The first step in board building is the idea. You imagine what you want the board to feel like and you begin the design phase.

This is a an example of an outline template. it has some important measurements that help us draw out our plan shape. We also want to consider how thick we want the board to be and what type of rocker we want.

We don’t have to have every design element mapped out at this point, but a few measurements will better help us select the right blank to use.

At this point we might make a new template if we’re coming up with a new design.

Shapers use templates the way a sewer uses patterns. template are used to draw the curves of the boards outline.

once you’ve created a template, you can use it over and over or combine it with other templates for something different.

side note: making templates is one of my favorite things to do, so if you want something fresh, hit me up.