Handplanes are all over my favorite surf blogs right now, including the Tubes. I’ve been seeing them so often I just couldn’t resist trying to shape one myself. Being a man of many on-going art projects, I had an extra piece of rough cut western red cedar in my bedroom waiting to become a handplane.
A handplane is just like a mini surfboard. Just no fins, right? That’s how I looked at this project. Draw a template like you were making a surfboard for your hand.
I channeled out the bottom to make up for the lack of fins, and finished the handplane by applying wood stain and tung oil. We’re calling this model the “Lonely Clam.”
Now I can’t say exactly what a “good” handplane feels like or how it should handle in the water, but I got in a sunset body surf session with the Lonely Clam yesterday and had a blast. Without question, you’re gonna enjoy body surfing a lot more with a hand plane.
0 Responses to “Lonely Clam, A Custom Red Cedar Handplane”