Sanding Blocks

This surfboard shaping tip is about my sanding block, easily one of my most important tools. It’s great for cleaning up planer passes, breaking rail bands and putting final touches on the nose and tail. Furthermore, its hard flat surface maintains a consistent cut.

I’m using the same sanding block that my dad used to shape his surfboards for decades. It dimensions are important (11 1/4” x 4 3/4” x 3/4”). With this size it is easy to wrap sand paper around and it fits nicely in the width of all the boards I shape (short or long) without hitting the stringer too much.

When using a sanding block it is important to avoid the stringer as much as possible. Touching the stringer too much will cause the foam around the stringer to shape away more quickly than the wood of the stringer. This will lead to surface inconsistancies, more work on the stringer with the block plane and a higher risk of rail road tracks as you aggressively attempt to take down your high stringer. Therefore, it is important to AVOID sanding blocks that cover the ENTIRE WIDTH of stringered blanks. It’s simply poor practice!

I typically use my sanding block in the following scenarios:

• to refine planer or Surform work

• to create a flat, smooth bottom surface in prep for bottom contours

• to break rail bands

• to refine deck contours

• to trim and refine nose and tail tips.

When sanding the bottom of the blank (after milling it to thickness), I begin refining with a sanding block wrapped with 40 grit and I move on to 60, 80, 100, and 120 grits before moving on to screens. It is important to keep track of the stringer height between each grit. It is nearly inevitable that the foam around the wood with lower in comparison. Keep your block plane sharp and use it to take the stringer down flush to the foam.

One extra bit of advice: I really like using the 3M Utility Cloth in various grits. It wraps nicely around the block and doesn’t wrinkle or tear.

Check out the video below for more!

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