How to Make a Wooden Surf Handplane from Paulownia

The history of the bodysurfing handplane, what makes a good design, and step-by-step instructions for shaping a Paulownia handplane and fitting the strap from our handplane kit.

Paulownia Timber Supplies Australia. Version 1, October 2026. General information only.

Get the free printable PDF version of this guide

A handplane (or handboard) is a small board worn on one hand while bodysurfing. It lifts your upper body out of the water, so you plane faster, ride further along the wave and get more control than with your hand alone. Handplanes are small, quick to make and need only basic tools, which makes them one of the most popular first woodworking projects for surfers and a favourite in school Design and Technology classes.

Our Paulownia handplane kit includes everything you need apart from tools and finish:

  • A solid, plantation-grown Paulownia handplane blank, 23 x 210 x 350mm, dressed all round

  • Two 32mm strap plugs

  • An adjustable neoprene hand strap

  • A safety wrist leash

Download the kit instructions (PDF) and our free full-size A3 handplane templates (PDF): four outlines (fish, round tail, square tail and grom fish) with the plug positions marked.

A short history of the bodysurfing handplane

People have used small boards to help them bodysurf for about a century. Wooden hand boards were in use in Australia by the 1920s: the Australian National Maritime Museum holds a varnished wooden handboard dated to 1928–29 that measures 242 x 195 x 20mm and weighs about 250g, remarkably close to a modern handplane. Inflatable surf mats became the craze on Australian beaches from the 1930s, and swim fins arrived in the 1940s, changing bodysurfing for good.

Simple hardboard and plywood handboards stayed in use for decades, but the modern handplane boom began around 2010. A new generation of small makers began shaping handplanes from timber, recycled foam and even broken surfboards, adding rocker, concaves and comfortable straps. Australia has been at the centre of this revival.

Well-known Australian handplane makers

Two Australian makers have done more than most to shape the modern wooden handplane:

  • Ecto Handplanes was started by bodysurfer Chris Anderson in Bulli, on the NSW Illawarra coast, growing out of his 2012 University of Wollongong design honours project. Ecto began by upcycling broken surfboards, then moved to plantation-grown Paulownia. Its FLY Fish handplane won a Good Design Award in 2020. Ecto's wooden planes are around 230 to 280mm long, 180 to 190mm wide and 15mm thick, with a single concave, nose rocker and hard rails.

  • WAW Handplanes was founded in Sydney in 2014 by carpenter Rikki Gilbey, who started in his garage with reclaimed timber. WAW is known for fish-tail designs in timber and recycled plastic (about 300 x 190–200mm and 9–10mm thick), with concave hulls, a rockered nose, bio-rubber straps and a wrist leash, and it has run handplane-making workshops in Sydney.

Both makers' designs share the features that matter most on a wooden handplane: a light timber, a little nose rocker, a single concave underneath, a fish or rounded tail and a comfortable, secure strap.

What makes a good handplane design?

  • Size: most wooden handplanes are about 230 to 330mm long and 180 to 210mm wide. Shorter planes are easier to manoeuvre and suit smaller hands and steeper waves; longer, wider planes give more lift and suit beginners and softer waves.

  • Thickness: keep the middle of the plane about 15mm thick, as the plugs need solid timber underneath them, and taper it thinner towards the rails, nose and tail. Avoid thinning the middle to 10mm.

  • Nose rocker: a little lift at the nose stops it digging in when you drop down the wave.

  • Single concave: a shallow scoop running along the bottom gives lift and grip and helps the plane track straight.

  • Rails: fairly hard (sharper) rails grip the wave face; softer rails are more forgiving.

  • Tail: fish tails are the most popular, as the cut-out lets your wrist move freely; rounded and square tails also work well.

  • Paulownia: at about 280kg/m³ it is light enough to float, very easy to shape with hand tools, stable, and takes oil or varnish well.

How to make a Paulownia handplane: step by step

What you need

You only need a few basic tools:

  • A jigsaw or coping saw

  • A drill with a 32mm Forstner bit

  • A rasp or surform, and sandpaper (coarse to fine)

  • Araldite or Sikaflex to glue in the plugs

  • Tung oil and citrus terpene to finish

  • A dust mask and safety glasses

If you have them, a spokeshave, plane or power sander will speed things up, but they aren't essential.

Step 1: Draw your outline

Draw a centreline down the blank. Make a half-template of your shape from card, trace it on both sides of the centreline so the outline is symmetrical, and mark the nose and tail. The 23 x 210 x 350mm blank leaves room for planes up to about 330mm long and the full 210mm wide. Fish tails, rounded noses and slightly wider front halves are all popular.

Step 2: Mark and drill the plug holes

Drill the plug holes before you shape the plane. The blank is still its full 23mm thickness, so you can't accidentally thin the strap area too much and leave too little timber under the plugs. You can drill the holes before or after cutting out the outline.

