So I want to build a wood board... But come to find out, it is kind of expensive. So I was wondering if you guys knew of anywhere I could get some cheap wood? Also I was thinking maybe bamboo. Its as dense as cedar, and lumber liquidators has it fairly cheap so I don't know maybe. Thoughts, suggestions, heylp?
Thanks, Will
Poplar ply is really cheap where I live.
But you have to make sure it never comes in contact with water.
Check your pants every morning. It’s free!
Yes^.
Would it be possible to build a solid body out of pine, or do I have to spring for cedar or even balsa?
The two most important properties for a wood board (IMO) are water resistance and weight. (And knowing where to put the “sweet spot”, of course)
Additionally, some species are harder to work with, mostly by virtue of density and grain uniformity. Balsa replaced redwood for good reason, decades ago.
You get what you pay for.
Check out Paul Jensen’s website
I believe he started with 1/8" Marine luan ply which he cut with a box cutter
or
try and find a neighborhood construction site where a home owner is rebuilding an older home like what MarkMiller and Huck were talking about.
you might be able to pick up the scrap wood for free for just hauling it away
if you can find someone with a benchtop 12" planer you can recondition the wood and use that to build a board
repurposed/reconditioned weathered redwood or cedar fence planks can make some beautiful wood boards.
same thing can be done if you can hook up with a tree trimming company
guys are making boards from all the albezia trees the state here cuts down to keep the freeways clear.
pine is heavy
poplar is stiff and snaps along the grain as does cedar
cedar, balsa, paulownia and maybe cypress seem to possess the best anti salt water capabilities.
in the desert and here in Hawaii the Century Plant/Agave is everywhere for the pickings but you’ll need to protect yourself from the acid when working with it
Dude, grow your own; it will give you plenty of time to work out the design flaws. Not that I care but wood is often naughty by nature, I mean you may get spanked with it, or probably already have; still I wonder about the have nots, speeding measured in knots.
Paul Jensen has some great looking boards, but thay are all hollow boards. If I were to make a solid body, what should I build with? I would hate to put all the work in, get it to the beach and watch it sink… haha. Would cedar work? Also what do you think about bamboo? It is as dense as cedar is
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Paul Jensen has some great looking boards, but thay are all hollow boards. If I were to make a solid body, what should I build with? I would hate to put all the work in, get it to the beach and watch it sink... haha. Would cedar work? Also what do you think about bamboo? It is as dense as cedar is
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If you are set on a solid wood board, then Balsa, Paulownia and possibly Western Red Cedar are going to be pretty much the only woods readily available and light weight enough to work. Maybe Sugar Pine if you can find it.
Bamboo is great stuff but it certainly isn't light weight in pieces big enough to build a solid surfboard with. The bamboo used in surfboards is thin veneers. The stuff at Lumber Liquidators is flooring and heavy as hell as are most engineered bamboo products.
Wood ain't cheap.
Unless you actually live in a forest.
dear god thank you for stopping me before I went and did that haha. wood may be expensive but tools are more expensive haha.
Wood will be one of the cheaper ingredients in you surfboard. Epoxy and fiberglass will really set you back.
So you could go the route of reclaimed pallets, which are usually free.
You could go to lowes but a lumberyard will be 1/2 price per board ft.
So I suggest spend as much as you can and build a jewel of a board. You won’t regret it.
I recently built a 10’ 6’ long board out of western red cedar and only spent 200 ish on wood bought from lowes. All the other supplies and materials kicked it up to 700 to finish.
Best of luck in your build.
Wow, that is a gorgeous piece of work. When I was looking at Lowes’ cedar collection they didn’t have anything more than an inch thick, and they did not have a lot of what they did have, so it looks like i will be going to the lumber yards.
I really appreciate all of the feed back on this guys, it has been a great help.
Hardcore woodworkers will always go with 100% wood. No matter the cost or work load.
I'm not a hard core wodworker. I'm into faking out the public. You can't fake out the wood guys.
This surfboard has ONE wood stringer in the center and a wood tailblock. Everything else is painted. Foam boards are much lighter...but it's not Wood.
You would be surprised what you can do with a tablesaw and a 1x 4. Are you thinking about a chambered, HWS, foam wood, or torsion box ?
Call demolition contractors.
The wood that was used for framing up until about 1960 was almost clear vertical grain fir. Can barely even find that today. It will take some labor to make sure you get all the nails out. It is really brittle and stiff. But if you go slow it might be worth it.
Surfding did a beautiful reclaimed redwood a while back.
I was framing houses in the early 80s and we used douglas fir. VGF was used mainly as decking, and far more expensive than doug fir. I have done my fair share of demo work over the years and have never seen a house built with VGF.
That’s because Lowe’s is a home improvement store, and not a building materials supplier. I could go to three different lumber yards down the road from me and find western red cedar in finished thicknesses up to 3-1/2 " . Rough sawn lumber comes even thicker if you have the capability to flatten it and run through a thickness planer.
1 You got robbed by going to Lowes for cedar. A real lumber yard would have lower prices, especially for rough sawn material.
2 Your math indicates you spent $500 on resin, glass, and other supplies. That sounds like a hell of a lot. Did you buy West epoxy, perhaps?
I mean, I know I could glass 5 boards for that kind of money if I used poly resin and standard weave/finish fiberglass.
Maybe its a west coast thing.
I just finished a 1960 ranch remodel. Ceiling joists and Rafters were practically knot free. Studs had some knots, but not many. Old cabinets were always clear fir or pine.
Up until 1990, a 1x6 VG fir door jamb leg was maybe $15.00.
I demolished a 1923 house last year that had VG fir bead board siding through out the house. Over time, someone covered it it drywall. But that was the days before the spotted owl preservation. Old growth forests were just clear cut.
