Preparing the Blank Part 1

Make sure your foam sheet is large enough. Cut off any excess with a knife.
I´m using Divinycell H80 15mm thick which i buy from DIAB in Halmstad. U usally buy 2-3 122x244cm sheets at a time.

Tape the template down onto the foam sheet with regular double-stick carpet tape.
I set the router depth to 4mm. The edge will be this thickness + laminate thickness.
Before i made my template, I measured that the router bit edge was 80mm from the edge of the router plate. By first drawing the true outline in CAD, then offsetting the line inward by 80mm, this created the template outline.

By following the template carefully with the router it makes a nice groove, with the true outline.

The groove is routed, the template is still on the foam.

Now you can see the true outline on the foam sheet. A nice elliptical shape 130x 50,5.

Next step is to fill the groove with epoxy.

Stay tuned.

Finalizing the Template

Once the paper drawing is glued to the hardboard, cut just outside the line, save about 3mm. Being accurate here saves work later.

The cut looks like this. If you want a cleaner cut, you can saw from the underside.
This is the rough sawn template.
I have a homemade belt sander. It is a B&D belt sander with a sanding plate attachment (included in sander set). The sanding plate attachement is clamped in a B&D Workmate. A 19mm MDF sheet is screwed to one side of the Workmate as a table. Using 60 grit sanding belt, i sand carefully down to the line. I stop several times and sand off the paper excess.

I use this drywall sanding block with 80 grit paper a lot. A great tool.
I sand the edge carefully to take off the excess paper so i don´t remove the outline.

I sand the last 0,5mm by hand with the sanding block. This is the finished template.

Today i started a new board. It will be a lightwind twintip skimboard 130x50cm with deep concave.
This is the form i will use to vacuum bag the board. The form gives the 25mm concave and 25mm rocker.





My first step is to make a template. Here I have glued the full size print out of the outline onto 3mm hardboard. Actually it is the outline minus 80mm.


This because i am going to use the template to route an edge groove, described below, using a router that has a bit edge that is 80mm from the the edge of the router plate. Here I am showing how i will place the router when the template has been trimmed, sanded fair, and taped to the Foam sheet.

This will give me a groove in the foam that is 3mm deep and has the exact shape of the final board.

More to follow.

First Step to building your own board

The first step is to build a so-called "template". This is what defines your boards final outline and it is very important to make it perfectly symetrical and fair.

I suggest that you first draw your board outline on a computer program such as Adobe Illustrator and try to find someone to print it out in full size on paper.

If this is not possible, you can draw it out using old kiteboards, string and nails as big compasses, plates and any other objects that work. If u draw only one half with a centerline down the longitudinal center, it will be symetrical. Rolls of wallpaper are nice and thick to use as paper.

Once you have a paper copy of your board outline. You can glue it to a 3-4m MDF or hardboard sheet that is overtsize. Use contact cement (kontakt lim) and brush it down on the paper and hardbaord as per instructions on can. Glue it down nice and even on the smooth side of the hardboard.

Using an electric jigsaw (sticksåg) carefully cut about 2 mm outside the board outline. Be careful to not destroy the paper.

Using a rough file, a rasp, file down close to the line. It is important to clamp the template to a work table, hanging over the edge, and work with long strokes, checking you progress often, to make a fair shape. As you get close to the line, 0,5mm, you can use 80 grit sand paper on a sanding block to sand down to the line.

I do the long edges first, then the tips and transition to the long edges last.

Now you should have a perfect template.

If you have not done this before, you may need to make several until it is correct, so buy extra material. This is the most important step of your board building, so it needs to be right.

If you go to the building supply store, ask them to cut the hardboard into "blanks" that are slightly larger than your board and it will be easier to handle.

Mako inspired board

This is a OR Mako inspired board tailored to my own needs.

135x34cm with 18mm concave and 25mm constant rocker.

The flip tips add 40mm each side.

This board has less splash than any board i have ridden, including the Mako.

Turns just as well as Mako, but is more skatey, probably because the edge is shorter, and a bit more rounded.




























I added the flip-tips afterwards and they do not look too nice. The board was very splashy without them. You can see the rocker above.

Lay up is 3 layers 165g/m2 glass and 1 layer 245g/m2 carbon each side. 5 extra layers just under each foot pad.

This board is really stiff. Could have left the Carbon off the bottom, or used less.