J: That is a racing SUP board John and I recently made.We made it from carbon fiber so it is super light and durable.This is the first one we have made and the first of its kind.We took it out off Hawaii Kai the other day and it works great.In the future they won’t be black because it just sucks up too much sun and can damage it in the long run.We’ll paint the newer ones. Me: Tell me a bit about that big ol carbon fiber board out front.
#Aku shaper longbaord how to#
J: $80,000+.Not a small investment.And don’t think you can just buy a machine and make boards.You have to know how to shape a board to use the machine.If you can’t make a board by hand, you are going to fail when you use the machine.And although they come out quite finished, you still have to put some loving work into the board.And still glass it too obviously.So John and I decided to get an Aku Shaper (name of machine) and its been great.Especially with the big ass SUP boards we are always making. J: I’ve been making boards for 40+ years.Like I said earlier, all kinds of boards.And it is important to go with the changes.Well, the big change over the last couple years is machined shaped blanks.They started popping boards out in China, which are pieces of shit, and shapers started feeling the pressure to make more boards and quicker.Not an easy task when you are shaping by hand.Back in the day all boards were glossed and polished and had glass on fins.Boards now are easier, but still take time.So all us shapers got put in a place where if we wanted to be able to compete with China and produce boards, you needed a machine.
Me: I guess I’ll have to try one someday.So tell me how and why you bought the machine? J: When they first came out I hated them.I was completely against them actually.People would ask me to make them and I wouldn’t.Frankly I just didn’t want to make big ass boards.It took me 3-4 years to start to warm up to them.Now I make them all the time.As a shaper you have to roll with the times.If I didn’t I would still be shaping big ol logs, completely by hand and no one would buy them and I would be broke.SUP boards are the big craze right now and I have to make what the people want.And after I got over hating SUP boards and tried them out, they are a lot of fun.John and I have created some “top secret shit” in our glassing process of SUP boards.It makes them lighter and stronger than other boards. Me: Yeah, I was going to ask you how you got into making SUP boards. etc.I make them all.I even make SUP boards.That’s actually our big thing right now. J: Yeah.I’ve made longboards, shortboards, fishes, Pipe boards, Sunset guns, Makaha guns, etc.
Me: So you can pretty much make any kind of board? J: Yeah.I used to do a lot of boards for T&C.Those were the days when I was making a lot of shorter boards.Well, they were definitely bigger than a shortboard today, but you get what I mean. John: And he always made shortboards for me.When I was riding for T&C they also hired my dad and he was making boards for all the T&C guys.He used to make boards for Sunny and all those guys. J: For sure.I’ve seen the changes in board design.I even remember some weird experimenting we used to do.Making weird tails and shit, stuff that looked spaceship like and didn’t really work.In the 80s I was making a lot of performance longboards for guys. Me: So you’ve seen quite a change in board design. J: Ah man.I started to shape boards when I was 16 because I didn’t have money to buy new boards.Remember, when I talk about making boards they weren’t what you see in the lineup today.These were big boards.I made them for myself and then buddies wanted them and I just went with that.When I was trying to figure out what to do with my life, my wife told me to do something I loved and I was making a good amount of boards for friends and figured I could do it for a living.So here I am today.Still making boards. the basic question first.How did you become a shaper?
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