Gear

This Surfboard Shaper Makes Truly Gorgeous Wooden Boards

Hang for ten inside the woodshop of San Francisco shaper Danny Hess.
  • Image may contain Wood Human Person Plywood Flooring Clothing Apparel Interior Design Indoors and Hardwood
  • Image may contain Door
  • This image may contain Human Person Wood Clothing Apparel Musical Instrument Guitar Leisure Activities and Musician
1 / 8
Carve: Hess’ laminated wood frames start off pretty stiff—great for an airplane wing but not so much for surfing, where maneuverability is key. He uses a router to hollow out the rail band and promote flex at certain points on the board. Near the back, he carves even more from the frame to add the springiness a rider will need to pop out of a tight turn on a fast-moving wave. This process, Hess says, “gets flex into the board, removes weight, and really brings it to life.” | Prop: In every shaping room, you’ll see stands that hold a board at the correct height. Like much of the equipment in Hess’ woodshop, his stands are handmade and decidedly low tech. They’re built from wood so he can screw different pieces into them depending on the needs of his current project. “They get funky and beat up, like a worn-in pair of shoes,” he says.

Just steps away from San Francisco’s Ocean Beach is the studio of surfboard shaper Danny Hess. Along with two furniture designers and a signmaker, Hess converted an old gym into a shared space known simply as the Woodshop. That moniker offers a clue as to what sets Hess’ wave-­riders apart. He crafts them out of wood, giving each board its own look and feel. His output has a light environmental impact too: The sleds are made largely from locally sourced, reclaimed timber, filled with recycled-­content foam, and sealed with bioresins. But Hess didn’t get into this business to save the world. He got into it to make beautiful, distinctive, totally bitchin’ boards.

This article appears in the July issue. Subscribe now.