Monday, August 3, 2015

The 7th Annual Wooden Surfboard Day

 This years wooden surfboard day went off well. The weather was about 25c and the wind was from the North West all day so the surf was not worth looking at. But it was warm and clear and people were out and about. A great crew of regular board builders and lots of new faces as well. Maybe not as many boards as in the past but a steady stream of very interested onlookers with lots of questions.
Most are blown away that we share all our ideas and the help each other out by sharing our knowledge and experiences with each other. And why not. We encourage each other and support each other to experiment and have a go. We have mutual repect for each other as there is no easy way of building a wooden board. But there is no better feeling of surfing on something you have crafted yourself. Thanks to all who came and made the day what it was. Thanks to Stone a Wood for the nice cold beers at the end of the day. They were much appreciated by all.







 





























Wednesday, July 29, 2015

The 7th Annual Wooden Surf Board Day is this weekend - Sunday 2nd August

Get that board finished for the weekend

DON'T FORGET - The 7th ANNUAL WOODEN SURFBOARD DAY IS ON THIS SUNDAY AUGUST 2nd… AT CURRUMBIN ALLEY, IN THE PARK.


If you build wooden surfboards, or would like to… or maybe you just have an interest in how it all happens, then come down to Currumbin Alley on Sunday from 9 to 3.

A host of board shapers from all walks of life will be on hand to showcase their designs, including the well known Tom Wegener from the Sunshine Coast and Nobby Ohkawa from Japan.

The day is all about like minded people - who enjoy the challenge of spending countless hours in a shed building wooden boards - getting together to share their passion and progress.
 


Even if you don't build boards but want to find out more, this is the ideal place to ask all the relevant questions, because there are many ways to build a wooden board and they’ll all be on show this Sunday at Currumbin Alley.


 
So bring your wooden boards, bring a picnic lunch and go for a surf. The Alley in winter is often at it's best for a slide across the banks on a wooden board. And there is nothing better than being on one you built yourself.


 
Looking forward to catching up with old faces and welcoming some new ones. 


 - Grant Newby
 


For any more info contact: grantnewby@bigpond.com

Saturday, July 18, 2015

All the way from Isreal to Brisbane to build a wooden board.

Michael Guarino signed up for one of Stuart Bywater's wooden board building class a few months back, and wound up working part time with him in his shop. While there a man named "E" from Israel came in to make a board, and he thought it would make a good little story.
He shot and edited this piece, and would like to share it with you. Surfing and it's passion with take you a long way.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

A great way to celebrate your military commitment

Charlie Loiselle is an military man, a surfer and a craftman. To celebrate his military career he has used his love of surfing and board building to make a great display piece.
"Another off-the-wall wood board. I wanted something special for my miltary retirement shadowbox, so I made this 6’ hollow-wood board with an internal shadow box in it. Other than the hole in the middle, you could surf it, it’s made just like the rest of my wood boards - koa and mahogany deck, redwood and mahogany strip rails, interior plywood frame."




Saturday, July 4, 2015

Wooden surfboard maker in the Philippines

With nothing but a desire to create his own wooden surfboard, Jay Love quit his corporate job to pursue an uncertain future. The Tree to Sea Project embodies Jay Love’s devotion to having his signature wooden surfboards conquer waves around the Philippines.
We’re excited to see what the future holds for this passion project. For more updates about the Tree to Sea Project, you may visit Jay Love’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jayar.domantay.

Kiwi ingenuity and eco friendly design

Original Bob Simmons wooden board for sale

 This great piece of history is for sale at the 
California Gold Vintage Surf Auction - September 26th
Seminal post-World War II surfboard designer and shaper from Pasadena, California; a primary architect of the modern surfboard who almost singlehandedly brought into play the now-fundamental principles of nose-lift, foil, and finely sculpted rails. the lanky 6’2″ Simmons was compelled, almost from the moment he began surfing, to create better equipment. He learned the fundamentals of board-building in the mid-’40s from the talented but surly Gard Chapin (stepfather to surf icon Mickey Dora); in 1946 he acquired a copy of a lengthy MIT study on planing hulls, and began applying its complex equations and theories to surfboards.By 1949, the typical Simmons board was wide (around 24 inches), with a thin, squared-off tail, finely turned and calibrated rails, and a broad spoonlike nose. Pre-war boards for the most part had been redwood-balsa composites coated in varnish; Simmons, working out of his garage in Pasadena, used balsa only and was one of the first to cover his boards with a layer of resin-saturated fiberglass. On September 26, 1954, in eight-foot waves at San Diego’s Windansea, Simmons was struck in the head by his own board and drowned. He was 35.
This board belonged to legendary San Diego lifeguard and TJ Sloughs surfer Dempsey Holder.
Allen “Dempsey” Holder was one of the earliest surfers in San Diego, California’s south county. He was one of the first surfers to ride the big surf off the coast of the Tijuana sloughs. Dempsey was also head of the Imperial Beach lifeguard services for many years. The Public Safety building that houses sheriff and lifeguard services is now named after Dempsey for his important contributions to surfing and public safety.
THIS BOARD HAS IT ALL : Pedigree, Provenance & Patina.

For more info on this board and others on offer :www.thevintagesurfauction.com/sneek-peek

Friday, July 3, 2015

Some nice colour tint on wood

 Ryan Lovelace with one of his great shapes that he glassed for Raphael Wolfe who does the wood over EPS core boards at Timberline Surfboards. A nice mix of skills for a great outcome.
 The tints let the grain come through