Grain Surfboard Project

[Bull City]

This is not a sailing topic, but it's watercraft and I hope it will be interesting.

I like to surf. I have never been very good, but my three sons are pretty good. Anyhow, for my recent 70th, the three boys and my daughter got me a Grain Surfboard kit. Grain is in Maine, and they build hollow wood boards. They also sell kits that are cut with CNC machines. Here's their homepage: https://www.grainsurfboards.com/

I think they're beautiful, and I think most of you will agree. My oldest son lives locally, and has a custom cabinet making business, and he was the ringleader. So we'll be building this at his place over the winter. I think we're going to need about a thousand spring clamps. My plan is to take some pics as we build this log, and share our progress on this thread. That (and SJB) will put a little pressure on my lazy ass.

They selected the 8' Steamer. I'm more used to a 9' board, but this is supposed to be a better float. That will motivate me to drop 10 pounds, and get out on my paddle board more.

 

[Rasputin22]

10 lbs = 1'0" That sounds about right. I have a cheap clamp idea for you that will come in handy when the time comes. Let me see if I can find it online, otherwise I will just explain it to you. Good on the kids.

 

[Priscilla]

Wool boards.

https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/108964525/us-company-firewire-to-make-worlds-first-wool-surfboard-using-kiwi-merino

 

[Diarmuid]

Rasper may be referring to the PVC split ring clamp: basically chopsaw Sched40 PVC pipe into rings about 1-1.5" wide & then slit them. Messy but cheap. You can also bulk-buy spring clamps on eBay, which would be my preference. Harbor Freight sells composite clamps with rotating pads, which work very well for non-planar situations, have quite good tension, & I've yet to break one.

My philosophy on clamps: Nice clamps are better than crappy clamps, but more clamps are better than fewer clamps. I keep the immortal Pony spring clamps right at the bench & use them daily; but I also have a drawer full of cheap HF spring & C-clamps that come out when (as this week) I need to glue up a dozen tall corner posts -- cross-clamped on 5" spacing.  Bessey K-clamps are wonderful, but you can buy four Pony pipe clamps or HF aluminum bar clamps for the price of one Bessey K.

 

[Great Red Shark]

photo-copied sign for a house party in a little college* town, c1985

"Party tonight !

Dress Plain

and Stain

Your Brain

with Grain"

why do I remember these things ? what is wrong with me?

Good looking boards - TONS of places use them here for decoration,  never to be used (and constructed as such)  - goon on you for making them to actually use - I swear like % 95 + of surfing-'stuff'  (lifestyle, apparel, references) are entirely fashion-cues by nonparticipants. .

* not in Maine

 

[Rasputin22]

Rasper may be referring to the PVC split ring clamp: basically chopsaw Sched40 PVC pipe into rings about 1-1.5" wide & then slit them. Messy but cheap. You can also bulk-buy spring clamps on eBay, which would be my preference. Harbor Freight sells composite clamps with rotating pads, which work very well for non-planer situations, have quite good tension, & I've yet to break one.

That is the idea Dia. I drilled holes in mine so I could put dowel handles which made then much easier to use. I did a not of Corian work back then and they were perfect for that.

This is the general idea but the threaded rod and nuts are overkill. Substitute wooden dowel rod and get on with it.  You will probably need a combination of 2" and 4" pipe for your board.

 

[Ishmael]

Old inner tubes wrapped around things multiple times can provide some very good clamping pressure. Handy for weird shapes.

 

[Steam Flyer]

Old inner tubes wrapped around things multiple times can provide some very good clamping pressure. Handy for weird shapes.

Or an inner tube wedged in place and pumped up with air.

I've used air pillows for clamping work pieces and for lamination. Much easier than vacuum bagging, is not as inherently neat & even though.

FB- Doug

 

[guerdon]

Bull, making surfboards is a virus.  Pre vac bag days we used to use fiberglass strapping [email protected] 90o to the lamination.  My latest breakthrough is to use palate wrapping tape as clamps.  You can buy it at Uhaul stores.  Epoxy doesn't adhere to it.  I just finished a carbon tube hiking rack with out any sanding.  The tooling consisted of pool noodles and string which I left in for floatation.  The coolest thing about making small craft is all of the nautical concepts are made clear in a primal manner.  I have lost 20lbs. to lower my metacentric shelf.  Have fun, aloha, Guerdon.

 

[Sail4beer]

2x4 frame and wedges can make a nice clamp box if you engineer it properly and the cost is minimal vs clamps.

 

[trisail]

Good evening,

Here is my wood surfboard ( before I waxed it). Built at a week long workshop which my wife gave me as a 25th wedding anniversary present. I don't really surf so it spends most of it's time as a wall display inside our home.

Building it and just hanging out with surfing dudes for a week was great fun.

 

[Bull City]

it spends most of it's time as a wall display i

With wax?

Beautiful board.

 

[PaulK]

The PVC split rings worked for me without having to spend time drilling holes and cutting dowels. Not having "handles" also allows them to get into spots where molds and strips get close together, and space gets tight.  Removable dowels might work, but would they be a hassle to insert and/or fall out at the wrong time?  K.I.S.S. 

getting error message for inserting photo of cedar strip kayak.

 

[trisail]

With wax?

Beautiful board.

 Yep, with wax.

Thanks, credit must go to Burnett Wood Surfboards, Cape Town, South Africa who presents the week long workshops. 

A lot of time was spent on the principles of board shaping. The rails of the board, just like the chines of a hull is a  biiig thing. Same with rocker.

It was fascinating to learn just how much hull shape and surfboard shape have in common.

Regards from St Francis Bay, home of Bruce Brown, The Endless Summer's Perfect Wave.

 

[Bull City]

Regards from St Francis Bay, home of Bruce Brown, The Endless Summer's Perfect Wave.

My sons and I have watched that film close to a hundred times... well, maybe 75.

 

[Bull City]

The kit is supposed to come next week. Grain makes them to order.

 

[olsurfer]

Thanks are in order to Bull for this thread. I used to shape boards in Huntington Beach back in the sixties, then moved to Kauai and kept breathing foam dust but with much better waves to surf. Gonna order one of these beauties!!!

Thanks Bull!

 

[Bull City]

Update from Grain: Just shipped; expected next week. #1 son and I will discuss work schedule.

From Mrs. Bull, I will not be permitted to work on it by myself.

 

[Anomaly2]

What does she think will happen? You’ll fall off? Glue yourself to the board?