Does anybody out there make surfboards as a hobby? Is it a good hobby to have?

Answer 1

You can still find blanks around.

The whole process can be expensive.. blanks are still less than a hundred, but buying all the basic supplies you would need adds up.

Here's a list of supplies you might want to have:
-Rough, medium and fine grit sandpaper
-24" 2x4 to make a large sanding block to use in place of a power planer
-a hand sized sanding block
-sanding screen
-a hand plane to skin the blank
-a small, high quality plane for the stringer
-some sort of a shaping stand
-respirator/face mask
-shop vac to clean up the mess
-some sort of shop light/desk lamp that you can position to get some lighting in the area that will help you see the shadows on the board as you shape it.

If you want to glass it yourself, that get messy and costs more. Otherwise you just pay for someone else to do it. But if you wanted to do it yourself..

-Mixing buckets.
-Something to mix your resin with (paint stirring stick or whatever).
-Squeegee.
-Scissors to cut your glass fabric

If you only want to do a couple boards, you might want to find a place that rents supplies or somewhere that lets you use their shaping room by the hour. If you live in Southern California, look up http://www.ghostshaper.com/

If you want to do lots and lots of boards, invest in some nicer supplies so you don't have to keep buying new things. Shape in a sealed off portion of your garage, an outdoor shed, or somewhere else where you can make a mess. Have fun.

I listed some sites to help. There's so many resources out there.

Answer 2

good hobby yes, however now it is very difficult to get blanks.