The two plugs hold the hand strap across the deck. Place your hand flat on the blank with your fingers pointing to the nose and mark where the back of your hand sits; many riders like the strap slightly forward of centre, so the forearm rests on the tail. Mark the two plug centres across the board, 110mm apart and the same distance either side of the centreline.

Drill each hole with a 32mm Forstner bit, which gives a clean, flat-bottomed hole. Drill to the depth of the plug so it will sit flush with the deck (a piece of tape on the bit marks the depth), test on an offcut first, and clamp the blank firmly. From here on, keep the deck flat around the plugs and take the thickness off the bottom and towards the edges, so the plugs stay flush and you can always see how much timber is left under them.

Step 3: Cut the outline

Cut just outside the line with a jigsaw or coping saw, then smooth back to the line with a rasp or sandpaper. Cut the fish-tail notch last.

Step 4: Shape the bottom

  • Nose rocker: plane or sand a gentle upward curve into the bottom of the front 60 to 80mm.

  • Concave: mark a shallow concave down the middle of the bottom, starting behind the nose and running out through the tail. Remove timber with a rasp or surform, then smooth it with sandpaper wrapped around a piece of pipe or dowel. A few millimetres deep is plenty.

Step 5: Shape the deck and rails

Thin the plane from 23mm to about 15mm through the middle, where the plugs are, taking the timber mainly off the bottom and keeping the deck flat around the plugs. Taper it thinner towards the rails, nose and tail. Don't take the middle down to 10mm: the plugs need solid timber underneath them. Round the deck edges so the plane is comfortable on your hand and forearm, and keep the bottom edge of the rails crisper for grip. Check both sides match as you go.

Step 6: Sand

Sand the whole plane through the grits to 220. Wipe it with a damp cloth to raise the grain, let it dry, then give it a final light sand. Round over any sharp corners, especially around the fish tail.

Step 7: Glue in the plugs

Glue the plugs in before you apply the finish, so the finish seals over the joint. Epoxy such as Araldite gives a very strong, waterproof bond. Sikaflex is a popular alternative in schools because there is nothing to mix. Seat the plugs flush, wipe off any squeeze-out and leave the glue to cure fully.

Step 8: Finish with tung oil and citrus terpene

Paulownia is soft and not naturally durable, so seal every surface, including around the plugs and the end grain at the nose and tail. Our recommended finish is pure tung oil thinned with citrus terpene (a natural, citrus-based solvent). The thinned oil soaks deep into the Paulownia, gives a natural look and is easy to touch up. A 50:50 mix is a common starting point: brush or wipe it on generously, let it soak in, wipe off the excess, and let each coat dry before the next. Build up several coats, and re-oil whenever water stops beading on the surface. Marine varnish or epoxy can be used instead if you prefer a glossy, harder shell.

Once the finish is dry, thread the strap through the plugs. This takes a little patience, but gives a neat, secure fit. Adjust the strap so it is snug over the back of your hand; straps loosen slightly when wet, so set it firm.

Step 9: Attach the wrist leash and go bodysurfing

Attach the safety wrist leash so you don't lose the plane in the surf. Wear the plane on your leading hand (your left hand on a wave breaking to your left, right hand on a wave breaking to your right), keep your arm out in front, and use swim fins for the speed to catch waves.

Looking after your handplane

  • Rinse in fresh water after each surf and dry out of direct sun.

  • Store indoors and re-oil with the tung oil and citrus terpene mix whenever the timber looks dry or water stops beading.

  • Check the plugs and strap now and then, and re-glue a plug if it ever loosens.

Safety

  • Wood dust: use dust extraction where you can, clean up with a vacuum or damp cloth rather than compressed air, and wear at least a P1 dust mask (P2 recommended).

  • Tools: clamp the blank securely when cutting and drilling, keep hands clear of blades. Students should work under supervision.

  • Glues and finishes: epoxy can cause skin sensitisation, so wear gloves and eye protection and work in a ventilated space. Oily rags from tung oil can catch fire on their own: dry them flat outdoors or soak them in water before disposal.

Handplane kits for schools and home builders

We supply Paulownia handplane kits, blanks and strap kits to schools and home builders all over Australia. Handplanes are a very popular Design and Technology project: they cover design, templates, hand and machine tools, drilling and finishing, and students love having something to take home. Several of the schools we supply finish the unit with a beach day, where students test their designs in the surf. The project needs very little storage space, as the blanks are small and flat, and we supply both the Paulownia blanks and the strap kits, so everything comes from one supplier. We work with many schools around Australia and accept purchase orders. Read more on our surf handplanes for schools page, see our prices, or contact us for class sets and school orders. Handplane kits are posted Australia-wide with Australia Post.

Made a handplane from our timber? We would love to see it: email photos to info@paulowniatimber.com.au.

Sources and further reading

This guide is general information only. Dimensions are starting points; adjust them to suit your hand, ability and waves. Paulownia Timber Supplies Australia is operated by Sine Surf Pty Ltd (ABN 24 655 648 374), Hornsby NSW.