dead insect

I started building this surfboard back in November 2011 down in Cornwall, from some softwood I found in a skip in Redruth. It’s been quite a long process but phenomenally enjoyable, I learned a lot of stuff along the way. Lots of woodworking was very new to me. I was also particularly bad at fibreglassing; I have a real weakness for any crafts involving the neat spreading of goo, I just get in a real mess.

It’s hollow and wooden, using the chambered method, which means you glue a load of wood together into a big lump, then shape it into a surfboard shape using an electric planer, then you have to break it up with a hammer, so you can hollow out the pieces, then you have to glue it all back together again.

A very time consuming method, but very satisfying as it makes you work in a big range of modes/skills – you go from being precise, to suddenly almost totally intuitive in the shaping process, and then back to being precise/repetitive in the hollowing out step.

About to take it for first surf, so praying it doesn’t fill up with water and sink!

Here’s a slideshow of the whole process: