa sheets and paulownia strips of matching thickness.

The only drawback is you can only lay up a strip one at a time.  It's not a problem for me since I'm not trying to build a bunch of surfboards.  I want to give a shout out to my balsa supplier.  They have given me good service for the past 2 years.  Reasonable prices also.

http://www.balsawoodinc.com

Yesterday, we had fun waves.  The conditions were butter.  The water is warming up nicely.

Frame is light and done.

It's important for me to build a strong frame that's light.  The final outcome was about what I expected.  The spar and ribs came in at a little under a pound.  The first and last ribs were made from paulownia instead of the luan to keep them lighter and stronger.  That saved 10 grams.

I did a dry fit and everything looks good so far.

My next step is to make the bottom panel.  It will be mostly balsa with some paulownia added for strength.

Making the fish bones.

This part of the build is time consuming.  I draw out the spar on the luan.  For the ribs I cut paper patterns and glue them to the luan.  Next, I cut out the ribs and spar with my bandsaw.

I check all the ribs against the full size drawing to make sure they're the right lenght.  Then, I check the ribs against the spar to dial those in.  I like to make sure the ribs height is the same as the spar for that rib location.  It also gives me a chance to check the rib profiles.

I like to draw out interior sections of the ribs and spar where material will be removed.  It saves a lot of unwanted weight by doing this.  I drill a hole or two in those sections.  Then I use my jigsaw to cut it out.  I've found it handy to build a jig that gives the spar and ribs some support when making these cuts.

I hope this helps anyone making a wood surfboard.  Thanks for your support.

WL 6'8" Superfish Project

One of my friends is making a copy of a board.  It got me thinking.  I need to make a copy of one of my favorite boards.  It's a 6'8" S7 SuperFish.  I've had this board for 4 years and have used it a lot.  It has been a good board for the wave here.

When there is some fun surf I usually ride this one for a couple reasons.  It's fast and has a good displacement (40 liters) for me.  The quad fins set-up works nicely.  I love it.

I'm going to start by making a full size drawing.  From that I'll be able to develop the spar and ribs.  It's not as easy as using a computer program but, it's a lot of fun for me.  If anyone has questions please send me an email or post a comment.  Thanks for your support.

Epic Day Here

There is the usual.  Which is not very good surf.  Yesterday was an exceptionally good day for surf.  The wind was right the swell direction was good and there were some nuggets.

Probably the most important element was the tide was right.  I'm happy to say, the sandbars are working as good as ever.  The water has warmed up and that's also a plus.  Love the glassy conditions we get sometimes.  It was an exceptional day.

Down Time.

When the surf isn't happening there are lots of other activities to keep me occupied.  I feel fortunate to live in Florida.  The winters are mild and short.  That makes it a lot easier to do outside projects and enjoy leisure time.  My favorite thing is hanging out and doing things with my girlfriend Julie.

She's a lot of fun and a beautiful person.  One of her many talents is photography.  Her eye for detail and composition is amazing.  All my friends and family love to see the pictures she takes.  When it comes to cooking.  She is incredible.  I'm crazy about this women.

My other favorite thing to do is play guitar.  It's a lot of fun to play some classic rock and jam out.  My buddy David E.  helped me a lot when I lived in CA.  I try to play at least an hour everyday.

Life is good for me.  I'm still living the dream.  Thanks for your support.