Can i cut a curve with an alaskan mill.

[splinters]

Hi all.

 

iv decided yo have a go at caving myself a surfboard for a bit of fun.

now the only problem i can see myself having is creating the curve at the front end.

if i use a curved log like when making a cruk do you thinki i could create a flat board about 7 ft long with a curve at one end lifting the nose up about 3" at one end so the curve covered about 18" of the 7ft

or should i just cut 5.5ft with the mill and shape the front end with a chainsaw.

i want the grain to follow the curve so when i nose plant it ( which i will) ,it doesnt snap.

 

oh and any body think of a good easy to get hold of wood to do it out of. i have some very dry and very thick grand fir i was thinking about but boyancy i going to be important me thinks.

 

cheers tom

[se7enthdevil]

not sure about the milling side but i would have thought poplar, tuliptree, lime or willow would be good for a surfboard.

[agg221]

I think you could do it, but I don't think it would be worth it. You would need a jig that followed the right profile and then bang wedges in hard at the back end as you go, to open up the cut so that it will follow the curve. You would also probably not dare go too close to the line so would end up with carving off to do anyway.

 

I think I would cut the sides off first, then mill the bottom face right through, then flip it over and mill the top face up to where you want the curve to start and withdraw the mill. You could then mark up on the sides the profile you want to follow, run a series of vertical cuts down every couple of inches and use a mallet and a big chisel to split out the lumps, then smooth off. Actually, I would do it with an adze, but that relies on having one and being reasonably familiar with it.

 

With regard to timber, I would use poplar as it is light and surprisingly strong with long grain fibres (it is also cheap and readily available!) I wouldn't use lime or grand fir as they are short grain and rather brittle.

 

Alec

[splinters]

hadnt thought of poplar i have one almost big enough laying at my shed.

i think your right egg it prob makes more sence to shape the curve by hand. ill rough it out with my saw and then shape it with my angle grinder sander.

 

i have several boards to copy the profile from.

[gobbypunk]

Nice porject would like to see some picks good luck

Cheers Mark

[Daniël Bos]

Just cut the whole thing freehand, I presume you'll need to do a fair bit of finishing anyway to shape it? It's not that hard to cut straight over long lengths if you use a big bar and not that hard to cut curves either.

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/milling-forum/69350-freehand-milling.html

[flames]

-you could use your alaskan to make the 1st cut, then use a mini-mill setup to cut the side profile with a bit of a guide curve. You could then cut the top profile in a similar method using the off as a flat surface to run on (and cut through).

 

Using milling in this way would save a lot of time in carving I would have thought.

[Rob D]

-you could use your alaskan to make the 1st cut, then use a mini-mill setup to cut the side profile with a bit of a guide curve. You could then cut the top profile in a similar method using the off as a flat surface to run on (and cut through).

 

Using milling in this way would save a lot of time in carving I would have thought.

 

 

Yep good idea - use the mini mill to follow a line and you should be able to cut a curve - post your pics up - it's something I've always wanted to try and make and got lots of poplar in the yard...

 

 

[saltycdog]

the best timber for the job is palowina!!,if you can get it or cedar.ideally make a template, cut the slab with the alaskan then shape up with the chainsaw,here`s a link to some of the boards that i machined up the timber for.!!!

- Driftwood Surfboards

[Blaisey]

I finally got round to making one last week. I cut a 5" slab of Sycamore drew round one of my boards as a guide. I wasn't worried about tail rocker so I cut from the tail 2 thirds of the way towards the nose with the Alaskan until where I wanted to start the nose rocker. Then used the minimill to cut out the shape and to cut the curve of the nose rocker. it wasn't perfect but with a lot of planing and sanding I think it turned out ok. The last pic is of my boy standing on it on my newly topiaries Yew hedge I hope this makes sense? I wish I had taken more pics of the process! Enjoy