Friday, April 30, 2010

New Paddle

In Action:

Early Season South Swell from rotorhead guy on Vimeo.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

SUP Paddle

The bending jig used is actually for an iako (outrigger crossbeam). I’ve modified it for a nice double-bend. Since my last 2-ply paddle failed (see the video here) I used 4 laminations on this one; two lams of douglas fir in the interior and mahogany on the outside. Here is is just out of the jig:

P4250046

From there, it’s a whole lot of hand-shaping with a small plane and a spokeshave. Here is some sequentials:

P4250052 P4250056

 P4250057

The blade is douglas fir with mahogany highlights. I made a temporary jig to glue up the “wings” on to the shaft.

P4250060

I used the same blade template as the last paddle, as I really liked how it felt both paddling and surfing:

P4250062

The blade was covered with glass set in epoxy:

 

 P4250063

From there, once the epoxy was dry, I sanded and filled with urethane, and she’s ready for her premiere.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

My First West African Order

Found this one in the in-box:

From: Charles James
Sent: Wed 4/21/10 8:37 AM

Hello
With regarding you and your company,Am Charles James And I will like to know weather you do carry Planer Board do you have them TX-22 Special Planer Board in stock available for sale,for me to make a purchase of it. If yes i will appreciate alot cool let me know the size and the types as well as the prices arrange you have in your inventory plus sales tax Excluding Shipping & Handling Because it will be Picked Up and Shipped international to West Africa (Accra-Ghana) Do you accept credit card as a method of payment and what term?
Thank You


Wow, I'm fresh out of planer boards, Mr. James (or is it "prince James"?). I promise the next time I work up a batch of "TX-22" boards I'll make one for you. As soon as I get that $8000 bank draft from Ghana.

I may have to design a new shape called the "TX-22" as it is kind of a cool name...

The Biofoam Board Chronicles: Getting Started

The latest project is a BioFoam blank that I'm shaping with my daughter. Biofoam is "50% organic soy-based plant materials", which means it's a little easier on the environment than regular EPS blanks. It seems to shape well with hand tools; we'll see how it goes when I break out the planer this weekend. I've challenged the girls to come up with an art design for it. It will be glassed with epoxy and will primarily be a fun board for the girls to ride this summer.

The Biofoam Project: Chapter 1 from rotorhead guy on Vimeo.