I love bodysurfing! I have seen these Handplanes around for sale ranging from $30-200. I'm always looking for a new project to work on, so I figured I would make my own.

Step 1: Where to Start

I did some online research, and decided on a general shape I wanted to use. I like the fish tail design. You can pretty much make a handplane out of anything if you're creative, I used an old skate deck I had lying around.

Step 2: Draw Your Design

I thought about the shape for a while. Tracing the board outline and drawing it out with a paper grocery bag helped a lot. Since the skateboard had a lot of holes in it, I worked around them so I would only have to fill in 2 holes.

Step 3: Shaping

Instead of just buying a handplane, I actually went and bought a 5 inch orbital sander. I will definitely use it for future projects, though. I really took my time to shape the nose, rounding it out and turning it up so it could glide through the water. It took 2 days of sanding to get it where I wanted it. Started with 80 grit sandpaper for the shaping.

I gave the underside some concave and smoothed out the area where my arm will be resting.

Finally finished with 220 grit sandpaper for a nice, smooth finish.

Step 4: Stain

After I was happy with the shape I taped off a little design and stained the rest. Amazing how the stain really makes the natural wood grain pop.

Step 5: Paint and Seal

I gave it a little more flare by painting the tail this beautiful turquoise.

Finished with about 7 coats of polyurethane so it's waterproof and ready for the waves!

Step 6: Make Handle

I made the handle out of random things I already had: para cord rope, webbed roof rack lines, and a foam exercise handle. I even made a velcro safety leash. Some people just drill out a hole to grab onto, but I think the handle offers more control.
I left two holes from the skate deck and tied simple knots to hold it in place tightly.