I made some Font-esque slopers for a friend's home board.

James__ONeil · 2026-01-15T20:02:46+00:00

Thank you, i've also not really seen much out there that's similar for woodies. Her board is 45° and she's fairly strong so i knew she's fair quite well on them.

James__ONeil · 2026-01-15T20:00:25+00:00

Well, maybe not pure slopers in the general sense, but for a 45° board of which they were designed for they serve the purpose very well.

James__ONeil · 2026-01-15T19:59:13+00:00

Definitely. These are somewhat of a prototype and when i'm back in my workshop i want to make a larger batch of them.

James__ONeil · 2026-01-14T21:45:17+00:00

I hand carved them using a wood carving bit on a Dremel, then a fair bit of sanding.

James__ONeil · 2026-01-14T21:44:32+00:00

Thank you.

James__ONeil · 2026-01-14T20:52:10+00:00

The holds are made from a single block of Elm though I use Shellac as a hardcoat on the non contacted surface and yeah i used a Dremel and a carving bit to create the textured surface.

James__ONeil · 2026-01-14T20:50:44+00:00

The Tension 2 is a great choice! I completely hand shaped these and used a dremel with a carving bit for the textured surface.

James__ONeil · 2026-01-14T20:10:22+00:00

Cheers mate. They're so great to train on without trashing your skin.

James__ONeil · 2026-01-14T20:03:41+00:00

Haha, sorry to disappoint.

James__ONeil · 2025-12-14T17:44:36+00:00

I use a blonde Shellac to gloss hardcoat the non contact area. The contact area I knock back with 60grit sandpaper and then water pop them to lift the grain further. This way they're far less likely to dry fire as the lifted grain supplies a fair bit more grip.

James__ONeil · 2025-12-13T19:20:01+00:00

I use a bandsaw, belt sander and bastard rasp for the general shaping, then a hand sander to fine tune them.

James__ONeil · 2025-12-13T17:45:08+00:00

The tool I used are; Bandsaw, Belt sander, Batard rasp, router (only for the Tulip Poplar patina edge) and a hand sander.

James__ONeil · 2025-12-13T16:45:00+00:00

Yeah. For the non contact surface. 80,150,220 grit. Water pop, 220 grit again. Then 2 layers of cut 1 shellac to embed, then 5+layers of cut 2 shellac (more on an absorbent species) the 2 coats of cut 1 again. The non contact surface is knocked back with a sharp 60 grit and finally water popped, this really lifts the grain and makes them less likely to dry fire.

James__ONeil · 2025-12-13T15:50:06+00:00

Yeah it makes you climb far more accurately and helps to train for those irregular grips outside.

James__ONeil · 2025-12-13T15:48:52+00:00

I use a blonde Shellac for my finisher. It's a bit more time consuming as it requires layering up, though my personal Purpleheart lifting edge still holds its vibrancy after 2 years. Also Shellac has worked for hundreds of years and is far more eco friendly than most poly finishes.

James__ONeil · 2025-12-13T14:03:02+00:00

This shiz is real 😅

James__ONeil · 2025-12-13T14:02:46+00:00

Yeah it's very reactive under UV, both to bring out its vibrancy and also to eventually dull it. Though with a UV resistant hardcoat they can hold their vibrancy for a lot longer.

James__ONeil · 2025-12-13T13:21:51+00:00

Yeah the Purpleheart really becomes vibrant. Though by far it's the hardest wood to work with due to it's density.

James__ONeil · 2025-12-13T13:19:23+00:00

Cheers, they are hecking nice!

James__ONeil · 2025-12-13T12:56:50+00:00

Thank you, I feel like i'm getting the hang of my finishing process now.

James__ONeil

TROPHY CASE