Recycled Art

Making something out of nothing. This wood sculpture was a product of some scrap pieces of pine wood left over from cutting the outline for a couple hand planes. Once the outline is cut many people would think just to throw away the rest. I first see opportunity to try and make something unique. It is like a form of recycling. Instead of just putting this wood into the trash it can be recycled into a nice piece of art.

New Hand Plane

Still smelling like resin, I just finished this hand plane for the Goozer. This one was constructed just like the previous ones. Made of pine with a single coat of polyester resin. There are a couple new modifications from the previous hand planes. I have added a small piece of neoprene to the nylon strap and beveled the back edge of the diamond tail for added comfort on your hand and forearm. This is the design I rode all winter. With the narrow point of the diamond tail it seems to work well in the barrel and its overall size (15"x7.5") makes it an easy entry into waves.

-Side view: showing the slight rocker in the nose making an easy entry for water to flow.
- Back view: shows the spooned out deck and channels on the bottom for extra hold.
-Bottom view:
-Top view:

Newer Explorations

Here are a couple of new hand planes custom made for the guys at Hinano. The rep for this Tahitian brand was in Harbour Surfboards one day and some how the conversation of bodysurfing came up. I was trying to tell him how much a difference having a flat surface area under your leading hand can create so much more glide and lift while you are bodysurfing. So I showed him my homemade hand plane that was constructed from left over plywood in the garage and a nylon strap cut from my surfboard tie downs. He was curious enough to give me the opportunity to make him a couple.

This time I tried to use proper materials. These are both shaped out of pine and sealed with polyester resin. It has a nylon strap fastened with a brass washer and screw. The brass is used to resist rusting and rotting over time. As you can see the bottom has a double concave that releases to a V at the tail with channels running next to the rails for the back 2/3 of the hand plane. My idea was to try and create a little lift and have the rail hold as much as possible for the steep sections of a wave. I also spooned out the deck to make a nice comfortable area for your arm to rest.

Hope the guys at Hinano enjoy these as much as I did making them and I am looking forward to hear some feedback on how they work...