Weekly Reflection

 

This week was a slow week, this week because it was the glassing week. I had gotten the board all shaping done and so I was ready to put the fiberglass on and then do the 4 coats or resin. On Monday I took a trip back to proctor because I needed to pick up some so tools. Once I got back home at the cape I then went ahead and glassed the bottom of the board. After I finished glassing the board then I had to sleep on it and let it dry. The next day on Tuesday I went ahead and sanded down the bottom of the board. Once I had finished sanding the board. I went ahead and put the top fiberglass coat. Once I was done glassing the top of the board I then had to let it sit and dry. Once the board was dry I went back to it and sanded the top of the board to get it ready to put the second coat of resin on it. I put the second coat of resin on the bottom of the board and also put in the fin witch is one of the more difficult things to do. I made two sticks that held then fin in place while it was drying. On Wednesday I woke up and went out into the garage and the fine was not set right so I had to go ahead and set it again. After I did this I then had to wait for it to dry and I also had to come back to school for my sport, so I went back to campus and waited for the board to dry. After I got the back to my house I then went and I put the second coat of resin on the top of the board because the fin had finely dried. The on Thursday once again the fin was not working for some reason it was not drying in the right position that I needed it to dry in. So I had an idea on how to make the fin work. I went ahead and glassed the bottom of the board. Then while the bottom was still drying I put the fin on the board. The fin stood straight up and was in the position I wanted so then I glassed the fin in once again. Third time is the charm the fin was in place and dry. I then sanded down the fin rope that I did not want showing any more. On friary I then glassed the top of the board. For the finial stage of the surfboard. Once the board dries, I will then ride my board and that is what the bros and I are going to do on Sunday. IT was a great week and now my board is complete. 

Today i glassed the top and bottom of the board. I glassed the top of the board, while i was waiting for the board to dry i went ahead and shaped the fine the way i would like it to look. Then once the bottom of the board dried, then i went ahead and glassed the bottom of the board again. After i put the coat on the bottom of the board i went ahead placed then fine on the back of the board where i wanted it to be. Now i am waiting for it to dry and then  tomorrow i will sand and hose down and begin to prep the board for riding for this weekend. 

Wed

I set in the fins for the finial glassing. So i could not do anything els for the day. So i drove down to Proctor to gather a few things and also had to come back and watch Taylre Patrica O'byrne's play her lax game. After i went home and glassed the top of my board and am going to be ready to sand the board tomorrow. 

Today was a good productive day for my first day of glassing. I was able to glass the bottom of the board and also set in the fins that i had to glass on to the board. The board is starting to come together and  tomorrow   i will be glassing the top of the board as well as putting the second coat on the bottom of the board. I had to go to the store today and gather up some fin rope for my board. Over all my day was productive and i am ready to work  tomorrow.

Today  Monday i needed to make a trip back to campus in order to gather the tools i needed to complete my board. While i was at school i began to work on my  paper as well. I picked the fiberglass cloth that i will need to glass my board. I also picked up the the resin needed to complete my board. Once i get back to the Cape tonight i will then glass the bottom of my board and begin the finishing steps of my board.

Weekly Reflection

This week I accomplished a lot on my wooden surfboard. This week I had a slight change in my schedule I had an unscheduled trip down to California. I had to go on this trip because I just got accepted into St. Mary’s College. I wanted to get a better felling of the school and I did while I was there visiting. I relished that I had to work really hard on Monday Tuesday and on Friday. Monday I prepped my board to make it easier to shape and get closer to my finished product. I had filled all the cracks in the wood with wood filler so that the resin would not slip through the wood and leave bubble in the board. The next day I took it upon my self to work from 9 till 4 at night it was a good successful day where I got a lot done and was happy with how long I worked on my board. Then I went to California the next day. After visiting the school I had the opportunity to visit a surf shop. I did not get to see any one shaping or talk to the head shaper but it was still good to look around at the boards he had made and the different spin of on the boards he would do. It was a good experience to go and see these board and I am glade while I was in California I was able to visit and see another persons work of art. Then the next day I had to fly back home I did not get back to my house till about 1 in the morning on friary morning. I worked on friary to finish up my house and the shape of my board. The board is all shaped out and is looking good and I am begging to like the way it is looking. The rails where by far the hardest thing I have had to come to work with so far. Now I am on to the glassing stage. Me Fra and Ty, all went to work with Ian today we all got a lot of good pointer and tips on how to shape a board and get to the finishing product. He went over the ways to lie in the rails and to begin to get ready for the glassing stage he showed us and let us work with him on his board to get the feel of the rails and of the finishing steps. Then he begins to show us the glassing process and how to apply a good coat of fiberglass with the right amount of resin. This helped a lot because resin is the hardest part of shaping a surfboard and no I have a better since of how to do that. I am no ready to glass my board and test it out for the finial week. 

Back to Work

Today i went ahead and worked on the board for along time. I had nothing else to do today so i got a lot of work done. I finished all the rials on my board today. I took fred and the sanding sheet to the side of my board to make the rails all rounded off. I chose to give my board a round nice shape on the board. Nothing to sharp or intense. I rounded the nose off today as well and i am happy to say my board does not look like a pice of wood any more it looks like a surf board. I have done many boards so far this year at proctor and this board is not my best work, but it is also my first time working with wood and it is a much harder substance to work with. I feel my board looks alright and that it is ready for the glassing period starting the next week. I also to the time to order my fin that i will also be glassing my fin on during next week i am excited to be at the finishing proses of my board. 

