just thought i’d get the ball rolling on the balsa sando builder count…
too keep it simple don’t reply more then once to this thread and start new threads for the questions and comments that will undoubtly come up…
JJP first balsa sando finished April 2005,
4 completed
3 waiting for outter glass
2 in the shaping process
1 with bottom skin and one rail
1 with bottom skin and outline cutout
1 windsurfer templet set made…
about 12 being built in my mind…
credit card bill ugly
1 completed
1 just starting (either 12 foot tandem or 6’10" ala Bert’s board with the borrowed longboard rocker)
3 1/2 k finished , a score on the go and who knows where it will end …
my next personal one getting turned inside out for show and tell …
ok maybe show, no tell …
regards
BERT
Just a mess making rookie, but these all with CMPs nurturing, guidance, and more importantly patience:
1st exposed to this virus in December 2004
Xmas Gift for Bro (6’4" PU/Balsa - Gemini Shape)
Feb-April (blanks courtesy of CMP)
7’3" 2lb EPS 3-stringered “vincete mini-gun” shape (1st experiment with balsa rails)
8’0" 2lb EPS mini-tank (2nd experiment with Bamboo bottom)
7’2" PU fun/big boy (1st experiment with Bamboo bottom)
April-Jun
6’3"x2.5"x20" .75 Lowes EPS Fish
(Bamboo horizontal stringer/1.25" balsa rails)
flat deck single to double (glassed on Divinycel core fins)
Jun-
Waiting to be glassed
7’4"x2.25"x21" .75 Lowes EPS/Makore/Anigre Vector
(Bamboo horizontal stringer directly scarfed to 1" balsa rails)
Concave deck bonzer bottom single box
7’4"x1.75"x23" .75 Lowes EPS/Anigre-Bamboo Vector
(Bamboo horizontal stringer/ 1" balsa rails)
Concave deck & bottom single box fin
6’2" .75 Lowes EPS/Balsa Retro Fish/Fish Experiment
(Bamboo horizontal stringer nor balsa rails)
single to double (Probox Hawaii)
Waiting to be lammed
6’6" .75 Lowes EPS Grant Miller Waterskate
(Bamboo horizontal stringer)
Bonzer (Probox Hawaii)
Waiting to be shaped:
7’4"x3"x21" .75 Lowes EPS Vector
(Bamboo horizontal stringer)
reverse Vee bottom (Probox Hawaii)
Purchases that have me wondering about now…
3/4 HP Delta Dust Collector
ACP Vacuum Pump
Festools 125 Rotex Sander and Model 22 Vacuum
10" x 110" x 1/64" matched Teak veneer lot
8" x 90" x 1/64" matched Purpleheart veneer lot
5" x 96" x 1/64" matched Sapele veneer lot
6.5" x 48" x 1/64 matched Mahogany veneer lot (2)
6.5" x 48" x 1/64 matched Curly Maple veneer lot
6.5" x 48" x 1/64 matched Beech veneer lot
4" x 48" x 1/64 matched Koa veneer Lot
And like John says… very very ugly credit card bills.
Realizations
I can’t shape or
I need a better work area other than a sloping driveway
I need to build a glassing rack drip catch basin
I need to build and oven and use prepreg.
10’0" finished in January
5’11" fish finished in March
11’11" finished 2 weeks ago
EPS for #4 hotwired yesterday…
one 6ft 0ins thruster, turned out better than i could have imagined even though i made loads of mistakes,
number two almost finished, done things a bit different on this one but still made different mistakes, oh well i will have to make another one, maybe a fish,
1 finished 8ft
1 half built
fish started
one finished, more to come…
looking forward to bert’s new show.
jjp
One 5’ 10" kneeboard
One 7’ 2" mini mal
One 7’2" single fin
All finished, with one 6’1" thrusta with bottom skin on, and one more kneeboard being planned in my mind!! Also had an enquiry from a guy wanting a board for river surfing in Germany, (triple sandwich corecell with 20 oz glass I think!!)
Mark
Not balsa, but eps/vacuumed wood veneer/epoxy… (what does sando mean?)
black walnut/makore/birds eye maple (6’4’ shortie)
black walnut/birds eye maple/ fabric inlay/ balsa fins/ benny center fin (6’5" bonzer egg)
makore fish with balsa tips (6’ classic fish with lokbox keels)
The fish is my daily rider, and I love it with a passion that is borderline pornographic.
I have a great vacuum pump, and a gallon of epoxy mix left… They are calling my name, but we’re trying to buy a house and move right about now… So it will be a couple of months before you see another board out of me.
But you will.
Update:
Disasterpieces-Masterpieces and the lessons learned
In the Beginning, there was hope and desire…
In the end was the truth and the horror…
Lessons learned:
It’s all about time, patience and a whole lotta talent… None of which I’ve found that I have very much of.
Breakdown of the damage:
CMP Masterpiece #2(left) and Disasterpiece #1(right Flexi-fish)
Disasterpieces 3-4 Left (1.75" thick w/horizontal bamboo stringer) bottom no vac delam, Right (2" thick stringerless) Lam way off
Masterpieces #3 Right (retro horizontal bamboo stringer no balsa rails)
Masterpieces 4-5 1.3lb and 1.8lb stringered blanks Left (birch/mahogany) Right (pure balsa)
Kind of notice how everything still need to be completed… Three boards on the right need their Probox Hawaii boxes put in and along with board #3 from the left need their final coats put on sanded and spray sealed.
Horizontal Bamboo Stringer with deck and bottom lam…
tail section cut off from retro fish for tail block
Disasterpiece #4 primed for it’s maiden voyage (1.75" stringerless no rocker plank)
The horror the horror
I feel like doc frankenstein unleashing another monster to the world…
Jarrod and Ben I don’t know how you do it…
I don’t know how you keep track of so many going at once. The two on the far right turned out pretty nice, it looks from here. 
The last shot is inspiring too - good fin & tail shape combo for a wide, flat plank. I don’t have much experience with shorter boards or multiple fins so something like that will always pique my interest. Thanks.
BTW, I bet they all surf just fine. How are the knees?