ive always wanted to do that. there is so much cedar washed up on the beaches around here.( vancouver island ) just not sure on the best way to cut them into planks. ive got a few spots were we go to cut firewood .some logging company went out of buisness and left some huge cedar trees to rot on the side of the road . there a bunch of yellow cedar there too. it seems alot denser then the red cedar.
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Isn’t Linden the German name for Lime trees?
It’s the dutch name 
:
NL: linden
FR: tilleul
UK: lime
DE: Linde
We built 10 or 20 chambered boards this spring in plantation grown poplar from eastern oregon. It is nice to work with and is definitely light enough and strong enough for a chambered board. I don’t know how it would work with a HWS. The wood we used was air dried for a year out east of the mountains and the water content was way down around 3%. The only trouble we had with our poplar was with the 2" thick stock. The plantation poplar (is there any other kind?) grows so fast that you have half a 2x6 made of of new wood (from last year) right next to the rest of the 2x6 made of of old wood (from four years ago). The result is that unless you glue everything up as soon as you unband the unit of wood, some of the boards just go warp crazy. U’s, S’s… If you waited long enough you’d probably get the whole alphabet! Other than that, it was a nice material to work with.
I’m with Paul, though. Whatever your construction technique; compsand, HWS, or chambered, the coolest material to work with is driftwood and blowdown. Hans, look around your neighborhood for something that is being cut down, has blown down or has washed up on your beach. Take it to a local mill and shape it next spring. I shaped a beautiful (is it ok to brag about your own boards if you are just talking about the materials?) chambered fish from a big hemlock that blew across our road last winter. It was the first time that I had shaped a board from a single log and it turned out amazing. It is wild to see grain patterns that go across and down the whole board. After the storms this winter, I expect we’ll be doing quite a few more of those next summer.
Lars
i have been trying to get poplar here. i remember it as a kid showing off like i was popeye lifting big logs.
it looks like it has been declared a weed here as it grows from a broken twig etc. it was taking over whole areas of land and has been eradicated. anyone else in oz know of any left around?
sonnycheeba
go get the yellow cedar it is the best timber you will get your hands on
cut it out of the log in as big a flitch & as square as pos(6x6)
then resaw it or get somone to 3ml veners for composits would love some of that
huie
ill grab some red and yellow cedar. iam sure that would be a good mix.ill look into getting it cut into planks. i guess i should wait till its fully dried to have it planed down . for venners
How about Paulownia, you can grow them from tubers…
Of all the boards, heck even all my finish carpentry projects, none were as soul enriching as cutting Sitka Spruce from an old growth log, then eventually building a board with that wood and some Yellow Cedar from the beach on Nootka Island…That board is now less than 100 yards in either direction from where the wood came…That is the only place it should be…
Aloha Hans,
This is “civilised” mans willow application.
If it is all you can get, maybe you could mulch it, add microballoons and press it between glass layers w resin for a sandwich.
tasty?
definitely bendable,
perimeter rail stringer??
That are the branches of the willow.
You can use the rest too 
In the netherlands it was used a lot to make these things:
because it is soft and light.
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Of all the boards, heck even all my finish carpentry projects, none were as soul enriching as cutting Sitka Spruce from an old growth log, then eventually building a board with that wood and some Yellow Cedar from the beach on Nootka Island…That board is now less than 100 yards in either direction from where the wood came…That is the only place it should be…
cool you must have stashed it up there. because there isnt a soul to be found up there. ive heard people do that up at cape scott. because its an 8 hour hike to the beach. iam going to keep my eye openfor some wood.
Milling a 35’ plank 6" thick…
The driftwood beach…
Not exactly stashed in the woods…
“Not exactly stashed,”?
looks like perfectly stashed with options!
wow very cool! and inspiring!!
Aspen’s pretty light. It dulls the blades though.
The subject is most interesting. I’ve been thinking the same thing for a while. I don’t know what to think about the shipping process, but I tend to think that on longer term it’s good to use products from the nearby area. I think the unnecessary shipping shoul be avoided, and traficing minimized. For example our economy structure here in Finland relies heavily on export, but it’s because of the trend of globalism, not because we wouldn’t have other options to keep the society running. I’m no expert, but I think it’s a similar thing in the third world, everybody not buying balsa harvested there would have dramatic short term effects, but since it happens slowly their economies would adjust.
I don't know where you all have gotten your information on the harvesting of balsa for surfboards but I can tell you it is lacking at best. Balsa used for rhinobalsa blanks ( I can't speak for everyone) is grown only in plaintations. True Balsa is a weed and will grow to maturity in 6 years but it must be planted intentionally close together to get long straight pieces for surfboards. Natural grouth will not be nearly as good.
You can plant these trees any where you have the proper climate. The are for example, currently growing in hawaii.
In a poverty ridden country such as Ecuador where our wood comes from this actually saves the rain forrest by providing income to the people so they don't have to go out and chop down the forrest to feed their familly. More info is available on my website <a href="http://www.rhinobalsa.net" class="bb-url">www.rhinobalsa.net</a>.
Thanks, Gary
That is Paul on the left and Dan on the right. Totally legit. Trust me, it might not look it on the photo but that was was one BIG log!