Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!
Does anyone have experience using basswood or butterwood in surfboard construction. My reasearch leads me to believe that the butterwood tree does not have a large trunk, but branches frequently so maynot be practical. Both have relatively low densities. Thanks in advance and enjoy your holidays.
Diggitmiser
Basswood is easy on the hand planners. No experience with Butterwood never seen it used in a surfboard?
Have cut basswood for surfboard stringers would also consider it for hallow wood surfboards. Butter wood - Butter nut- white walnut - Juglans cinera.
Butternut wood is light in weight and takes polish well, is highly rot resistant, but is much softer than Black Walnut wood. Oiled, the grain of the wood usually shows much light. It is often used to make furniture, and is a favorite of woodcarvers. Rot resistant ,light weight, I like that sure would try it if I could get it !! A protected tree in many states,cut it and go to jail !
Wood Ogre----------- I held back on that one waiting for someone with your expertise to jump in. I was think he probably meant Butternut. Made a coffe table out of it when I was a kid in woodshop. Nice looking wood. Looks like Walnut. Soft though.
Basswood is a joy to work with, and here in the northeast it is cheap and abundant. I’ve bought two trees at less than $1 a board foot, which makes a ton of boards. My latest log had lots of cool figure, but I’ve never seen that at a hardwood dealer. Butternut is heavier than basswood, but it is also pretty available up here. It also dries pretty fast…so turnaround from log to board is short.
Here’s a board with pretty standard, bookmatched basswood (the dark wood is mahogany).
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here’s one with the crazy grain/color (the thin dark wood is redwood)
You will make a better and stronger surfboard if you do a Paul Jensen or grain hallow surfboard. It will also be lighter and a better use of material. I used to do chambered balsa but after doing a few Jensen hallow I would never consider chambering again. If you don't think you have the skills for hallow think again. Wood working is woodworking.
NICE!
Thank ya'll (you all down here) for your knowlege. I'm thinking of a chambered build so basswood and butternut were a consequence of the density tables.
-Goofy footers...........putting their best foot forward on a regular basis.
this is sooo awesome… found this while looking for alternatives to balsa since it seems hard to acquire. Trying to use something I can find local to Central FL, … this may be an option! 
Basswood has become the most common stringer wood in blank production, because of its color, relative strength to weight, lack of pronounced grain, and it machines great, while it accepts resin well. Some woods because of high tannin contents will not accept resin well. Basswood is an excellent choice, and is a soft, hardwood. In Britain it is known as the Linden tree.
Basswood is easy on your hand planes.