First post on here. I’m making a 7’6” fun board out of paulownia using Grain’s plans.
They recommend glueing together five 5” planks for each deck. This lumber supplier of paulownia offers planks in 8 and 12” widths though, so my question is:
Would it be possible (better?) to glue together 2-3 planks instead of 5 to form the deck? Does that my any implications that I’m not immediately seeing? Is it better for more planks to be glued together or have only one or two glue points on the decks?
Hi John,
I’ve never built a wooden board but logic says to me that the thinner width (more planks) would make it easier to make a smoother curved deck. It would also be easier to make compound curves than with wider (therefore more rigid) planks. The supplier may be able to rip them to your desired width, otherwise it’s not a big jog to do it yourself. Good luck with the project!
Thin Paulownia is very flexible so contours should be not an issue.
I personally use 10cm (4“) wide boards so usually have 6+stringer for deck and bottom.
I don’t see any issue to use wider boards than Grain suggests. Grain usually does not use Paulownia so they might be planning with other commonly widths.
If you are unsure, you can always rip the boards to thinner strips but results in more glue, possible glue up issues and work.
I agree with eddiewoodgo, I don’t see any problem. Deck curvature is generally not all that extreme, and paulownia bends with the grain easy enough. No need to make more work for no reason.