I've finished oiling the Alaia and all that's left to do now is ride the thing. I had a lot of fun building the Alaia and meeting others out there doing the same all over the world. [...]

I used the tapered point and lightly followed the penciled-on drawing. As the wood became scored, I could press harder to get the burn and depth I wanted. [...]

Minor update - life again overwhelms! The turtle was drawn on and will be burned this week. Looks great thanks to the wife! [...]

Paulownia dust tastes like shit. I was smart enough to wear a respirator, but in between sips of beer it was bound to be tasted and digested. I consider it part of the "Alaia chi" - I am now one with this board [...]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case I think the words better do the talking because it's difficult to capture the progress made with the concave in a photo. [...]

I've begun sanding the concave, but it's hard to tell in pictures so I'll do that in the next update. I started with the belt sander and formed the shallow 'V' in the center of the board. [...]

Significant progress this weekend with the Alaia project. I cut the board to shape with a jigsaw, working in one direction. I said in the previous post that I wouldn't cut the Stuth tail, but I had a change of heart. [...]

It's been hectic since I received the Alaia blank, but I plan to start on it in earnest this weekend and think I have a plan of attack (thanks in large part to Jon Wegner's suggestions via email). [...]