Flat Day Fun

Seems pretty typical that on the rare occasions where Wales enjoys some nice weather the sea decides to go flat. While I'm certainly not complaining about seeing the sun for a few weeks already this year it would still be nice to mix some nice weather with some nice waves so after a nice little surf in the last of the weekend swell down Llangennith on Monday, today I've been cruising the Gower coastline searching out new beaches!

The Coffee Table Mini Sim

The Coffee Table was a board that I finished way back in December, though I have been slowly adding coats of oil to her and fine sanding to fill the grain to a silky smooth finish, but haven't had a chance to surf her yet. I didn't want to surf her until I could wear my summer suit and wanted to make sure the conditions were perfect for it. Well the water is now warm enough and with a small but friendly looking swell approaching I thought I'd take some pictures of her looking nice before I send her out.

The ocean going voyages of Mr Jones

With the exception of today we've been going through an impressive spell of flat water and nice weather. Given me plenty of chance to work on some projects (good few of which are irritatingly close to completion) but has also meant no chance of surfing. Luckily I've just purchased a Red Paddle 10 foot inflatable SUP (I'm a lazy guy so couldn't handle the weight and transportation hassle of standard board). While it's a poor substitute to riding some nice waves in the sun it's still a pretty good way of staying in shape while getting to see some more of the coast.

Finned Handplane

Haven't made one of these in a while so I thought I'd have another crack, this time with addition of a little fin to see if this makes much of a difference asides from looking a bit funky.

This particular plane is made from a combination of obeche wood and cedar. The obeche is a fairly hard wood to work with but I do like how smooth and clean it looks when sanded nicely. At any rate, needs a few more coats of oil and hopefully get a chance to have a play with it soon, along with the posh new fins I've just ordered!

Bank holiday fun and games

Been a strange bank holiday weekend, had the rare combination of hot, sunny weather and nice clean waves, if a little on the small side. Also been a good chance to get out in the garden and work on some boards, only problem being I've taken on far too many jobs at the same time, currently got a good half dozen jobs on the go and nothing in any real state to write about.

Recently though the weather has taken a turn for the stormy and miserable so finally gotten round to knocking up a video demonstrating how to strip wood using my wood stripping tool; makes a bit more sense than my poor explanation.

http://seasonalsurfcraft.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/wood-stripping-tool.html