This is my first all Paulownia board, I have a zillion paulownia slats (from a blind factory) at 1/8th of an inch thick so the deck and bottom will be 2 and 3 layer multi directional laminations of slats.
Here’s the outline of the board (a 9’7") and fin setup. . . a ten inch diameter tunnel with two 4"x4" keel fins:
And the bottom being laid out:
The tunnel:
that paulownia wood looks great. do you have a link to the place where u bought it? was it a website or something you found in a store near you?
Turbo J I am in New Zealand so not sure if a Paulownia supplier over here is going to be much use to you, I got the stock from a neighbour who was moving to Perth and had a load of it from a blind factory which went out of business. . . mostly 3mm slats but also some bigger stuff and a huge stack of 6"x2" blocks about 2 feet long. I have a link to a Paulownia supplier in the USA somewhere in my old computer, can dig it out if you like.
Cheers,
Roy
tom your icon is giving me a eye spasm
stoked to see this one take shape Roy.
How’s the weight of the paulownia compared to your standard redwood or monterey pine? It would be really interesting if you ended up with roughly the same weight as a standard heavy glassed 10’ foam longboard, just in terms of ride comparison. Hmm. With that template, any bottom contours or are you going with your standard parallel profile?
Pat
groovy man …
it’s good to see another board of yours take shape here , Roytom / tomroy !
I was just thinking the other day it’s been a while since one of your documented boardmaking threads
cheers
ben
…does your friend who is moving to perth surf ? I’d be interested to meet him if so …will he have an orange wetty too I wonder ??
Hi Chip, the lady’s name is Erina, she’s single I believe, don’t have an address though sorry.
Hi Pat,
The Paulownia is lighter than Redwood and a bit heavier than balsa, but much stronger.
Maybe a smidgin of concave, yep parallel profile (That’s not STANDARD parallel profile BTW, it’s revolutionary, amazing, modern, functional, the best of all possible profiles, a quantum leap ahead in profiling, etc etc) 
Weight wise, we will have to see, but I’m going lighter on this one for sure, maybe a ridiculously light 25 pounds.
Best I go and do some work on it. . all talk and no work makes Tom a Blow***e !
.
tom your icon is giving me a eye spasm
Yes it’s a bit of a contrast to your snail avatar. … . don’t worry, those spasms start at around 33mph, they clear up at 35mph, just wind it up a bit faster.
Hi Tom
That board look great. It’s wonderful to see guys trying such different shapes.
That tunnel looks interesting. How does it compare to having a fin back there? What are the characteristics of the ride with the tunnel?
Looking forward to seeing this one take shape.
Antman
If I may Roy, I think I know the answer to this one…
In regards to the tunnel fin,
I think I read somewhere that it makes the board go FAST!
Ah ha! But what about turning? Does that baby have a traction control button?
Roy
When i first started making kiteboards years ago i use to lay up 3 to four layers of paulownia (kiri) blind slats much the same way. The boards tended to come out heaver than just a solid pice of timber and more flexy as well. But they where as strong as. I now just use a solid piece (12mm thinned down to 6mm tips) and heat bend/over bend to get the minimal rocker for kiteboards.
The 1/8 (3mm) strips would be great as a skin over a EPS blank (compsand). I like the shape of the squid what benefits of the 1/4 moon tips do you think you will get?
The shape looks like it might be a bit slow…
cheers
Hi Chip, the lady’s name is Erina, she’s single I believe, don’t have an address though sorry.
alright !!
just send me a [private ] photo , tell her to lurk / work at scarborough coles , and I’ll keep my eyes open for her .
[ummmm… by the way …she IS under 50 years old , right ??]
cheers special agent Roy !!
ben
OR…
plan B …
she could , of course , surf in the fluro orange one piece …that way , I WON’T miss her !
…cool , is she a kiwi , then ??? [I heard <span style=“font-weight:bold”><span style=“font-style:italic”>those</span></span> birds don’t fly]
TJ,
you might try calling these guys:
M.L. CONDON
248 Ferris Ave.
White Plains, NY 10603
tel: 914-946-4111
fax: 914-946-3779
Lumber, plywood, mouldings, custom millwork, veneers, etc
They are listed in wooden boat building mags as a great resource. I have a paulowinia supplier down in western MD - let me look for the links…
TJ,
“do a search” - just kidding… :>
I found this from an earlier post of mine:
[=1]
[ 4]Buyers of Paulownia for Domestic Markets[/]
- Mount Hope Farms, Dan Blickenstaff
16345 Mt. Tabor Rd.Hagerstown, MD 21740
(301) 790-2372
Fax: (301) 790-1717
his email is mthope@erols.com does carry 3 - 4" stock but very expensive & long time to dry in kiln Does customer order, suggested 4/4 then glue up 4/4 premium 100bf $4/bf 4/4 #1 100bf $3/bf 4/4 #2 100bf $2/bf link where I found it: http://www.paulowniatrees.org/links.htm Nice guy - didn’t blow me off when I asked him all sorts of (probably dumb) questions
disclaimer - I haven’t actually bought from him… hope the info helps.[/]
“Giddyap, damn you! Faster! Ahhahaha! Faster! Faster! I need MORE SpEED! More SPEeeD!”
Fun avvy, Tomroy
If you look away so that the avatar is just in the corner of your eye, it as if he’s going mach 2
I’ve been looking into paulownia weights/densities, and did some tests myself - here’s the results:
Balsa seems most commonly to weigh around 150 kg/m3 (9 - 10 pound per cubic foot), but can range from around 100 kg/m3 (6 pound) to 200 kg/m3 (13 pound).
The paulownia I have weighs in at 240 kg/m3 (15 pound per cubic foot).
Redwood - 450 kg/m3 (28 pound), Pine - 500 kg/m3 (31 pound).
Waaaay stronger than balsa, ('scuse the pun) and I fully believe the claims that it soaks up less resin, resulting in a lighter overall weight, you can use thinner pieces for same strength as well.
I’ve fully jumped on the paulownia band-wagon, the stuff is great.
Really straight grain, and I can get balsa any longer than 48 inch pieces, whereas paulownia I can get 10 foot+.
Just my own “bend a stick” test, but it feels more twangy (technical term) than balsa, so maybe that translates into a lively board? hope so.
Great wood.
Kit
thanks for the links guys
As soon as I’m finished with my EPS blanks I’ll be trying some paulownia railed compsands.