Tail dip resin tint

The project is nearly done, and just in time as well as my wife is due to have our 2nd child this week. Here Peter Mo and I are adding the epoxy glass to the underside of the board. I chose a tail dip resin tint to add some extra interest to the board. The colour cane out redder than we expected, but I am not unhappy with the result. For me when building these boards I've had to learn that it is not always and exact science and this is part of the charm of the board.

Final dimensions of the board are 5' 4" x 20" x 3.5". Fins are a modified simmons/keel design (see below)

Should be able to take "Little Suzie" out for a slide sometime next week. :)

Logos on... Off to be glassed next week

http://www.duncanfitzgerald.com

Almost done

MOTE Timber inlays

As with the first wooden board I shaped, I am again inlaying some decking board timber from the 1970s Wilderness Surfboard Factory from the film Morning of the Earth. This adds a special little history point of interest to the board as well as being a bit of a design feature on the deck.

Beginning of the Rails

Started glueing the rails today. I am trying a different technique for this board. Instead of building the rails out from a rail band I am instead filling in between the ribs and will then sand back to form the rails. The end result will be slightly different to my first board, but hopefully as effective. I guess it's all a bit of trail and error at this stage. Nothing ventured, nothing gained right?

Paulownia skins ready

After glueing the sticks of timber together to get enough width. I then cut out the skin shape using the template that we got from a guy in Italy of all places!!

The build is slightly different this time as I am not yet sure how I am going to do the rail bands.

But I am now at least getting a clearer picture of how the board is going to look.

Not sure that I won't tweak the nose and tail shapes a bit, but you can see where we're heading.

Cheers
Duncs

mini simmons beginnings

Early days for the new project. This time the finished product will be a mini simmons. Ribs and stinger have been cut and now glued. I am not using a rocker table but this means I need to be very careful that things remain square and no twisting happens along the stringer.

Beginning the oiling process... 3 layers and only doing one side each time. The oil is a mix of linseed oil and gum turpentine.

Alaia Artwork

Some artwork for the alaia to help it look less like a plain old plank of wood.

Quiver coming together

New Planshape

My board is the one on the left, the one on the right is my mate's. Have decided to run with a peanut type shape. Board is currently 6' 5" but I may shorten it a bit.

Putting concave in

Planshape

Alaia planshape as it stands today.

Sticks - Blank - Shape

Still early days, but today it started to take shape.




gluing in a western red cedar stringer


all clamped up


cutting the outline


rough shape

Alaia Build

Ok, so have started building an Alaia from scratch. We picked up the timber a couple of weeks ago it will be mostly Paulonia sourced from the plantation you see in the shot below. Am building with a bunch of friends from work so we should be able to help each other out throughout the build. Have now started glueing the blanks together. Stay tuned...

Waves

A small but perfect little swell running for the boards' maiden voyage. They are heavier than foam boards, but paddled easily, were very buoyant and surfed with a momentum I hadn't felt on other boards. Riding something you have made yourself certainly gives the experience of catching waves a whole new dimension.









Thanks to these people, Peter Mo for the amazing job he did with the glassing, Grant Newby for his help, patience and advice throughout this project, and most importantly our wives for their understanding. Peace

Picked up - Surfing Tomorrow

Picked up the boards this afternoon..!! stoked...!! surfing tomorrow...!! photos to come...

All but the finish coat...

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
-- Sir Winston Churchill

Well it is almost over... The boards have been glassed and the fins are now on. Logos have been put in under the resin and have come up looking nice. Scotty and I plan to surf these things this Saturday, all things going to plan. More photos then but for now here is a couple of shots of our boards with fins, leash loop and logos glassed on... Stoked!!

Duncs' Board









Scott's Board









With just the finish coat, breather hole plug and final buffing to be done tomorrow we are all set to pick them up Saturday and then see if they float...!

Mo at work

Pete starting to make progress on the sanding of the board.

sneek peek

A sneek preview of the boards with their two layers on glass on. Great glossy finish to them, but still plenty of sanding to be done

tools of the trade

The work area has a fine dust covering almost everything in its path. The tools responsible for this lay close by. I'm sure i came home with some on me. I'm glad we are getting these glassed and sanded by a pro! Pete explained the number of sanding grits he works through and passed on the detail of his special finishing product, which i cant divulge on here. But it gives a a great finish to the board.