Where do I get balsa in San Francisco Bay Area? I’m working on a 1960s O’Neil 9’6" longboard that had a balsa 2"x4" stringer the length of the board except nose and tail block redwood. It took on water for a few years because someone drilled through the wooden fin and delaminated the glass on sides of fin. That created a channel for water to get to the stringer, turned it into termite food. Ironicly the foam was in great shape (different density back then I guess)! If I cant find balsa I’ll use EPS foam, thiner piece of redwood, and epoxy to get the original weight. I can find balsa strips at a craft store. That’s what I’ll use for the original look. Just thin strip of balsa on top of other materials to look like original stringer. I can’t seem to find any major planks of the stuff though. I know a lot of you would say go lighter with just 1/4" cedar or basswood stringer and foam but part of this board’s charm is gliding through the chop as if it was nothing. Just don’t let the sucker hit you! It weighed 40 pounds when I first got it! 4 pounds was water. I took the wet balsa wood to my friends wood kiln and dried it. It went from 10 pounds to 6. So the final weight for the board should be 35-36lbs.
I would call MacBeath Hardwood and ask, i think Benny1 got some from them a while ago.
You could also ask Matt Ambrose if he knows being a surfblank supplier in Pacifica.
(www.ambroseindustrialsurfboards.com)
I got a solid balsa blank from Rino Balsa and think they make deliveries up here once in a while. Maybe you could piggy back a sringer on one of their orders.
Let us know what you find.
Good luck!
you can order smaller cuts from USblanks. 2"x4"x8’+ are available i believe
i was going to say MacBeath hardwoods too...
make sure you call first 'cause they don't always have it in stock.