Board building in Berlin

I first met Jan Dressler when he came and saw me 3 years ago while on a family holiday in Australia and decided to change the way he builds his boards. He organised a shipment of Paulownia to be sent to Berlin and has been crafting SUP's and boards in his 4th floor apartment in the city of Berlin.Getting the SUP's down 4 floors proved a bit of a deal so he has rented a ground floor studio as his workshop. Here is his latest board on the go. A hand shaped EPS blank with the first rail bands going on. I look forward to catching up when he is here again in couple of months with some mates for a surfing hloiday in Byron.

The Grain boys are on the raod again.

Right Coasters: The Time is Nigh (or Neigh, or something...)

Farmers have a knack for predicting weather and this year they really got it right. We haven’t seen a day over 15 degrees in weeks and the snow's piled up against the windows.  You could say we're a little more than ready to head south for the kick off of our East Coast Road Trip.

You also might say we’re being further influenced by our farmer friends as we've been setting up our east coast rig using a great old Ford step-side coupled with a double-axle horse trailer. It's rugged, good looking and multi-purposed for when we’re back here on the farm.  For now though, we're gonna stuff that trailer with sweet wood board-building gear and a couple of sleeping bags and see how fast we can get below the Mason-Dixon.

The pieces are falling into place - boards are being prepped, rocker tables assembled and tools inventoried, and our first class at Chesapeake Light Craft is just four weeks away. If you live along the Atlantic seaboard and you’re thinking about signing up for a class, now is the time.  Check the Road Trip schedule on our website and see if you can carve out a few days for an experience no one ever forgets.

Since we haven’t been down the east coast in a while, we’re making the most of it with demos and handplane classes along the way. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more info on these things as they fall into place. We’re also opening up a few slots in some choice class locations for students to join us for a one-day paipo workshop. The first one will be Saturday March 21st at Chesapeake Light Craft in Annapolis Maryland. Workshop attendees can join us for a casual day of shaping and sanding and go home with their own paipo. We’ll supply the materials, tools and space, all for the low price of $375 per person.

We’re honored to partner with our friends at Vissla, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Jamestown Distributors. Without their help, this trip just wouldn't be possible. To celebrate their participation, each student signed up for a 4-day class will  get a great little tote bag with some pretty cool stuff from each of them, all things that will help you build a better board.

Left Coasters: Hang On, We're Coming Back
West coast friends: we’re not forgetting about you in all this. We’re heading back out west for The Boardroom Show in May, then for a series of classes from Cardiff to San Francisco and maybe even on to Port Townsend Washington. So keep an eye on our site and watch out for us on the road.

Hope to see you in 2015!

https://www.grainsurfboards.com

BYWATER WOODEN SURFBOARD CLASSES

Southern Queensland's aptly named master-craftsman Stuart Bywater: “Well, we’re moving into the year fast it seems and our first class for the year is almost full, with two positions left in our class starting on the third of March.

“Our May class (23rd and 24 th) is filling too, so if you are interested in making a hollow wooden surfboard we’d need to book you in soon.”

“If you’d like to come and have a look at what we do you can catch me at the SaltFest Goldcoast – which is on this year for the first time and coincides with The Quiksliver Pro – to be held on the first of March at the Kirra Hill Community and Cultural Centre perched on top of a grassy hill overlooking the spectacular Pacific Ocean.

“Saltfest is an event fusing surf products, surf lifestyle and surf culture together all in the one amazing location.”

Check out the classes and boards on the Bywater website: www.bywaterdesign.com.au

Or for a quick look at the boards Stuart makes check out his Instagram

Stuart is also our go to guy for all thing Paulownia. He is a mastercraftman in furniture design and understands all you will ever need to know about building wooden boards.  

 Surfboard classes link      http://bywaterdesign.com.au/wooden-surfboard-classes/

 Paulownia sales  http://bywaterdesign.com.au/paulownia-timber-sales/

 wooden boards pricing  http://bywaterdesign.com.au/wooden-surfboard-sale/

 wooden surfboards & furniture  blog  http://bywaterdesign.com.au/blog/

Eugenio Celli is enjoying his new board

 

nomadeboards.wordpress.com

Bjoern Helmhold - dedicated to the craft.

I had just gotten in out of the hot mid day sun from mowing the lawn when Bjoern and Anne rocked up. He had wanted to track me down on his trip to Australia as he wanted to find out more on how I build my boards. Bjoern has just finished a 2 year wooden boat building course in his native Germany with the express intention of becoming a wooden surf board builder.He is about to finish a 3 month surfing hoilday and study trip here in Australia and head to New Zealand for 3 months. After that it is off to California for 3 months. He has spent time with shapers looking and learning along the way. I hope to catch up with them both at the Waipu Cove Fish Fry in New Zealand on the 8th of March.It is great to meet some one who is willing to put in the hard yards and have a plan of what they want to achieve.A great guy and I wish him well.Here is a board he built prior to his trip.
" This is the last board I've done.It's an eps core with 1.5 mm mahogany and balsa wood.
It is 5'2" by 21'1/2  but it's got plenty of volume to suit our homebreaks which don't have much power."

Boss Hog by Alan Copelin

 Another great looking board from Alan Copelin , this one is a hollow framed Pig style board.

 Cedar abd Paulownia go well together and come alive with the glass job.

What is the latest surf fad ?

This is a piece from the Sydney Morning Herald...

Alan Copelin has been busy

 It looks like Alan is a man with some very good wood working skills and a good sense of humor. A lot of work in the details that he has added to each project.Traditional boards , SUP and classics. Nice to see and thanks for sharing Alan.

Quentin's board for Sri Lanka

"Hi Grant, I'd like to share with you and community my new wooden surfboard. I made it for a surf trip in Sri Lanka . It's a fun surfboard for waves around 4 foot .(even if I missed the rocker of the nose , I think I missed when I glued the nose ...) But after 5 sessions , I realize that my finish wasn't good. The oil was gone... Hopefully I took some oil with me . Are you still using lanolin ? How long does it stand before you have to recoat it ? Do you mix it with anything ? I have two more surfboards to make and I would like a better finish. (Which stay longer, so I might try different things ) . It will be a single fin around 7'2" and a model close to the hypto crypto in 5'9" . I will ask for a cut in cnc next time. I am also looking for a good paulownia supplier in Europe because I have many new project to come . Maybe you know someone ? "