Richard Harvey's Balas gun

Local Gold Coast shaper and artist Richard Harvey has set out on a new project with a 9ft 6" balsa gun. Here are a few shots he sent me and some words from his blog. www.harveysurf.blogspot.com

"Just started a 9'6" cedar and balsa gun. 
The profiles of the centre section have been cut and are ready for glueing (today's project).
The cedar and glass fin has been shaped, the abalone and cedar logo is the next part of the project."

"The centre section has been glued together and will be ready for the outer rail section to be added in the next stage. "

"The last section of the rails have been glued on and the blank is starting to look like a surfboard rather than a table top.

Apart from my trusty Makita planer of 30 years finally deciding it had enough, the rough shaping went as planned. The convex under the nose has been shaped along with a soft vee in the tail creating a nice high-low rail combination.

Some nice subtle grain and character marks are being revealed as the planer gets deeper into the timber. The final shaping will be next week and then a couple of finishing touches will be added. 

The weight is coming down and I will give it a final weigh-in before glassing."