Surfbord Shaping Training

Dunno about up north Aramo, but in Vic' you can apparently do a Boatwright's apprenticeship as long as you have a shaper to pay you & provide a venue for the work. Traineeship packages may be available for you also ( are you a citizen / resident ? ) - good luck.

hi Andres, i did the shapers workshop the workshop with Richard Harvey a few years ago. you will learn more about surfing from having someone with that much experience talk you through shaping a board then 6 months in the ocean.

I've been getting customs from him ever since and still surf the single fin i shaped with him regularly.

It works out about the same price as an off the shelf al merrick and you will never buy one again once you find out the difference.

Happy Shaping

I'm happy to give you a few pointers. I'm on the gold coast too. It's not too hard, you just need somewhere you can make a mess and not get too worried about the fumes. There are heaps of YouTube videos if you want to have a look first before you commit to making one. Greenlight have a good forum, or Google dave parmenter. Blanks go from $60 for a second up to $100 or so. Glassing will cost around $150. I reckon the minimum tools you need are gloves, three paint brushes, sawhorses, a surf foam, some sandpaper -80 &150 grit and a block plane. a screen is worth the little bit extra to blend your rails in. Don't skimp on e safety gear a good mask is essential.

If you go to shapers warehouse in currumbin they sometimes have preshaped blanks, you just need to knock off the nose,tail and smooth it all down - maybe 30minutes work and it'll be ready for glassing.

Southcoast foam will also machine shape a design from their database for approximately $120.

Oh,yeah I live in surfers, send me a pm and we'll catch up

evo ,the glassing, $150, is for materials ??

Yup, it costs about $150 for the cloth, resin, hardener, masking tape, sandpaper, fin and leash plugs.

I've been shaping my own boards for a couple of years now. It cost me about $1000 to get myself set up pretty well and I got four boards + heaps of tools for that price (including blanks, fibreglass, resin, a planer off eBay and a whole bunch of other shit).

Check out www.swaylocks.com/forum/general-discussion for just about everything you need to know about the craft. Just don't be too sensitive, because the grumpy old farkers who inhabit the site aren't afraid to call you out if they think you're asking a stupid question, or for any other reason....

Shapers is a great source of materials, tools and advice. I live in SA, but have called them a few times and they're always happy to have a chat about shaping.

YouTube is also your friend, although you'll have to sort through heaps of shite to find the nuggets of gold.

If you can find someone to give you a few tips, or even let you use their space, take them up on the offer. I've had to pretty much teach myself but it would have been great to have a mentor/advisor/teacher, especially in the early stages.

Get into it though, it's heaps of fun and there's nothing more satisfying than pulling into a barrel on a board you've crafted with your own hands. Just don't expect to get it right first time, and don't be afraid of fark-ups. They're the only way you'll really learn.