Catch the perfect wave with this classic board design.
Overall dimensions: 7 1⁄2"h × 10 3⁄4"d × 44"l
This edge-joined “half” surfboard shelf features colorful laminations aimed to grab the attention of surfers and non-surfers alike. Whether it’s hung in a shore home’s main living area or a kid’s room, you’ll like the clean-cut way the shelf seems to float on the wall, thanks to a pair of hidden steel posts that fasten to the studs. And while decorative in nature, the fin also serves to keep the shelf at a right angle to the wall surface.
Techniques include safely cutting thin strips, edge-joining the board in sections, routing the recesses for the hidden hardware and fin, and drilling straight, deep holes for the support posts. Surf’s up, so let’s head to the shop.
Note: In order to accommodate the special hardware used to support the shelf (see the Convenience-Plus Buying Guide) and to mimic a more realistic surfboard thickness, I went with surfaced 6/4 (15⁄16") maple and planed and sanded the board lamination to 1 1⁄4" thick. If the glued-up blank thickness is off by 1⁄16" or so, it really won’t matter.
tiger maple shown, achieve final thickness by running the panel through a drum sander to avoid gouging.
Build the board and fin blanks
1. Choose three contrasting species of wood for your surfboard design. I started with 6/4 figured maple, 4/4 wenge, and 4/4 bloodwood. (See Figure 1.) Mill the stock for the wide strips (A) and medium strip (B) to the thicknesses in the Cut List, joint the edges, and then crosscut all of the boards, including the stock, for thin strips (C, E), to 48" long. To rip strips that won’t require additional jointing before gluing up, install a sharp, top-quality combination blade. (I used a 40-tooth Forrest 10" full-kerf Woodworker II blade.)
2. Adjust your fence and rip the wide strips (A) to width. Adjust the fence and rip the medium strip (B) to 15⁄16".
3. To make the three thin strips (C), work with boards about 4" wide. Joint the edges. Adjust the fence for a 5⁄16" wide cut and raise the blade 13⁄8" above the table. Now, with a board on edge, make the resawing cuts, as shown in Photo A. Do the same for the board in the contrasting wood (bloodwood).
4. Rip the strips to 15⁄16" wide, as shown in Photo B. Plane them to 1⁄4" thick. Because you’ll need three thin strips for the surfboard shelf, set the extra (bloodwood) strip aside for making the fin later.
5. Glue up the surfboard blank in sections for better control. I first glued up the (B) and two (C) parts for the center section, using scrap strips to serve as clamping cauls to the outer 1⁄4" strips to press them firmly and fully along the piece in the middle. I similarly glued up the section containing an (A) part and a thin (C) strip for another. Wipe up any squeeze-out with rags moistened in clean water. Let the glue dry. Now, glue and clamp all three sections, as shown in Photo C.
6. After the glue dries, remove the clamps and clean up the joints with a scraper and sandpaper. Run the panel through the planer to achieve the final thickness of 1 1⁄4".
7. From 3⁄4"-thick stock, rip a 1 1⁄4"-wide strip for the fin blank. Retrieve the extra 1⁄4"-thick strip in a contrasting wood that you cut earlier, and rip it to 3⁄4" wide. Crosscut three 1 1⁄4"-wide pieces (D) and two contrasting 1⁄4"-thick (F) pieces to 7 1⁄2" long. Edge-join the strips in sections and glue up the sections to create the fin blank shown in Figure 1. Crosscut one end square. Sand to 180 grit.
Prep the blanks
1. Lay out the surfboard shelf (A/B/C) on one blank face, as shown in Figure 2 and the back edge. Consider where you want to locate the shelf on a selected wall, and lay out the mounting plate and post hole locations for the hidden hardware (see Figure 1). Plan on 32" between the holes to attach the hardware if you have standard 16" on-center wall stud spacing. Center a mounting plate across the back edge of the shelf at one of your chosen locations, and scribe around it. Repeat for the second plate location. Extend the centerlines for the post holes 3" across the face of the blank. Locate the 4 1⁄4"-long edge mortise for the fin (D/E).
2. Clamp the surfboard blank in a bench vise. Install a 1⁄4" straight bit in a handheld router, and adjust the cutting depth to match the thickness of the metal mounting plate. Next, equip the router with an edge guide, and adjust it for the first pass for the plate mortises. Clamp a pair of L-shaped stopblocks on the blank edge so the bit does not cut beyond the mortise layout. Now, rout the first mounting plate mortise, as shown in Photo D. Adjust the guide to complete the mortise. Square the corners with a chisel, and repeat for the second mortise. Test-fit the plates.
