I’m shaping a solid wood board, and because of weight, am realizing I will probably have to chamber it.
I’ve dug through the archives, and read everything I could find on swaylocks. I’ve checked out the videos that are out there. Not too much on chambering a board from a solid piece of wood, but most the info applies anyway.
I’m not sure if I’ll need stringers to replace the displaced width from the lengthwise cuts, not even sure how many cuts I will have to make. On a 22" wide board, how many cuts are needed, i.e. how narrow does each strip need to be for chambering? I’m kinda visualizing like 3" wide strips, but that’s more cuts than I really want to make. I’m thinking of using a thin, narrow kerf Japanese pull-saw for the cuts, to minimize displacement.
If I use stringers, does it really matter if I have a break, i.e. an 8’ long piece of wood plus extra piece, for a 9’ stringer? Doesn’t seem like it would to me, since the stringers are not there for strength. I’m thinking as long as the joint is tight, just a simple butt joint or scarf joint will suffice.
Is there such a thing as “period correct” chambering?
I want to fill the voids with foam, like Gene Cooper did on his “ulitmate craftsman” board. What foam are you guys using, or any recommendations?
I saw where Gene glued his foam inserts, using (I think) gorilla glue. Is this standard practise?
Has anyone tried to address uneven weight distribution (one side heavier) when chambering? I’m currently thinking about 3/8" - 1/2" thick skins after chambering.
I can’t imagine doing that job with anything other than a bandsaw and a jointer. You could put it back together without seeing any glue lines with a good jointing.
Your width of cut is dependent on the tools being used for the chamber. Router bit vs drill bit.
Unfortunately bandsaw and shop jointer is out, for now (no access to either tool). The lengthwise cuts will likely be done with a pull saw, or a beam saw (If I’m going to add stringers, because of the kerf width). The chambers will likely be drilled at the 4 corners of each cutout, then finished with a jig saw or else each cutout could be done with a router. I’m curious what depth of cut people are finding practical, hence the question on strip width. I do think the whole thing could end up looking pretty seamless, but never for sure until after the fact.
At this point I’m just trying to visualize my game plan, and gain any insights I can from those with experience, as I have none in this area.
Cutting it in 4 pieces and chambering should be very doable but more work than a thinner piece.
On instagram do a search for toddredwoodsurfboards - sadly Francis passed away a while back but the work he documented about chambering large wood boards is amazing.
I’ve used expanding foam in a board I did with a 3.5" inch stringer bundle and it worked really well. (Took this idea from Francis)
A bandsaw and jointer would be great for splitting and square.
I use a drill out the 4 corners and then jig saw out the rest for my chambers - it was a pretty difficult on some thicker wood (3"+) I did recently. But the wood was really hard.
There are many people with better technical ability then me that will hopefully chime in.
To do lengthwise cuts (splitting a blank or adding stringers and glue lines)
I’ve used a technique of getting a long flat aluminum bar and clamping it up against the blank so I can run my skil saw up against it as a guide to get a perfect straight line. It doesn’t cut the whole dept of the blank in the thick spots so I just come back with a hand saw and finish the cut and knock it down flat with a hand plane.
The only pic I got is pre aluminum bar with a piece of wood but it’s a good visual of the concept.
I did what WideAwake did with my 6 stringer balsa. It worked well. Find an aluminum bar for a guide.
And do use some contrasting stringer material. I️ used some thick mahogany veneer that I️ was sent to me in a big roll by mail. Maybe a little less than 1/8 inch thick?
RE foam, you should be OK with lightweight PU spray foam as long as the joints are open when you apply it.
Good luck. Hero status for even attempting this.
Hope you find a home for it where lots of ppl can see and admire it.
Huck, you know this stuff. Chambering is just a series of mortises. Make your template(s) and use a 1/2" shank router and a series of top bearing straight flute cutters. You can still work with fairly wide strips using an end mill cutter from machinery. Start shallow and gradually work your way through. With using a straight edge and your router, you can “join” the edges for minimal glue line and this will allow working the pieces from both sides. One step at a time. Personally, I’d like to see contrasting stringers or something unusual like wedge stringers. Look up the Pat Curran guns he made in the nineties for commission. Either the Journal or Surfer did a story on them. Just throwing out ideas.
thanx, any and all comments appreciated. Maybe 5 cuts, 6 pieces, about 3 5/8" wide. Narrower would be easier for chambering, but then more cuts and narrower strips. I won’t know if I can make a thin kerf cut effectively until I try, but I have a beam saw which is like a giant skil saw, that could make the cut, and I also have a small table saw that could do it. But both of those would require a stringer for displaced width from the kerf(s) which would be about 1/8", hence losing 5/8" overall. My initial thinking is to go for a narrow kerf cut, with a black resin glue line.
HUck, I admire that you’d go after this with a pull saw. I would have called up the shop by me that does re-sawing on a large band saw and been prepared to pay for a blade and an hour’s worth of their time. I’d also be trying to figure out how to get the center cut straight with an outboard fence and sled/guide rail.
Yeah, that is definitely a good, logical solution, and it isn’t out of the question. At this point I’m not getting too invested in any one option, just considering the possibilities. I don’t think a temporary guide to keep the cuts straight will be a big hurdle , should I use a power saw of some nature (circular saw, table saw, band saw).