Today is my travel day back from cali i will be working when i get back to the cape at 12. I will begin to finish up my board so i can begin the glassing for the next week. That is my plane for when i get back home. 

day in cali

I am in california for a day to see a college and to make my finial choice. I had the chance to look at a surf shop while i was hear and it was a good experience for me to see the different boards that where being made and i really enjoyed seeing them. 

Sunny Day in the Cape

Today was a good and productive day for me I had a long day to work and nothing to distract me from my work. I woke up at 9 30 and began to work get my board to look exactly like what I want it to. Then I began to tack town the rails and make sure that both sides are equal in length. That took some time because it is hard to determine weather or not to stop. Then I began to sand down the top of my board and make it the concave shape that I want. I worked form 9 till bout 4 today getting a lot of my hours done because I will not be around to do them tomorrow. 

Mondays BLog

Yesterday i forgot to make a post. This was because i was driving to campus and back to my house so i could get some work done on my own at the house. Last night when i got back to my home i began to start on my board in my barn. I filled all the cracks in the wood with wood filler and began to plain the rails to make the a nice squared off shape and what i will be doing today will be making the rials and finishing the rocker. Sorry about mondays blog. 

Weekly Reflection

During this week of shaping surfboards there was a lot that I got done and accomplished towards the finished product of my board. During this first week of senior project I had to figure out what I wanted my board to look like, how think it needs to be and how long I am actually going to make it. This is a harder task that you could imagine. Fist it needs to find out where I was going to be working. I thought that working out side and in a tent would be a good spot for working on my board. Then I asked around and reserved and the foam and wood shavings would not be food for the environment. So then I began to brain storm and ask around. I came to the conclusion that working in the basement of Rulon would be an easy and suitable place to shape my board for the whole signor project. Once I got all settled into the basement, I then began to look at the board and look at what I would want my board to look like compared to other boards I have seen or even ridden. It was hard to picture my board and any shape vie seen before because I was simply looking at a large squared off piece of wood. It was hard for me to get an image of what I wanted my board to look like by just looking at the black I have. I started to make outline marks on the board and get a since of what I want to shape of my board to come out as. The first makers I made I like for about twenty four hours then I went down stairs the next day and I hated what the board would have come out looking like. It was a good thing that the I had not cut the board out yet so I still had time to change the shape of the board.  I looked at the board again and got a better shape than I was stifled and happy with. The next day I went down stairs and began to cut out the outline shape of the board. Once I got the whole board cut out then I had to trim down the sides to a nice flush feeling. Once I was done with that then had to look at the thickness of the board and had realized that it was a bit to think for the board that I wanted to make. So I looked online and talked to some people about how think I should make my board and come to the conclusion that in the center of the board the thinness should be about three inches thick. Once I marked all my navigational poets on the board then I began to trim down at the depth of my board. Once I got the board down to three inches then I had to set in the rocker of the board. I took a look at where I wanted my rocker to start both nose and tail rockers. I set down I basic rocker for now and will change that as I progress on the board. A huge part of our week was working with our sponsor Ian Lee. He came over to my house and had a sit down talk with all three of us about what we are going to want to accomplish during the three weeks. So we each talked about our different board that we have and that we are going to work on. Then he told us that he is going to be doing a board on the weekends and giving us pointers while he is doing that one board, and that we will work on our boards at the same time and get pointer on our boards so that we can make the best that we can. So over all it was a good week and a productive week and I am looking forward to working on the board again come tomorrow morning. 

Hot Day in The Basement

I went down to the basement kind of early today, just to get a jump-start on everything. I looked at my board and I realized that the shape was all wrong so back to the drawling boards for me. I looked online and in some books I had to find what my size and shape should look like. Once I actually go the shape I wanted then I drew it on the top of the board. Then I took my new saw to the board and cut out the shape I wanted for the board. Once it was cut out I was pleased with how my board looked then I started to round off the nose. The board is coming along well and I am happy the way it looks. 

Long Good Day

Toady was a very productive day, down in the basement of Rulon. I went down there expecting to get a little done, but it turned out it was a really good day. I trimmed down the rest of my board and made it the thickness I wanted. I also traveled down to Home Depot today and went and got an automatic handsaw so that it would be easier to cut the shape desired for my board. Now for tomorrow I will be ready to get my big piece of wood to start and look likes a long board surfboard. 

Today I felt I got a lot accomplished, and made a large amount of progress on my surfboard. Once I got down into the basement I began to look at the rough sketches I had made on the top of my board on how I want the board to look when I am done. Then I took the saw to the outer side of the lines I drew the day before and began to cut a rough shape of my board out. After this I took a look at different types of long boards online and looked at the different widths of many of them and decided to shave my board down to about 3 inches in the center and 2 and a half on either side to start. After deciding this I then marked it down on the board and called it quits for the day

First Day With The Wood

Today I had a late start because I had to travel to Mass and see my doctor about my knee and to see how I was progressing form my surgery. Once I returned back to campus I went down to my new work space in the basement of my dorm. I drew the outline shape I want for my board. I got the right measurements by using the tool EZ Square and this allowed me to get the outline shape of my board done. When I was ending my hours for the day I began to start plaining the bottom of my board to give it the thickness that I would like it to have. That is about all I did today. 

First Day of Senior Project

On my first day of senior project, I realized that I needed to get a tent or find a suitable place for me and the boys to work on our boards. I needed to make sure that it was a safe place to work for the environment and for the distraction of the students still attending class. We finally found a place in the bottom of my dorm. This is a perfect site for us to work we have the heat we need for the glassing and a good place that will not require much clean up. Once I figured out where I was going to be working for the next three weeks I then began to start working on my out line sketches of my board and what I would like it to look like as a finishing product. Before I was done for the day I went down and set out all of the tools that I will be using to complete my board and that I will be using for the next three weeks.