Balsa, paulownia supplier in Sydney (Aus)

General Discussion
1

Greetings, I’m trying to locate a supplier of either balsa or paulownia in the Sydney area and not having any luck. Is there anyone out there in swaylocks land that can help? I’d also love to hear from anyone who has used paulownia before. Any info will be very much appreciated. Cheers J

2

Hey J, I’m in Newcastle and have heard of Paulownia being grown (I don’t know about used just yet) in the Nambucca Heads region. The guy that had some was Paul Joske, maker of “Valla” surfboards. Try him. Hope this helps.

Craig.

3

Any idea what sort of weight per cubic metre paulownia is ?

4

Sorry mate NFI.

Craig.

5

240 -280 kg m3 slightly lighter than cedar…

regards

BERT

6

Thanks for all your answers fellas. I cant believe how hard to find this stuff is, makes me wonder how expensive it’ll be when i do find it! Cheers.

7

JAYT, try contacting Tom Wegener at Noosa.

http://www.tomwegenersurfboards.com/site/woodboards_page.htm

I have another link for Palowina in WA. I’ll dig it out and post it.platty.

8

JAYT, still had it in favorites. I think it shows a surfboard in the newsletter from memory.platty.

http://www.kiripark.com.au/artwork/Other/PDF/EFF_winter_2001.pdf

9

Cheers Platty. Its funny you should suggest Tom as i just finished reading an article on him in an old longboarding mag and was gonna send him a message.J

10

Hi, was wondering if you had any luck finding paulownia in sydney?

cheers

11

Hey Man,

Riley Balsa surfboards sells balsa & balsa blanks I believe. Riley is at Miranda in the Sutherland Shire.

He has a DVD on making Balsa boards & I think there is a voucher with the DVD to use as a discount for the balsa blank.

Google riley balsa surfboards, she should come up.

Matt

12

Jayt,

Results from a google search:

  1. http://www.paulowniatrees.com.au/

This guy is on the gold Coast. I once tried to get a quote over the phone and he insisted I come to his place with my specific requirements and then I would get a price?

  1. http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/showthread.php?t=52021) - contains info on a guy from northern NSW

http://www.paulownia-timber-sales.com.au/

  1. http://www.bamboodirect.com.au/paulownia.html

a Coffs Harbour supplier. I gather Tom W sources his wood from Coffs. Can’t vouch for whether this is where he gets it from, though.

Bob

13

hi,

try John at http://www.paulownia-timber-sales.com.au/

He is based near byron and is really helpful. He grows a bit of his own wood but also sells the wood from coffs.

quite knowledgable and has sold lots of wood to surfboard builders.

the guy in coffs has a HUGE plantation but doesnt sell in small orders apparently, only if you order a few grand worth.

John is quite reasonable price wise and will ship it anywhere for you at a low cost.

I had the same experince with the guy from the gold coast. He wasnt very helpful on the phone and insisted that i drive down (3hrs) to get any prices. He was boasting that he was the only supplier in oz, but thats isnt the case.

to my knowledge, there are only these three suppliers on the east coast.

I know what ill be planting in my backyard…

let me know how you go. Ill be ordering some more soon if you need any asistance.

14

What size timber do you usually order? I have an alaia that is about 2 cm at the tail and about .75 cm through the rails.

Bob

15

Thanks everyone,

Im heading up to Byron in a few weeks so i will go check out Johns plantation.

Im guessing that i’ll have to buy a few planks and join them together.

What is the best way to join them? Is gluing sufficient? or does it need to be dowelled or something stronger? I dont want to affect the twist/flex characteristics of the timber

16

it depends what type of board you are making.

there is another thread that shows one way of gluing up an alaia - Q: Waterproof glue for gluing up a cedar alaia blank?

have a look at that thread.

as for wood for an alaia, you could go with a few different sizes. cheapest would probably be a few 100x25’s (1 inch thick if you join them using the method in the above post) If you dont have any rocker in your alaia then that would be suitable. if you have some rocker then maybe go for the 38’s or 50’s to give you some more thickness.

for a solid wooden, you just need to glue it up and clamp it tight.

17

I live in Newcastle and got some paulownia for a board from Port Phillip Plantation shutters in Melbourne. Cameron (fishexp) from here put me onto them.

www.portphillip.com.au

Email

info@portphillip.com.au

Phone

(03) 9588 2533

Toll Free

1800 19 12 13

Fax

(03) 9588 2522

David was more than helpful and interested in the surfboards. Will sell small quanities, and at the time I believe he had supplied Tom Wegener with some wood too (and may still do so).

This is what I ordered and paid for about a year ago. He also sold other sizes and sheets.

18m x 10mmx20mm @ $2 per m=$36

14m x 20mmx100mm @ $6.00 per m=$84

plus delivery $32

Total delivered including GST $152.

18

I did a search through the posts on alaia which raised a couple of questions:

  1. dovetail joints vs butting plank to plank?

  2. I came across one example of a board made with two layers of thin wood vs a single thickness of wood. I imagine this would be stronger, a possible disadvantage is additional weight and glue separating.

Any thoughts?

Bob