I know.........you are all wondering why there are no similar photos of me on this blog.
One of my favorite surf Bro's at home in Bari Itay with agave he harversted there, after being infected by the Agave bug here in SC during the summer.
Milling Jig.
After cutting the agave to length, I clamp it into a simple jig and follow the top of the jig with a chain saw to cut level both sides. The deck and bottom sides are against the jig. A new, sharp chain makes a HUGE difference.
After the agave is milled to this state, I band saw off the bark on the deck and bottom sides. I then run the blank sections through a thickness planer to obtain smooth, even-width sections for glue-up.
Out of 13 trunks, only one had to be wasted because of pithy wood. The stack next to the balsa contains mostly 4" + wide sections, ranging from 7'-9'. The stack next to the wall averages 3" wide and 7' long. The entire batch yielded, firm, light, colorful wood. STOKED!
This agave was collected over the past year from several sources and locations around San Diego County. It grows on public and private property. It is not hard to find (not always so easy to harvest) if you know where to look and if you have sources that locate it for you or turn you on to it. Special thanks to Surfer Brett Wellington and Jerry McCann for some of the best stuff this year.
Last year's 6'3" fish. This years Monster Agave.
These Agave stalks range from 9' to 11'. The bases range from 10" to 14".
Terry Martin's new SUP. 8'2" x 30" x 4-7/8". L-R; Chuck Bassett, Terry Martin, Mickey Munoz, John Cherry.
We installed a LokBox quad set-up plus a center fin box in order to ride the board with different fin configurations.
The Board has a "Simmons"esque template, an S deck and an 18" tailblock. It still maintains a beautiful curved rail line.
I designed a new set of fin templates for Terry's board. I then made base molds so my fins could be used in the LokBox bases. Lead s/f fins are canted 5 degrees. Trailing d/f fins are canted 2-1/2 degrees. Woods; Purpleheart and Brazilian walnut.
Chuck and Mickey wasted no time getting the board to Dogpatch for a test drive. Terry will have plenty of test pilots besides Chuck and Mickey for his new design to help work out the bugs on the next one, including Tyler Warren, Chuck Patterson, Sparky (owner of Rainbow Sandals) and a few other South Orange County SUP experts.
These new JC templates are for a Terry Martin 8'2" x 30" x 4-1/2", P.U. foam stand-up-paddle surfboard. Terry's SUP shape is based on the original Simmons boards. The experimental board is fitted with a LokBox quad system........and a center fin box to allow for riding various quad setups or as a single flex fin. The SUP will be finished tomorrow (12/1). I will post some board photos when she's ready. 
Owner Chris Young from Huntington Beach sent me a photo of his new fin, installed in his Jim "The Genius" Phillips' custom longboard. I am always stoked when one of my fins gets to adorn one of Jim's creations. CHINGOW!!! what a pair these two made. Thanks Chris!
Richard Kenvin on the 9-0 Simmons. Big Wednesday, LaJolla, Dec. '05
9-0 Simmons. Big right. Big Wednesday. LaJolla, Dec. '05
10-0 Bob Simmons "Spoon" reproduction by T. Martin and John Cherry. Bottom: 7' of center concave out the back. Twin Keels. Finished weight: 32 lbs.
10-0 Simmons. Justin Phillips. Cardiff reef, Nov. '08
9-6 balsawood longboard and 9-0 Bob Simmons reproduction balsawood board at the Surfing Heritage Foundation in San Clemente, California.
This Center box "D" fin is for Christopher Young of Huntington Beach. It will be going in a Jim Phillips Blasawood Longboard. 100% hand made.
Chris Young's "D" template fin will have a 1/2" bead and be laid up for a center box. 
"D" template. This fin will be a glass-on with a 5/8" glass bead. It is for a future balsa board.
This fin will be a framed art piece for my friend and guitar teacher, Jerry McCann.
Tail
Logo
this incredible deck was done for me by my good friend, Ric Allison of Maker.
Sacred Craft exhibition was even better than last year! The atmosphere in general was much more upbeat. The cloud of financial doom and gloom seems to be fading.........Thank God!
Artist Ric Allison of Maker, with whom Terry Martin and I collaborated on the 2 art boards in this post, designed and produced new logos for me...........done in exotic woods inlay.
L-R, Terry Martin, Ric Allison, John Cherry. 9-0 chambered balsa Simmons, 9-6 Balsa longboard with exotic wood marquetry. Ready to be glassed.
Art boards : 30-35 lb. weight range. TOTALLY RIDEABLE!
Finz.
Wooden Jellies.
Francesco "Grasshopper" Di Tommaso from Bari Italy, Surfing buddy, brother from another mother, riding his favorite california board, a 9-2, 2+1, Cherry surfboards performance longboard at Egor's. August '09.
I FINALLY scored a load of superb balsa this summer from Tropical Exotic Hardwoods of Latin America, located in Carlsbad. The sticks with the gold-painted ends are feather light, the likes of which I thought I would never see again. The rest is just..........more superb, light wood.
I shaped my 1st alaia. It is out of Parota (central Mexico). The wood is beautiful, very light and has very nice rigid-flex properties. 
Frank Cherry's 7-0
Keith Campbell's (Georgia) 6-6
Francesco and I shaped a reproduction of my 1962 Hobie shop model for Francesco.
This one was for Bobby "Diamond" Donnelly. The "anit-sweeper" machine.
Why not?? 
For my good friend and fellow fin craftsman, Danny Partch, Big Island, HI.
For Kevin Ho, Oahu, HI. 8.75 Tyler Surfboards "Zeke" template (with permission).
UWL Surfboards in France is making a lot of these boards. This is the 4th batch of exotic wood keels for my friend, Renaud Cardinal of UWL.
For my surf finatic, good friend, Holly Yang. Flame maple over cedar over Peruvian walnut.
