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Tools of the Trade
The one tool coveted universally by surfboard shapers is the Skil model 100 planer. It has not been made in over twenty years, but remains THE symbol of surfboard shaping. Granted, many other modern planers are used widely in production shops to produce today’s surfboards, yet some “old-school” shapers will not shape with any other than the Skil 100. Though the weight, feel, balance, and quality of the old Skil are the traits boasted, I just wonder how much of it is simply the mystique and the connection to the old glory days of surfing and the making of traditional surfboards.
I must confess that I did sleep with a smile the night I finally acquired my first Skil 100. When the blades are razor sharp and I pull the switch and hear that familiar whine, it’s a joy to feel it move across the balsa wood surface. Ah, the good old days are still here.
Aside from the planer, most all the tools used for shaping and sculpting wood boards are simple and traditional. I’ve borrowed ideas from others to make some of my own tools to serve particular needs. A few measuring devices, shop-made wooden calipers, a few different shaped sanding blocks, and perfectly sharpened planes comprise the bulk of the tools used.
I’ve been making furniture for decades and have a special affinity for hand tools. I was accused of going a little overboard when I recently made an elaborate sander of beautiful teak wood. Fashioned after a hand plane, I call it “jointer sander”, made to surface sand the long redwood stringers. A famous old-school surfer who began his career as a shaper in Hawaii in the early 1960s gave me the idea for the nose and tail sander he calls the “shaper’s paddle”. I have learned over many years that the very best tool is simply one that works well and makes you feel good when you use it.
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