Building a cedar surf board

[Chaos]

Definitely bring the tail in a lot more. You do not want all that volume back there, unless you want a longboard that rides like a skim board. You want the tail to be able to sink in, this is what allows you to move forward on the board and walk it.

Nick

[JohnnieMo]

Definitely bring the tail in a lot more. You do not want all that volume back there, unless you want a longboard that rides like a skim board. You want the tail to be able to sink in, this is what allows you to move forward on the board and walk it.

Nick

Thanks for that feedback. Will do. I was pondering that already.

My traction pad and fins arrived. Thanks muchly!



I'm away for work for a couple weeks and still have some other projects to attend to. It will probably be a month before I make any real progress on this bad boy.

[Gonzo914]

Trying to attach Dave's tail pic...

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[JohnnieMo]

Trying to attach Dave's tail pic...

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

This one??



When picking the shape I looked at Dave's board, the Chaos Spooner and the Soulcraft Soul Slider as inspirations. I will still trim the tail down though based on Nick's suggestion.

[Chaos]

Looking good. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Nick

[lakeface]

Hey JonnieMo,

How's the board coming? I've built a few cedar ones as well, (a little bit of a different build style to yours as I build mine hollow) but Nothing beats riding your own board. If you have any questions I'd be happy to help out if I can. The pics are of a couple of Longboards and I tried a few short boards as well for fun. Good luck!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JohnnieMo]

Hey JonnieMo,

How's the board coming? I've built a few cedar ones as well, (a little bit of a different build style to yours as I build mine hollow) but Nothing beats riding your own board. If you have any questions I'd be happy to help out if I can. The pics are of a couple of Longboards and I tried a few short boards as well for fun. Good luck!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the reply. I read it a while ago but forgot to respond. Those are sharp lookin boards.

I finally got back to this project. After surfing on the long weekend I decided this absolutely had to jump to the top of my priority list.

I got the shape finalized and started cutting down my cedar pairs.





If you can imagine, that right side of the board is the front. That part will be shaped to add the upward rocker for the front of the board. The back is entirely flat and was done on the table saw. The weight of the thing is really coming down.



I'm hoping to get the band saw set up tonight to finish the front of the board. I need a new blade though. My test cuts were messy. Doing this all on a $150 band saw also doesn't help. A worker shouldn't blame his tools they say...

---

Side note: Not sure if you all are aware, but Photobucket decided to break the internet for third party image hosting. So all my pics are blocked now. I switched over to Tapatalk a while ago, but this thread is severely affected. I'd pay them a reasonable amount, but $400 per year - payable in advance - just to host personal pictures is a scam.

[JohnnieMo]

I got the sticks shaped tonight. Hopefully now you can see my approach. I have a few more tricks up my sleeve yet. The band saw made a pretty rough cut but they are all close enough to finish. Next step is an initial sand and then start joining the hoard. I'm not sure when will be the best time to cut the outline shape..... I'm still pondering that.

[Chaos]

Nice way to remove material.

Nick

[JohnnieMo]

Nice way to remove material.

Nick

Thanks Nick,

I'm really now at the point of final shaping and I could use some help. You noted before that "rails and fins" will dictate how the board rides. So firstly, the rails. I'm not sure how to shape them. Do I want a sharp edge or a round edge? What about the bottom of the board? I notice some boards have a bit of a channel down the edge. What does that do? I'm mostly looking for a straight ahead cruiser that doesn't cut under the water and sink. I want something that will go straight ahead really well and not plow into the water on the front or side.

Secondly, the fins. I bought the fins from you in a thruster setup. Although I have no idea how this works, I do understander vehicle suspension. The middle fin is easy - it just goes straight. However the two on the sides have have toe and camber in them (my automotive background showing through here). My assumption is that toe in will make turning easier (opposite to a car since it is steering from the back). Toe out will make it want to stay straight. Zero toe should be a middle ground. Next you have the camber - or the side to side tilt of the fin. I assume that a an outward camber would help the board "jump" a bit. So I'm not sure if I want that or not. Any recommendations would be awesome.

My gut says keep it simple with zero tow and zero camber, but I don't know for sure. Again, I want a good cruiser that goes ahead well.

Next it is the placement of the fins. Is there any "rule of thumb" on where you place the three fins? I assume that you want them horizontally as far apart as possible, while length wise the distance between the front and side pair will affect turning. I watched a cool video and he had exact inches, but I have no idea how that applies to me. He's building a foam board, I have a cedar abortion on my hands here. He used 3.5" off the tail for the back fin and 11.5" off the tail for the side fins. Of course that is against a different length board than mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4W8QAsOR0g

[JohnnieMo]

Discovered the thruster fins already have a mild camber to them. I guess that's a good thing.

[JohnnieMo]

After some great surfing yesterday I got back in to the shop today to glue the surfboard together. Step 1 was cutting some weight. I hollowed out much if the board using the drill press, which was creatively tied in to the vacuum for s few hours. I drilled so many holes I have blisters on my hands.





The scale said I cut about 15% from the weight. I honestly expected more. However every little bit counts. Planing and sanding will trim it further.

After that I tested fitted it together. I used oak dowels to centre all the pieces. It worked quite well.









Once I confirm it all fit I glued it and clamped it. Make no mistake this took about 8 hours out of my Sunday.





Tomorrow I'll cut the shape and start in to final shaping.

[Chugh2o]

Looks great! Are you going to be grassing this board?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JohnnieMo]

Looks great! Are you going to be glassing this board?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I haven't decided, however I am leaning that direction. I'll give it a few tests for strength here and then make my decision. I am heading on our lake vacation in 10 days, and I'd really like the board ready for that. So that may push me away from glassing. My alternative is a good thick polyurethane coating. I'm eager to get home tonight to cut the shape and weigh the thing. It is still quite a bit heavier than I was expecting. Stupid wood.

[JohnnieMo]

Wife and kids are away camping.... Making crazy progress now!