When I first decided to do this project I found the following websites very helpful.
www.balsaflite.com This is where I bought my blank. Andres was very helpful and was patient with me as a first time shaper. The blank is hollow in the middle with suports running through every 6-8 inches. The blank cost about $400 and the Shipping was $350 from South America to Newark Airport, NJ.
The process was not that difficult. I started by using an old longboard as my template. I emailed Andres at Balsa Flite with any questions about the shaping process. I did not want to “shape through” to the hollow core.
(This is the first time I am posting anything so it might be a little choppy. Sorry.) I glassed the fin blank with 5 layers of six oz. cloth and then glassed it on the board. It looked great but the fin was a little warped. The wood must have warped before I glassed it. So I had to cut the whole thing off and start over. These are pics of the first fin.
I spent about $150 on glassing supplies from foamEZ.com and home depot. I also spent $14 on a milled down plank of mahogany. I shaped it into a more modern fin. The other one looked cool and retro but I felt the new one would be more practical.
I got to use the board this week. It noserides like a champ. I have a large concave in the nose and super soft rails with a lot of rocker in the tail. I did all of this because of what I read on Tom Wegener’s web site. The only complaint is that the board is very heavy. I have not put it on a scale yet, but it has to be about 1,000,000 lbs. But, I don’t care because it feels light as a feather on the wave.
I went with balsa flite because I wanted a hollow blank. It was also the best price I was able to find even with the shipping. I gave him all of the nose, tail, and rocker measurements before he made the blank.
I would love to shape another board (when I get the money). I am planning to build the blank myself and chamber out the wood. I feel confident now that I have this first project under my belt.
The Balsa Flight Project is sweet! I actually was there for it’s second session I believe and it was a wave hog. No joke, the log was a hog. It looks as nice as it rides. No question, it’s the perfect board for long nose rides. I’ll also point out that the glassing is pretty sweet for a first timer, especially the single fin. Keep shaping bro, now that you’ve got the stoke!
I have shaped a lot of the Balsaflite blanks and they work really good. You can get them light but you have to be prepared to shape the top and bottom plates down to the bare minimum, which can be very challenging. Not too mention the risk of going through at the rail to deck transitions. I shape them until I can flex the bottom plates with my thumb, then I know I’m getting them thin enough.
Have managed to shape myself a 9’ 2" that is the same weight as the equivalent PU boards that I make, so you can definitely get these down in weight. My experience is that you can make them lighter than a chambered balsa board!
This is an awesome first balsa board and you are to be commended for your efforts!
No! I have never had a concern about the strength, and I only put a single layer of 4-oz on each side, with epoxy resin. So far they have held up very well and some of these boards are surfed in some pretty horrendous conditions. If the surfer is a knee paddler I put an extra patch where they kneel to help prevent denting.
Also I don’t take the deck down as much as I do the bottom, for a couple of reasons, one being that it allows for a little more roll in the rail to deck transition, and two to improve the strength under the feet!
But for me the thickness is driven by the weight more than anything else, if the wood has been well selected and is already light I will leave more of it on the board. If the wood is heavier and stronger I will remove more of it, so it really involves evaluating the blank carefully in order to select the best strategy.
Due to the nature of the parabolic rail bands on these blanks the boards are strong enough in terms of breaking strength, this allows the skins to be manipulated to achieve the best weight. But as I said it can be very scary as you are basically working blind as to whether you are pushing to far. Believe me I do a lot of tapping and pushing on the wood to try and read whether I’m going to far!
I don’t doubt though that if you fell hard on the bottom of one of these boards that you might be able to put your knee through the bottom, yikes!
Thanks for the info Robin. I guess I should have asked some of these questions before I finished shaping. Well at least now I know for next time.
I still think for my next board I am going to build my own blank. The shipping costs from South America killed me with the balsaflite. Also, this way I can know exactly how much wood is left on the deck and the bottom. But I will take your advice and only use 4oz. cloth.
I will assume you have not had any delamination problems with the epoxy resin. I used polyester resin because of some of the things I’ve read on swaylocks. But, I know the epoxy is stronger and lighter.
Josh. (AKA newshaperNJ) I kind of hate the silly screen names.
I have used both epoxy and polyester, but find that the epoxy sticks to the wood a lot better. I have seen polyester blow off the board when the air inside the board expands and there is a pinhole that allows the air to put pressure underneath the glass.
The key to a successful glass job on balsa though is to first baste the wood before laminating, this makes a huge difference! This should be done with either epoxy or polyester.
I agree that building your own blank gives you a much better feel for where the wood is and how much you can remove. I plan on doing the same thing once I have used up the 10 blanks I currently have on hand. Although my main motive is so that I can have more control of the outline and the rocker.
I understand that the next board you make will be from scratch, but will you hollow it out or make it a “pure” solid balsa wood board? Also, would you experiment with other woods or stick with balsa. Either way, your board is awesome & hopefully you can test it in some decent Jersey surf this weekend. Let us know how it rides in some chest high stuff. Peace.
To inspire you, here are a few picks of my first Balsa Flite Project. This one was shaped by Vicente (pain in the ass) from the Wailua Sugar Mill on the North shore of Oahu.
How do you like that glass job? I ended up selling the board and it is a wall hanger for some rich dude now.
It was fast once you got it started. It was really different from a foarm board and drew a really nice line on large wave faces. I was too worried it would get damaged while surfing it so that took the fun away. It would get a lot of attention on the beach.
I prefere riding a foam board but I can stare at a balsa board for hours.
