Hi, I have been lurking and learning from swaylocks for awhile. I have built a few boards with what I have learned and I'm about to start my first balsa board. I think I have read every post ever about balsa in the archives, but still have a question. I plan on making a 50's style pig with a big D-fin. I have a board that I love and want to copy that and I understand the foam and wood will ride completely different. Do you make any changes in the dimensions when going from foam to wood? I haven't decided if I will chamber or not, probably will. Thank you for any help. Almost everything I have learned about building surfboards has come from Swaylocks.
if you love your 50’s pig than i wouldnt change a thing, chambering it would make it feal a bit more like the origanl but will ad a carzy amount of more time to build, good luck
Chambering may add a day or two. No biggie in the scheme of things. Chamber the shit out of it you'll thank me later. Just go with the dimensions of the board you like. The buoyancy difference seems to be compensated (to me) by the momentum you gain with the weight.
Here’s a 10’x21"x3" solid balsa board that I made last year. It’s about 40 pounds. The weight sucks when you have to carry it a long ways. It isn’t an issue for paddling or surfing. This boad is good in big rolling waves. The rocker is too flat for taking off on steep waves. I try not to take it out when it’s too crowded. I’d hate to run into someone with it. In the right conditions it is really fun to ride.
Here’s another board that I made in 2007. The dims are 6’2"x20"x3". It is chambered, and weighs about 17 pounds. Before chambering it weighed 28 pounds. I can’t imagine riding a 28 pound 6’2". Shorter balsa boards definitely need to be chambered.
That’s good. I would also buy Jim Phillips’ Shaping 101 DVD from Damascus Productions. There is a section in there on building and chambering balsa boards. It is available online at foamez.com. Get it now, before you make any cuts.
Thank you for all of the suggestions. It usually takes me a couple of months to make a board from start to finish because of my work schedule, so a couple extra days chambering is no big deal.
Thanks for suggesting the Shaping 101 DVD. I have it but haven't watched it in awhile. I forgot he talks about wood boards.
Beautiful boards by the way, I saw your builds in the archives and learned quite a bit.
