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Wood Bending The First action I took before building the frame of the board was bending the wood. This set up allows the planks of wood to bend over a period of a few days. Once the wood is bent I can attach the planks to the frame to make the decks of the board. This step is very important! If I did not do this the planks would be stiff and could actually “pop-out” the nose rocker; this means that the force of the stiff planks glued to the frame could force the nose rocker right out of the board, and render the board useless for surfing,
Installing the Centerpiece I used cloths pins to secure the spar, or spine of the board. The spar is attached to the wood strips attached to the table that allow the spar to be suspended so I can build the frame before the decks. Before I could move on I needed to make sure the spar was in the center of the table, square, and level.
Starting the Ribs After the spar is secure I then placed each rib in its corresponding slot. Once they are all in place I then have to go to each rib and attach two support strips on either end and make sure that they are keeping the rib square and level. This is important because if the ribs are uneven then the deck will be warped and there fore the entire board.
Completed Frame Finally all the ribs are secure, square, and level! After I place a bead of glue in each joint where the rib and the spar intersect, I can cut and install the rail strips.
Rail Strips On the left you can see the first Rail strip being installed. I secured it to the rib ends with pallet wrap. You can find that at any hardware, and is essentially just shrink wrap. Since ply wood only comes in 8 foot sheets I had to measure and cut four strips to make the full length of the board. On the right you can see both sides of the board fitted with rail strips.
Measuring the Deck Since the cedar strips don’t come long enough to cover the entire board, I had to measure and lay them in sections similar to paneling a floor. Each strip was not glued individually but both parts were glued on as one strip. The break, or line where the two parts of the one strip meet can cause one weak spot on the board if they are all in the same place. Because of this I had to off set each break and glue the ends together over a rib, so the board would be less likely to warp and crack.
Laying the Deck With the frame and rail strips secure, and the deck planks measured I can start the deck! The center strip is critical; it marks the center and gives me a straight line of sight down the center. If this is off set it could off set my line of sight and design of the board. The strips are glued and lashed together with the same shrink wrap I used to secure the rail strips and are left to dry for about 2-3 hours.
