Setting Up

The kit arrived in May and I spent the first couple of days taking everything out and putting everything back. I have a small collection of tools and plan on begging/borrowing/stealing whatever I need to finish the board. Luckily, I have some handy friends and family. I also built a simple lamination table that will eventually serve as my rocker table. Here's how the set up went.

The kit is beautiful. The frames are CNC cut and all you have to do is pop them out of the frame. The planks are book matched by the people at Grain Surfboards and marked for interior or exterior. All of the consumable materials needed to build the board are in the kit, which makes it easy for a first timer like me. The guide is worth the price of the kit itself. It is extremely detailed with great photos and diagrams and loaded with helpful tips.

To get an idea of the magnitude of the project, I laid out the frame and planks on the lamination table. Then, I read the first few chapters of the guide to get an idea how it would shape up. I also studied several other blogs of Grain builders such as Alaia DIY, The Leucadia Project, andThe Summer of Chris.