Foiling and Connecting

Honing in an old Rhino Balsa that we had been sitting on for 15 yrs or so. Working with this blank has been a rewarding experience. The shaping room smells better, it feels good knowing that the shavings and dust falling on the ground will go to good use (compost) and it demands more accurate use of your tools - largely the same tools one would use on a foam blanks. Tools designed, in most cases, for wood in the first place. Most gratifying of all, is that it takes me back to my first wood surfboard lesson in 2010. My dad was working on another Rhino Balsa, of identical construction, and asked me to feel the rails, handed me his sanding block (which he often regarded as his most important tool) and bid me to make changes where I saw fit.

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