By creating a “magic” template, a shaper potentially has a blueprint for thousands of boards. A shaping template acts as a blueprint, setting the foundation for how each finished board will interact with the waves it will ride. Jeff starts with a handsaw, continues on to the planer, then the sure form, the hand plane, different grits of sandpaper, and finally a drywall screen for a board’s most nuanced features.Įxcept for the shaping tools, templates are the most important tool of the shaping trade. First of all, efficiency includes using the shaping tools in sequence. Jeff Timpone still uses the basic techniques he learned from Mike O’Day in the early 1970’s.