First Rail Band

Taking a methodical approach to shaping surfboards and following a certain order of steps will go a long way towards helping you streamline your workflow and produce consistent shapes. I follow a strict system when starting the banding process on both the bottom and the deck.

My first rail band gets me down to the buffer marks which protect the rail apex. It is a short pass, meaning it does not extend from tip to tip of the blank. This is important because the blank thins out more towards the tips…thickness will disappear here more quickly than you might expect. Furthermore, extending the initial band too far towards the nose/tail or too deeply could cause you to dip beneath your rail apex. This will put a wobble in your outline.

Beginning with a shorter, inital band will give you time and allow you to gradually remove foam from the last foot to foot-and-a-half of either end of the board. Consecutive passes (as you move up the rail), as seen in the animation below, will help foil out those thinner areas of the blank in a more cautious, planned fashion. This is particularly important if you’re just getting used to your planer. Is your blank still too thick at the ends? Fine! You can take off foam but you can’t put it back on. Take your time, mind your pencil marks and give yourself plenty of room.

I typically begin my rail banding on the bottom. You can apply the same method to the deck.

In this animation the lightest blue band is the shorter, first planer pass. The next passes will move up the rail towards the rail tuck AND foil the rail over a longer distance.

Here’s a cross section view (again, bottom facing up) of how I band my softer railed longboards. It illustrates an initial, more veritcal band aimed at getting down to your buffer mark. After that you continue to foil and refine the rail.