Mill to Thickness
My very first significant step in shaping a surfboard is milling the blank thickness. This step should be preceded by planing the stringer flush & checking the blank for twists. Not necessarily because the blank was manufactured with a twist but rather because twists can occur via storage. Blanks today are built to avoid twists caused by manufacturing. Planing the stringer flush gives you an even surface to begin from.
On a longboard I will usually begin with a deck pass. I start with the deck because on a thicker longboard blank I don’t have to worry too much about deflection from the planer weight. Furthermore, I don’t take a full pass off the deck (a big secret in the industry!). This allows me to stay away from the softer inner core of the blank and leave a stronger deck.
I then move on to the bottom passes working ALWAYS from the outside in. Use your callipers to measure thickness each time you complete a bottom pass. A Skil 100 planer cuts about an 1/8” fully open making it easy to calculate the amount of passes you’ll need to arrive at thickness (depending, of course, on the blank you’re using).
I like to immediately correct any rough shaping left over from the planer with a 40 grit sanding block on the bottom and a 40 grit flexible sanding pad on the deck (to follow the initial, natural curve of the blank’s deck). This gives me a nice, consistent surface to cut the outline from and begin banding. I call this “Applying an Early Finish”.
Some shapers (often times my father in the past as well) begin their shaping process with outlining. I tend to outline as step #2 because by first planing the blank to thickness I am able to get rid of much of the meat of the blank leaving less to cut through. This saves your shoulders a bit if, like me, you’re handsawing. If you’re running a router around a template, it doesn’t matter so much. However, routing an outline after milling the thickness will mean less stress on your router and much less torque on your bit (important, because torque on a 3.5”-4” bit is dangerous!). By outlining second, you also avoid any little mishaps that can occur causing divots in your outline say from the power cord.
I’ve planed this blank to thickness prior to cutting the outline, which will be easier now with thinner rails.
