I made five boards. This was like 10-12 years ago. My step dad always shaped his own boards as I was growing up and he gave me all of his old tools to use. He gave me a couple tips but that was about it.
I really enjoyed shaping. Glassing was less fun. Sanding, ugh. The first board I made was a 6-0 that I shaped out of a broken longboard. It was ugly but not completely useless in small waves. I think I botched the fin placement somehow and the fusion boxes ended up set inwards from the rail further than I'd intended (I flipped the jig or something?). So, yeah, not the best board I've ridden but still pretty rad to ride something I'd shaped.
The 2nd board I made, a round pin quad, was really fun. I rode it a lot and I must have surfed it okay because a few friends pestered me to make them boards after that. I said, what the hell dudes, I'm not a shaper. But I did shape one for my best bud and he loved it. I think the template was something off of an early 2000's JS but I widened the nose a bit. My friend surfed it all winter and then took it to indo and busted it at lakey peak. He still talks about that board sometimes but I think he romanticizes it as is his tendency to do about anything related to surfing.
The 4th and 5th boards came out looking better than the previous ones but they didn't surf very well and I couldn't figure out why. 4 was a basic bitch squash tail thruster and I think I'd thinned it out too much. 5 was a longer swallow tail and it was so stiff. had a few fun sessions in tubing waves but never could get it to turn like I wanted. I don't think I gave much though to fins. I probably had one or two sets and no clue what size or template they were.
After building those boards I definitely had a new appreciation for how much skill and work goes into a well constructed surfboard. Doing the math on what it cost me in materials and how many hours of work was involved to build a board made a custom seem like a total bargain. Still, there is definitely something special about riding waves on something you built with your own hands and I would like to make a few more at some point.
I definitely recommend anyone who has the inclination to try shaping to do so.
