Wooden surfboards this weekend - Sunday 4th of August

Wooden surfboards are not new to Currumbin Alley as this early shot of a Johnny Danks on his toothpick enjoying a wave down the Alley. It looks like we will be in for some fine weather and great waves this coming weekend.

The Alley is a great spot anytime , but with the forecast weather and waves we are in for a great weekend by the looks of things. So pack up the family and your boards and spend a day with them in the park at the beach.

 So come early and have a morning surf at the point and then settle in for the day at the park. Bring your boards , alaia's , hand planes, body boards, surfies or what ever you have been building and having fun on as long as it is made of wood. Just lay them out in the park and find a spot to have a picnic lunch and meet other like minded wooden board builders , craftsmen and enthusiasts. There will be people from all walks of life and just stoked to be riding something they have designed and built themselves. Plenty of people who have lots of questions just like you and stories to share. Check out what others are up to and swap boards and go for a surf.

Around lunchtime Tom Wegener , myself and a couple of others will get together and discuss boards and answer questions and share our experiences. There is always plenty to learn and share and this is a great forum to become more informed.
I look forward to seeing your projects and catching up. If you have any questions you can get hold of me at - grantnewby@bigpond.com

Check it out live at : coastalwatch.com/cameras/qld/currumbin

Looking back North to the Surfers Paradise skyline

A couple of nice boards from Coffs Harbour

I just got this email from Gary Keen form Coffs Harbour. He is typical of what the wooden board day is about. He has been building boards for a while and made a couple of nice ones , but is keen to see what others are doing.
" Hi Grant,
Just got your details of wooden surfboard blog site and I am interested in coming to the wooden board day on the 4th August.
I have already made two boards 9'6 mal and a7'3 short board gun and I am about to start an 8'0 mini mal.
I would like to catch up with others who have the bug to swap ideas and tecniques."

Next weekend is a great opportunity to meet others that are building boards , ask all the questions you have and find out what others are up to. Solve problems and become enlightened on new ways of doing things and learn from each others experiences. This is no secret society , you will find it a very open and enthusiastic environment I am sure.

Building a hollow Meyerhoffer

All ready to pick up

 Peter "Mo" has just finished doing a great job of glassing Tony Crimmins latest board all ready for Tony to bring along to this years Wooden Board Day.

 Nice detail in the tail block

 Sweet finish on the vent plug

Tony should be very proud of his latest efforts. Looking forward to checking it out in the flesh next weekend

Board building classes in Prenzlauer Berg / Berlin / Germany

Paul, from ARBO Surfboards in the UK has another board building class coming up for three days. The board building workshop will be on the weekend 30/31 August 1 September 2013 in Prenzlauer Berg / Berlin / Germany in co operation with Langbrett.

The deal is as usual:
Price for the workshop is 300€+55€/ft board length.That includes tuition and all the materials to complete the shape of your choice (internal plywood structure, paulownia / cedar deck and bottom skins, bead and cove rail strips, glues,...) and the tools you need to work. You will also get a custom boardbag for your board made by salty buds.

As you can see Paul has a great range of boards for you to choose from to build in his classes or he can build you one himself as a custom order if you like. For more info check out his site or contact him. arbosurfboards.blogspot.com.au

Bonzi's Balsa Simmons

 Bonzi from Venezuela (Peninsula de PARIA) is about to start shaping his first Balsa board. Looks like it is a simmons.

 

Looks like he has a great spot to have a shaping bay

Bonzi, send us some pics of it when it is finished

Fresh tails

  It is always nice to get the final sanding done on your boards.From all the glue and odd bits of wood comes the finished shape. All smooth and clean.

 It really helps to have some lights to show up all the details as you shape the board, especially the rails when you are planing them down.

 Fin boxes in. I do this prior to final rail shaping and sanding, just in case any thing goes wrong or the wood gets knocked.

Ready for resin coating this time. 2 coats and a sanded finish.

Wooden boards on Creek to Coast

Just remember the Wooden Surfboard Day is Sunday the 4th of August not the 5th, that's Monday

Stavros finishes the simmons

 There not likely to be be many simmon,s in Greece , but this looks like a fun one

 A stripe of carbon on the wood looks great.

Balsa boards by Mark Riley

If you are looking for a project you could get hold of Mark Riley in Sydney and talk to him about kits to build your own Balsa wooden board. Or if you just want to get one ready to go he has stock boards on hand as well.

 Beautiful longboards

 He also builds great fins for your boards as well

Want to go large with a balsa SUP ?

Check out his latest news :www.balsasurfboardsriley.com.au

Making shavings

I hope there are a few more of you out there making shavings and building boards. It is a great time of year to build a board. Plenty of time in the morning before sunrise to glue something , tweek something before an early surf. It's cooler at night to get stuck into a bit of hand planing without cracking a sweat. So get into it.Or plan a new project.

On the home straight

Tony Crimmin's new board all glassed and in the final stages ready for polishing at Peter Mo's factory. Tony builds a beautiful board and this one is a fine example of his skills. It is of a hollow framed construction and skinned in Paulowina. The culmination of many hours in the shed. Peter is the master glasser and will bring it to life all ready for this years Wooden Board day on the 4th of August. Tony I think you will have it in time to slide a few waves before the day. Nice one mate.

 Nice tail block detail

Custom leg rope loop in clear glass ready to be finished on the tail

How to chamber a wooden board by John Purnell

A great little clip by John Purnell on how to go about building a solid wooden blank and then chambering it to lighten it up.

Beauty from raw wood

From this stack of fresh cut blanks can be crafted some hands full of fun in the form of hand planes.
Be inspired to craft some of these babies for yourself and mates.

 These are made right here on the Gold Coast

surf-brand.com

Dave Franks getting some boards ready for this years Wooden Board Day

Another great looking board from Dave Franks of Main Beach here on the Gold Coast.Dave and others like him will be there on the day with plenty to look at and lots of answers for all your questions. This is what the day is about. Bring what you have built and share your story and experience. We can learn heaps from each other.