Poor Mans Tools

As many of you know, surfboard shapers are known for being cheap. (Well, at least for trying to find cheaper ways to achieve the same result.)

For example, pre-built shaping and glassing stands are available for around $300+, while most of us prefer to drill together a couple of 2x4s and place them in 5gal buckets with some sand or cement to keep them in place for about 15 bucks.

Jeff, Ed, Billy, Matt E, I'm sure you guys have some "MacGyver" type tools around. Salty if you don't yet, you soon will.

Here are a couple of mine.

Anyone else, feel free to post up your pics as well. Enjoy, mock, laugh, and feel free to share.

Poor man's surfboard caliper.
Buy a cheap plastic slide-able caliper, cut some pieces of leftover PVC stringer material and superglue. 2bucks. (Compare at $82)



Poor man's Shaping Square:
Get piece of clear plastic from local plastics supplier. Use a carpenter's square to mark appropriately. 3bucks (Compare at $32)

I made my calipers too. Your calipers do look nicer than mine. I almost pulled the trigger on the shapers square though.

My Calipers



A bevel tool made scrap 2x4 with cut with a 20 deg angle and two back to back 5 inch surf form blades



Poor man's vacuum bag


My Shaping Stands





My heated shaping room Plastic hung over the garage door rails




Shaping day dust control


Dual pin line cutting razor blades




I cheated a little. I bought a circle drawing tool and turned it in to an edge tool. Can replace the pencil with an Exacto knife for cut lapping.

Too cute...I don't have many hand made tools, except the shaping stands. James and I started shaping when he was just 8. What I wanted more than anything was something else than James and I could share - father and son stuff. At the time, James was too short to reach the top rail of a board in a stand so we used sawhorses and just ran the dragon skin vertically. That's our hand made tools - shaping stands for father and son

sweet, I love this thread!

Hey Petr when does your season begin? A few more months?

Here's another macgyver'd set up -
jerry-rigged clamps.

I'm working on a noserider model and found that my 3 slider clamps were not sufficient to keep the to halves tight during the epoxy glue up. so pulled these ratchet clamps out of the back of my suv and used a couple of pieces of scrap wood to leverage against the foam.

That blank is huge. Love the tie downs.

I have shop help. The weather has turned yuckky again, so I had to quickly bring everything in out of the wind and rain. This is Woofie helping me arrange my plastic sheeting so that it is more evenly spread throughout the shop rather than neatly folded and put away.