With much of the surf world loving the at home projects, DIY stuff and feeling on being part of a process of something greater, it left me wondering. Would any of you be willing to shell out your own hard earned money on being part of the process. If you knew you had a reliable place to go where people possessed real knowledge of board building and the craft that is making a surfboard from start to finish, would you go? If you could at your leisure sign up for hourly lessons or buy a membership to go and shape your own creation whenever you please, would you join. I understand that Grain is doing something of the sort, but I am not focused on wood boards, rather helping people to gain a craft they could do on their own. This is only the tip of the iceberg, but I wanted to get a feel for if this type of environment would thrive or just die out like webbed gloves.
Yes, pretty much exactly what they are doing. Also in San Diego and a few other places. but wanted to see if there is interest in this area. I also have a couple of ideas I would like to incorporate into the business that I feel they are not capitalizing on. But, yes in a nutshell just like them. I was pretty bummed when I found them and realized my idea was now even further from original than I had expected, but oh well. I still would like to see what kind of interest there is here and make a push if possible. I already have commercial space I can use that has all of the needs of a shaper including air, ventilation, tools, cmc machines, fiberglass etc. Problem is that it is 20 minutes from the beach. but would people still be willing?
I may receive some hate for this...but I'd be totally interested in someone helping me refine my aku files...if that is part of your angle then I would be interested in signing up and getting educated... I always enjoy watching shapers at their craft...I'm a backyarder with some limited skill...and always learn something when I'm in a bay. But I would pay to have someone give me some legitimate tips on how to improve my files...haven't met anyone who has some skill on that type of software. Most who do...don't have enough time to actually teach due to the fact that they'll likely work themselves out of a job.
If you have a private maritime academy for high school kids in your area, you may be able to get paid to teach a shaping/glassing class on the regs.
Not sure where you are (Mass?), but I would be interested in this. Would like to shape my own board but it's a true pain in the ass here in NYC. I'm familiar enough with resin fumes, foam-dust, and the demands of fabrication to know that I should never try this in my apartment/alley. If there was a place I could go for a couple hours a weekend or something... where everything would be set up, I would definitely do it (eventually). I think it's tough to make it a sustainable business. If you plan on using a pre-existing setup that generates money for you anyway, then you can't lose. If you are planning on tooling up a shaping area just for this, well that's going to be tough. Your best bet in that case might be associating some local independent tech/craft school. In the link that Gaffer posted above, it's $600 for a private 4-6 hour shaping lesson, and if you want, $600 for a glassing lesson. If it ends up costing $1200 to make the board, I wouldn't do it. For me, part of the satisfaction of ding repair/anything DIY is that I am using my own mind and labor to save money, so if the end product ended up being $1200+, I would definitely not go that route. That's just my perspective though, if you're stoked on this don't be discouraged by me. Teaching people how to make things is vital to a meaningful existence, and it's increasingly rare in this world, so more power to you Mr. Gusher Blunt.
Thanks for any feedback, guys. Yes, I'm up in Ma, but right at the NH Ma border where we could hopefully draw in people from ma/nh and southern maine. I would not limit it to just surfboards, but to most water riding craft and possibly most other board sports. Also would kind of like to allow it to be used for a community shop where other could bring other home projects and things they just cannot handle at home or have the tools for. My goal would be to ultimately sell the whole experience of building a board for around the $600 mark. But to also just allow people to buy shop time and create whatever they like with some guidance of a resident expert at the shop. Thanks for any feedback, good, bad or indifferent. More comments welcome
I am in your area. My view is that given this is no more than a fad for most, your area will not support it. Most "surfers" here are no more than "floaters". They cannot surf and therefore will not build their own board. They do not even know what to look for when buying one, never mind building one (they might get dirty....). There would be a small number that would have an interest, but given the frugality of the surfing population, price would determine attendance. Not much different that Cosmo Kramer wanting to start his "make your own" pizza place...... just opinion.
