Balsa & Redwood Chambered Surfboard

That is soooo cool! I never even considered the idea of a board made of wood? How long is it? Guess I’ll check out your posts about the process. Very cool!

Don’t know a thing about surf boards – but the work that you did looks well thought out and executed. Good job.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

It’s a good thing the South Pacific Islanders considered making them out of wood, or surfboards would’ve never been invented! :)

Swied, Sweet project! I am amazed that the hollow core board has held up that well for so long. Maybe not so many rocks in SD like there are here in Santa Cruz? Just shows that you’re an especially competent woodworker.

Excellent job. Glad you could post some construction photos. It’s really interesting to see it’s guts.

-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com

This is a nice looking board. I, like cajunpen, know nothing about surfboards but I appreciate the woodworking ex cerise that went into building this one. I enjoyed seeing the construction photo because it would never have occurred to to me that these boards are not solid.

Thanks for the post.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Up here in Canada we don’t have much use for this type of project, but it is fascinating. I would love to build something like this…... And Balsa in it to boot…. I would have never guessed.

Great Post, and welcome to the Jocks.

-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/

it’s gorgeous..

-- ~ Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Very cool!

-- Eric, www.themorningwoodshow.com

Nice work. It looks like I have a gift idea for my surfer brother. How long did it take and what kind of surface is on the top? I guess I could just check out your log.

-- Tony, Ohio

Wow! What a unique board! I’ll bet it is a real conversation starter at the beach.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Very cool

-- Jim Hallada, Chesterfield, VA

Great board, I have been thinking about a paddle board, But this is really beautiful.

-- If knowledge is not shared, it is forgotten.

Thanks everyone. The board is 6’ 2” long, 20” wide, and 3” thick. It ended up being about 15 lbs when it was finished. This is a bit on the heavy side for a surfboard, but I have gotten used to it. In fact, I now prefer a heavier board. When I surf my old foam boards now they feel too flippy floppy.

I designed the board using a software program called APS 3000 ( http://aps3000.com ). I made sure to give the board a sufficient amount of volume to float me while paddling. The design came out at about 2.0 cubic feet, which works out to an average density of about 7.5 lbs per cubic foot. The density of balsa is about 15 pounds per cubic foot, and redwood is 28 pounds per cubic foot. You can see the obvious need to hollow out the inside. Knowing what I do now I could probably have shaved another 3 to 5 lbs off of the final weight by doing better wood selection, and more aggressive chambering.

-- Scott, San Diego

Okay, I have just went thru the build blog, first what a wonderful group of people participated with you on the blog, that profile template in the sand was so cool. What is the weight of a similar sized foam/fiberglass board? I’m interested to see how the varnish holds up, if for some reason it does begin to cornflake. You could use a clear epoxy (fiberglass hawaii has a good one) to seal the wood first. On the exterior furniture and marine restoration I do, I will seal the wood with 3 coats of epoxy and then 6 coats of the spar. (The cool thing about a clear epoxy seal coat, is that it really highlights the natural colors and textures in the grain.)
Keep us updated man, passion tempered by patience is the way. greatwork!

-- If knowledge is not shared, it is forgotten.

Very nice!

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

thats a great looking board.. and a verry unique project. i surf regularly as well and it has never really acured to me that i can make a board. you have just inspired me to look into making mine. maybey a 9’6 classic single fin with a fat nose for all ten toes….......

-- i can do all things through christ who strengthens me

Blake: We have plenty of rocks down here in SD. I just steer clear of them. I built the board to ride it, and I realize that I risk banging it up every time it take it out. If it gets destroyed, then I guess I’ll just have to make another one. Surfboards are like clamps… you can never have too many of them.

Tony Z: I started building the board at about the same time that my first child was born. I didn’t have a lot of time to work on it, so the project dragged out for about nine months. There is nothing on the top. I built it from solid wood, and hollowed out the insides.

Harold: I considered using epoxy. At the point when I was ready to finish the board I was feeling cheap and epoxy is kind of expensive. How does epoxy hold up over time? From what I have read it sounds like once you apply it, it stays on the wood forever. The varnish only option was appealing since I knew it could be stripped down and refinished.

Here are some more photo’s:

-- Scott, San Diego

Welcome to Lumber Jocks. Great project.

CtL

-- Chris L. "Don't Dream it, Be it."

Great looking board. A nice job.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

When my father tried surfing the boards were redwood. Up until 28 years ago I surfed in southern California for 20 years. I started on a long board then almost had to learn all over again on a short board. You are bringing the craft back to its roots with a balsa board. Mine were all foam and the last one only weighed 11 pounds. Thanks for sharing this.

-- Odie, Confucius say, "He who laughs at one's self is BUTT of joke". http://woodstermangotwood.blogspot.com/ (my funny blog)

This is a nice looking board.

-- jeanmarc manosque france

That is a cool board! Looks to nice to use. You must get everyone asking you about it in the line up. it looks like a small version of the old Waikiki Longboards.

-- Jimmy

Thanks everyone.

Jimmy808: I actually do use it. Surfboards aren’t meant for hanging around on the wall.

-- Scott, San Diego