wood board shaper at OB-SF
Mike Sullivan
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/11/DDEF1A9AJT.DTL
Andy
wrote:
> Thought you board surfers would like this:
>
Looks like Paul Jenson’s rail technique.
http://www.hollowsurfboards.com/Boards.htm
I don’t know who was the first to take compsand up and away… Burger?
Or was he just the most vocal.
Nice looking boards though.
SKIPPER
Danny's methods are self-taught. The layered rails are a takeoff from
Jensen,
iirc, but the hollow wood board builds are very different. Danny
builds the rails
first, and goes from there. The Jensen boards are built frame then
skins then rails.
Danny's boards are hollow wood boards, and not composite sandwich
boards. Although the compsand methods are fairly similar across a
broad
range of people, no one else makes hollow boards the way Danny does,
or to
competitive weights like Danny's. They never felt as light as foam/
glass boards to
me, but Danny's are very close. Other hollow wood boards were like
Danny's early
attempts - very heavy. His boards are ALMOST ding-free. Some of his I
would
look at after he ripped on them for 2-3 years (he is ABUSIVE towards
his
boards because he surfs so hard) and the boards would still be ding-
free.
Danny is a super nice person, a REALLY good surfer, and his boards
look even better up close than they do in pictures. He's been doing
well. He and I were on the same DP on the same stretch of beach for
several years - but when I left his shaping was transitioning from
hobbyist
to professional. His shaping career has been rocket-like since then.
You can see his wood board near the middle of this video (he is still
a
hobbyist at this point) look at 0:27 and 1:08
http://www.youtube.com/user/blakestah#p/u/6/HcVy6lO8Y0A
He also has the last three waves in this video, starting at 1:12
http://www.youtube.com/user/blakestah#p/u/4/EjV8pdsjWJM
He is still riding a foam board, he has not made his first wood gun
yet (iirc
it was finished less than a month after the video).
These videos are now 6 years old.
-PA
Andy
>
> Danny's methods are self-taught. The layered rails are a takeoff from
> Jensen,
> iirc, but the hollow wood board builds are very different. Danny
> builds the rails
> first, and goes from there. The Jensen boards are built frame then
> skins then rails.
>
> Danny's boards are hollow wood boards, and not composite sandwich
> boards. Although the compsand methods are fairly similar across a
> broad
> range of people, no one else makes hollow boards the way Danny does,
> or to
> competitive weights like Danny's.
The article came across as if this was something new and completely
different, but it appears to be similar to boards that have been made
for years. It looks like he has the skills to translate the backyard
build to a commercially viable product, good for him.
It could be a case of convergent board evolution, but we don’t live in
a vacuum (ha pun! Compsand and vac!!)
Obviously his boards are different than Paul’s it was the rail shape-
up that looks similar, he uses cork and popular on the rails.
1-lb EPS for the core and popular skins for the deck, with 4oz resin
research epoxy similar to boards that a bunch of people are making.
The parabolic rails immediately made me think of Burger.
Either way he makes a nice looking board, and is obviously skilled at
what he does.
What is that saying “on the backs of giants”
Jack Linthicum
I have a copy of "Icons Surfing, Vintage Surfing Graphics" ed by Jim
Heimann with an article "Hawaiian water sled is easy to build" by Paul
Gartner from Modern Mechanix and Inventions from 1933. and "Better
ways to build surf boards" by Hi Sibley, from 1935. Each describes a
"built up" board like an airplane of the time. The latter board is
balsa, spruce and redwood and comes from the Newport Harbor Union High
School shop. Both designs seem to preclude major shaping.
Andy
wrote:
>
> > What is that saying “on the backs of giants”
>
> I have a copy of "Icons Surfing, Vintage Surfing Graphics" ed by Jim
> Heimann with an article "Hawaiian water sled is easy to build" by Paul
> Gartner from Modern Mechanix and Inventions from 1933. and "Better
> ways to build surf boards" by Hi Sibley, from 1935. Each describes a
> "built up" board like an airplane of the time. The latter board is
> balsa, spruce and redwood and comes from the Newport Harbor Union High
> School shop. Both designs seem to preclude major shaping.- Hide quoted text -
>
Yeah these are the kook boxes they talk about in the article,
rails...yeesh.
http://www.avalonhistorycenter.com/pdf/easy-to-build.pdf
I like this section...
Extra Air Lock to Keep Afloat
In either the bow or stern block a 2-inch deck plug with an air lock
is inserted to allow for ventilation, drainage, and air expansion. A
hole drilled into the inner end of the block will connect the valve
with the great air chamber. It should be remembered that, immediately
after using, the valve of the water sled must be opened to release air
which ordinarily has expanded, especially during a hot day. Otherwise,
there is a chance that the bulging decks may tear loose the screws
from the rails. If you care to add another air lock (which may be a
valve from an auto inner lube) you can put an inner tube in the sled
which will keep it afloat if you smash it against rocks or wreckage
while you have a cargo on it which must be supported. Accompanying
sketch showing man pumping up inner tube does not mean sled itself is
inflated. There would be no point in doing this: The original air lock
is there to equalize the pressure inside and outside the sled.
For protection against water which may have seeped into the hollow
board, the inside should be treated with oil, paint, or other
preservative. The outside, naturally, is best finished with marine
paint covered with several coats of spar varnish. It will pay an owner
of a water sled, especially where salt water is his highway, to wash
his decks with fresh water after an excursion and then dry them with a
towel. Like a fishing rod or the deck of a yacht the board may require
frequent coatings of spar varnish.
Jack Linthicum
> On Nov 16, 11:13 am, Jack Linthicum <jacklinthi...@earthlink.net>
> wrote:
I would like to see the face on any life guard reading this
"A life guard operating a water sled can cover 100 yards in a little
more than 30 seconds, which is approximately half the time required by
an expert swimmer to negotiate that distance. And where a swimming
rescuer may face serious difficulty in approaching and handling a
person in distress, the man upon the bouyant board simply pulls his
subject aboard and paddles to safety"
SKIPPER
Danny's board construction was almost matured before he ever heard of
Paul Jensen or Bert Burger. His boards are hollow wood (like Jensen)
but
use foam for the frame. Burger uses a foam core, like many, but for
Danny
there is only a frame inside, not a solid core. It is not a composite.
I do
believe Danny took the rail build-up technique from Jensen, but he
builds
the rails first, then adds skin and ribs. Jensen builds frame first,
then skin,
then rails. Danny's boards are, mechanically speaking, rail and skin
boards,
whereas the mechanical properties of the Jensen boards are much more
dependent on the frame.
Its FAR more unique than the compsands that are becoming common
among hobbyist board builders. It may LOOK like a compsand from
the outside, but if you observe the build method and/or cut it in half
to look inside, it is very different.
Honestly, I don't know if it is better or worse than a well built
compsand.
Danny is a stand up guy, and will stand behind his product, and the
boards surf well (I've ridden them). I wonder on the weight issue. The
good compsands come in the same weight at Pu/Pe boards and much
more durable. Danny's come in a pound or so heavier, and much more
durable. As an engineer I wonder when push comes to shove whether
Danny's methods, or compsands, comes to the best
durability/strength/weight combo.
-PA