I been using paulownia for some years now. Recently I've started milling it to spec for other board makers and got an inquiry from LA . - the frieght killed it off . The only way I can see it being viable is to get all interested people together and buy a larger quantity , which would be cheaper in timber cost and in freight. I can take care of business at this end , so if enough people get on board and get together ,maybe it will work out beneficial............so who's interested?
What kind of BF prices are we talking to Southern California?
Dimentions?
Hey Ding,
The timbers is under $2k (aus),per cubic metre, rough-sawn to planks ( generally 5" by 4") , the shipping cost , I'd have to make inquiries. Dimensions can be cut to what you want
The Balsawood I get from Equador is 4" x 6" x 10 feet.
I can make Longboard or Gun blanks from there.
Or is it better to just have the blanks made in OZ and shipped?
I can make blanks here, but the frieght costs would make it too expensive I think . My thought was, get anyone wanting pualownia to split the costs , and,basically , you pay less money and get more wood .It would depend on how many people were interested
Ding, there is plenty of Paulownia in the US, mostly on the other coast though. The growers just haven’t been marketing to the surfers yet like they are here.
Rod at http://paulownialumberandsupply.com/ has some top quality Paulownia and is really helpful and his prices are pretty similar to what you would pay here in OZ.
Hey !!...problemo solved !!......hope it works out OK.
Surfinggreen:
I know the Pualownia is a big fad right now. Being a woodworker I know of some other woods that are just south of me in central and south america that are lighter and prettier than the Pualownia. I think for Australian board builders it makes sense to use the wood that is available in their local. For us here in the states the Pualownia is way to expensive for what it is. I can make a board with much better wood for 60% of the cost of Pualownia. If I was in OZ I would use the Lacewood and chamber it. Each region of the world has their own unique woods that can be used to make boards. It's amasing how much influence the Sprout Film as had in promoting one species of wood? Tom Wegner was just using what is available on the Sun Shine Coast where he is now living. Just as Gary Linden uses Agave here in California. We need to give the growers a few good years to get some yield of Pualownia to make decent boards for a fair price. In the mean time we all need to be patient. I don't mean to sound Jaded I'm just trying to be realistic.
Surfding
Got any recommendations for us East Coasters? Paulownia grown a few states south of us here in NJ is still freakin’ expensive. I like the sound of lighter and cheaper… how about stronger… or at least as strong? What about kiln dried white cedar?
Just as strong only prettier and lighter and much less money.
Called what?
The best iv managed to find in Ireland would be obeche or ceder but neither are as light as the paulownia.
My main wood is balsa. I've been using paulownia for impact strength on decks ,but the last few years, with the popularity of paulownia more and more people ask for it.For me balsa has been the 1st choice,and always will be. Simple.
Forgive the ignorance for I dont know shit, but what makes balsa the 1st choice? I thought paulownia grows quicker, was around the same weight, had a higher impact resistance and was more resiliant to water? I do surf a paulownia log (and she flys) a friend recently made himself a ceder hw log and im looking forward to a crack off that and the obeche only just arrived so nothings been made from that yet (but it seems to be lighter then ceder but a little heavier then paulownia) but Iv yet to try a balsa log.
What would be the benifit to sway me from going down the paulownia route again?
Is balsa an options for alaias?
After observing the damage to my snapped compsand which was balsa with a paulownia stringer/springer, the resin really adhered a lot better to the paulownia, while it peeled very cleanly off the balsa, almost as though the epoxy did not penetrate the balsa. For that reason I’d like to work more with paulownia, but…
Paulownia tomentosa- Introduced in US as a plantation tree and escaped to become an invasive species. from New York to Florida to Texas and northward to Arkansas and Oklahoma. There is a lot of it growing out there. On last summers trip from Florida to Washington DC I saw a lot of it. It had no comercial Value in the US. Then a furniture buyer from Japan saw the tree on a buying trip to I think it was South Carolina. In Japan it is a valued wood for temple building and furniture (Tonsu). Well he contracted several mills to cut and send the logs to Japan and now look!!! The price just keeps going up. But the small local mills still consider it a trash tree . If you want it cruise the local country side mills and you can find it cheep!! The responce I got from a couple hillbilly mills is- "What do you want that shit for?" Surfding is right It's a fad and overpriced! If you want wood for building your surfboards you wont find it in your lumber yard! Cruise around, find out which local farmers have a woodmizer or small saw mill. They cut what ever is around and it sells green for cheap. Anyone who cant find wood locally is not looking. No need to buy at the lumberyards. There are all kinds of woods that have no comercial value and once you get plugged in to a local wood cutter you can get them. Fast growing trees that are harvested at a young age will give you light weight wood. Heck when I visit my freind on his farm in Minnesota they are useing white oak, red oak ,ash, birch and other woods that are cabinet worthy for cement forms. The softer woods they don't even bother with ( That ! It aint even good nuff fur fir wood !!!!) In 1998 I worked a reforstation project in Hue Vietnam where we planted 5,000 acers in Paulownia and they had plans for more. There markedt Japan. Yes , I use balsa wood because I grow my own. Not likely to us paulownia cause its not affordable.
Wood_Ogre: I like your asessement.
Balsa is easy to shape. Never had a delam. You need to paste first then lam.
Howzit Wood_Ogre, I wonder if anyone is grabbing any of the albezia that they are cutting At Kalihiwai, it's laying all over the place.Aloha,Kokua
Yeah, paulownia is a real problem when it gets out of control - can be a property owners nightmare . It keeps throwin out suckers like a banana tree , and left unmanaged , becomes one big tangled mess!!
Balsa is the best wood for surfboards hands down. Yeah, it sucks water when you get a ding---small price to pay for the performance you get.......its not just the lightness, there's somethin there that just glides better than anything else - it's what they use to make surfboards up in heaven !
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https://swaylocks7stage.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/Balsa#2_pic_7.jpg