3. Similar to Step 3, set up your stops, adjust the router edge guide, and rout the edge mortise. Adhere a sacrificial router base support to the edge of the blank with double-faced tape to eliminate tear-out. Adjust the bit depth in increments until the rabbet is cut to width and depth. (The bit depth should not exceed the thickness of the fin blank.) Chisel the corners square, and test-fit the fin blank.
4. At the drill press, drill countersunk clearance holes for #8 × 11⁄2" screws 5⁄16" in from the top end of the fin (D) blank. Clamp the fin blank snugly in place, and, using a portable drill, drill pilot holes in the surfboard shelf blank.
5. Make the L-shaped guide block in Figure 3. Begin by cutting the two block parts to size. (Consider using a cutoff from the bandsawn surfboard as the main guide block.) At the drill press, locate and drill the centered 7⁄16" vertical hole through the 1 1⁄4 × 1 3⁄4 × 3 1⁄2" piece. Attach the 3⁄4"-thick block, and strike a centerline on the exposed face of the block.
6. Clamp the guide block to the edge of the surfboard shelf blank, aligning the board and block centerlines for the first hole. Using a portable drill and a 7⁄16"-diameter × 10"-long bit, bore the holes in the blank to about 3" deep, as shown in Photo E. Remove the block, and use the bored hole to continue drilling to the recommended depth (5 1⁄4"). Temporarily screw the post to the plate with the coupling screw, and test-fit the hardware in the hole to see if the plate seats in the mortise. Repeat for the other post hole.
Cut the board and fin to final shape
1. Lay out the fin, as shown in Figure 2, or spray-adhere the pattern on the fin blank (D/E). Note that the curved edges begin 5⁄8" from the top (crosscut) end.
2. As shown in Photo F, bandsaw the surfboard shelf (A/B/C) to shape, cutting just outside the lines. (I used a 1⁄2" blade with four teeth per inch). Cut the fin (D/E) to shape.
3. As shown in Photo G, use a disc sander to sand the convex bandsawn edges of the surfboard shelf (A/B/C) and fin (D/E). Use an oscillating spindle sander to sand the concave curve of the fin. In each case, sand to the cutlines.
4. Cut 3⁄4 × 1 1⁄4" sacrificial scrap strips, and adhere them to the surfboard shelf’s back edge with double-faced tape to prevent tear-out. Install a 1⁄2" round-over bit in your table-mounted router, and rout both outside corners of the shelf (A/B/C), as shown in Photo H and where shown in the Hidden Shelf Support Detail in Figure 1. Do not round over the back edge.
5 Switch to a 1⁄4" round-over bit, and rout only the outside edges of the fin (D/E) that will be visible after assembly. Stop routing just below the 5⁄8" portion of the top end that fits in the rabbet.
Beginning at one end, feed the surfboard shelf against the bit’s cutters and bearing, terminating the cut at the sacrificial strip.
Cut the board and fin to final shape
1. Lay out the fin, as shown in Figure 2, or spray-adhere the pattern on the fin blank (D/E). Note that the curved edges begin 5⁄8" from the top (crosscut) end.
2. As shown in Photo F, bandsaw the surfboard shelf (A/B/C) to shape, cutting just outside the lines. (I used a 1⁄2" blade with four teeth per inch). Cut the fin (D/E) to shape.
3. As shown in Photo G, use a disc sander to sand the convex bandsawn edges of the surfboard shelf (A/B/C) and fin (D/E). Use an oscillating spindle sander to sand the concave curve of the fin. In each case, sand to the cutlines.
4. Cut 3⁄4 × 1 1⁄4" sacrificial scrap strips, and adhere them to the surfboard shelf’s back edge with double-faced tape to prevent tear-out. Install a 1⁄2" round-over bit in your table-mounted router, and rout both outside corners of the shelf (A/B/C), as shown in Photo H and where shown in the Hidden Shelf Support Detail in Figure 1. Do not round over the back edge.
5. Switch to a 1⁄4" round-over bit, and rout only the outside edges of the fin (D/E) that will be visible after assembly. Stop routing just below the 5⁄8" portion of the top end that fits in the rabbet.
Finish the shelf and hang it
1. Finish-sand the surfboard and fin through 320 grit. Apply several coats of finish, sanding between coats. (I padded on three coats of General Finishes Polyacrylic Water-Based Topcoat, sanding with 400 grit between coats.)
2. Screw the fin (D/E) to the surfboard shelf (A/B/C).
3. Strike light, erasable pencil vertical lines at the centers of the selected studs at the desired shelf height. Center and install the hardware to the wall studs using #8 × 3"-long screws (see Figure 1). Screw the support posts to the hardware plates with the coupling screws, and fit the shelf onto the posts.
