Getting things set up to build?

[teamtortoise]

Greetings,
I am planning on cleaning out the garage and starting a SUP build (my first) in the next week or so. I work with wood all the time but 'shaping' and fiberglass will be a new experience. A bit nervous about screwing things up beyond repair.

Any tips that anyone has to offer that will save me some headaches later?

Matt
UTAH - River Rat

[TimelessSurf]

Nothing is BEYOND repair, but sometimes it isnt any fun to repair, so here's a few tips off the top of my head...
1. Wear gloves and old clothes. Even if you are going to "just do a quick clamping". I ruined alot of clothes...
2. Test assemble each step before you glue.
3. When gluing your first rail strip, continue the arc of the curve after the first and last rib. At least a little bit, if you don't, you wind up with a "duck bill" nose and tail.
4. Make the nose and tail blocks larger than needed so you don't wind up with flat spot on the nose. You can always take stock off, but adding it is hard.
5. If you are going to glass in your garage, put sand or wood shaving under your stands, it wont clean up otherwise.
6. Take your time!!!!!

I hope that helps!!

[apauly1954]

Hi Matt (teamtortoise),

I'm Pauly, live in Battersea, London, England but actually an Aussie from Sydney, Australia. Heading back down there for good when I retire in November. YAY! Sunshine, surf, babes in bikini's. What more could a man ask for?

Anyways just to let you know, Chad knows these wooden babies inside & out & there's a wealth of info. available from all the guys & girls on here who have been there & done it! So (as they say in the Hitch-hikers Guide To The Galaxy) DON'T PANIC!! Any questions at all just get on here & ask & you'll get lots of response.

I'm about 3/4 of the way thru a classic longboard build & about to start an SUP build. I'm a woodworker since birth (almost) a trade cerified carpenter/joiner, a surfer & shaper (foam) since about age 15yrs & waited till I was 60 yrs old to build my first wood board! Go figure that one? I'm having so much fun I'm like a dog with 2 tails & don't know which one to wag first!

If I can help with anything I will, although I always defer to Chad as I said he know's these babies in & out.

So have fun & keep us all posted on your progress.
Pauly

[TimelessSurf]

Well thanks for the kind words Apauly. I have a question for YOU though. A guy in West Yorkshire wants to know what types of wood are available in your region that would work well for these projects. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance,
Chad

[apauly1954]

Hi Chad,
Although I'm a bit of a ways from West Yorkshire I think the same applies right thru the UK & that is most if not all native woods (like Oak, Cherry, Ash, Plane, Maple, etc.) are hardwoods & way to heavy & hard to work with.

That's why I went with Monterey (Radiata) Pine which whilst not as light as red or white cedar is relatively light & readily available from suppliers like Jewsons Timber which have timber outlets throughout England. Red Cedar is also available (it's used for the ubiquitous lining/cladding boards mentioned in other threads) but its a bit expensive. And as far as I know that's about it!

Woods which would be perfect like Paulownia & maybe Balsa are just not imported or grown here as they are in the US, China, Australia, New Zealand. It might be possible to get some from France or elswhere in Europe but again cost would be a bit high.
I know of one guy & his brother who wanted Paulownia so bad they imported a load from China!

I think I said elswhere (maybe in the Choosing the right wood thread) that I spent about 2hrs at my local Jewsons Timber choosing the lightest weight, closest grain, least knotty boards I could find. Well worth the effort although I'm starting to lean towards the increasing school of thought that heavier boards paddle better & smoother, catch waves easier & noseride better, in fact are generally superior to light ones! Lets hope thats true?

Not sure if any of the above helps, but there it is.
Pauly

[TimelessSurf]

Awesome, I passed the information on to the guy. Thanks a million!
Chad

[ericden]

One more suggestion from a 2 board vet... test clamp all your glue ups prior to opening the bottle of glue. It might seem like you have it pegged but the number of times I thought the clamping was a simple clamp job and I went straight to gluing....with alot more drama than necessary. Take the 5 minutes to clamp a full dry run, you won't regret the time.

[derek]

Hy guys
I now live in Northern Cyprus but before that made cedar wood garage doors in the Uk.
Our supplier was CF Andersons in Colchester, Essex. Talk to Mark.
I know they stock loads of Canadian Cedar and will machine to your requirements.
I am also thinking of importing some of it to Cyprus.
Derek