Making Alaia Blank from warped planks?

General Discussion
1

Hi Everyone,

 

My name is Vic and I'm on the west coast. I've been trolling this forum for a couple months now.

 

I've never shaped surfboards before and I'm trying to start out with a hand shaped Alaia since it seems to be simpler than the other shapes.

 

I've got a bunch of rough sawn Paulownia wood planks from WPI. They're quite rough, with some pieces warped.

I'm planning to join these planks together to make a blank using Marine epoxy. The wood is roughly finished and roughly line up together with like a 1/4" gap in between or less.

 

Now I've got a couple questions.

Firstly, I plan to glue the planks together and apply pressure on the sides with some heavy tiles (they are 1 inch thick). I also plan to have the tiles on the top to try to flatten the warped planks. The planks are slightly warped... when I place them on the floor and apply weight on one end, the bottom of the other end is between 1/4" to 3/4" above the floor. Will the blank be ok after it dries or will the warped wood mess it up, or prevent it from sticking in the first place?

 

Secondly, can I glue the planks together the way they are or should i plane the joining edges first? The edges right now are slightly rough, and I figure that'll provide more surface area for the epoxy to grab?

Thirdly, I am planning to have a significant amount of epoxy glue in btw the planks. Will this affect the blank negatively?

Fourthly, I am thinking about drilling some holds in the middle planks to improve bouyancy... should I even be contemplating this for my first board?

Lastly, I've seen some folks put in some sanding dust as a filler for the epoxy glue. Should I do so? Also, I don't have any sanding dust (it's my first board!). What should I use as a replacement?

I'm at work right now so I'll upload some pictures of the planks tonight!

 

Thanks in advance your advice / suggestions!

 

Thanks,

 

Vic

2

The edges of your boards should be perfectly straight and flat so that they bond well.  I’d make a pass over a jointer, then take that edge and rip the board on a table saw.  Don’t use tiles or other weighted objects to clamp the boards together.  That may work for bonding boards face to face, but not edge to edge.  Use bar clamps or devise a wedge system and two straight edges.  When gluing boards, alternate the direction of the annual rings.  One facing up, one facing down, etc.  This will help prevent cupping.  Drilling holes won’t add bouyancy, but it will make the board lighter.  You can add glue and saw dust after the board is shaped and rough sanded, using the dust that was created in the process.

3

Thanks Surfifty. I'm going to see if I can borrow some time on someone's jointer. So the warpness(?) of the planks won't be a big factor?

4

If the planks are bowed, (meaning curved along their length, not side to side) try to straighten them in the clamping process.  I would suggest that you dry clamp them to see if you can work the bow out of them using one of the straighter boards as a base starting point.  Then un-clamp, add glue and re-clamp.  You may have to glue only one or two boards at a time to maintain straightness.  Without seeing the boards it’s hard to give suggestions.

5

[quote="$1"]

Thanks Surfifty. I'm going to see if I can borrow some time on someone's jointer. So the warpness(?) of the planks won't be a big factor?

[/quote]

 

Here's a suggestion.  Joint one side of the board on the jointer, and then rip it into 1" to 2" wide strips with a table saw.  Flip every other board over, so the annular rings oppose one another.  Next, glue everything up with PVA wood glue, and clamp the heck out of it in all directions.  You should be able to clamp it into a nice flat blank.  Don't use epoxy to glue the boards together.  The hard bits could damage your planer blades.


Don't worry about buoyancy.  Wooden alaia's don't have any.  Be prepared to be disappointed unless you are a spindly young grom that can stand up on a Boogie board if you want to.

6

Note: You don't necessaritly have to go through the trouble of ripping your board into thin strips to flatten out the warping.  Alaias are supposed to flex.  I don't think that 1/4 of warpage is going to make a huge difference in the way it rides.  I'm just guessing, though.  I've never successfully ridden a wooden alaia before.