Text by Gary Young
veneer/epoxy form laminated around Clark Foam. The center board, of
teak and mahogany with a zebrawood Lightning Bolt, was over a Randy
Rarick shape. I made several trips to the North Shore to get blanks
from shapers like Randy, Bill Barnfield, Reno Abellira and others.
Early Wooden Boards(TM) had laminated and shaped solid wood rails. By
this stage I had developed my vacuum bagging techniques to wrap the
rails with veneer, sand a bevel, then laminate the second side,
overlapping at the rails. Labor intensive, but lighter and not so hard
on the shins if you were banged by the board.
Probably one of the most beautiful multi-wood boards I have ever
built, this was a 6'10" Clark Foam core, probably shaped by Steve
Boehne. Erik Aeder took this tidepool shot on the North Shore circa
1978.
From the rails inward, the woods go: teak, bacot , zebrawood, padouk
(from the Adaman Islands, for you tsunami buffs) and English brown oak.
Bookmatching this many veneers took time to find enough for both
sides, select order and to laminate. A s each veneer was 1/42nd of an
inch thick, sanding was always the high anxiety part of the process.
The best part of any wood board building is when the first coat of
epoxy is applied, giving the wood grains depth and bringing out the
contrasts and color intensities.
