It"s hard to believe that I built my balsa kite fish back in oct, nov 2006. It has served me well and I have learned a lot from it. Now I am getting ready to build the next generation. I have got my drawings done. This afterenoon I went out to the balsa grove and cut down two balsa trees that were damaged in the last wind storm. I will be milling tomorrow and you can fallow along in pictures if you are interested. This is the wood that I will use in the build and it should be ready in about 2 months. Took the picture after dark so it’s not to good but will get some good ones tomorrow. Need to practice on the picture posting. Aloha Wood_Ogre
tommo31 No not lucky we planted our balsa trees about 6 years ago. It’s an ongoing project and I will be planting about another 1/2 acre in may. I am experimenting with how to grow them to compensate for the wind problems we have here. My thought is to top out the trees above the second set of limbs let the tops bush out but keep them prunned so all the growth goes into the bottom 2 section and thuse getting 2 fat saw logs out of each tree! Aloha Wood_Ogre
tommo31 type in Wood_Ogre in the search box top of Swaylock’s page and you will get the threads for building Kite Fish. Let me know what you think! Aloha Wood_Ogre
I dont know about balsa specifically, but generally with young trees its best to keep as much low limb growth to increase the caliber and strength of the trunk early, since the sugars from the most proximal leaves are more redily available to the trunk’s development. I ve seen the large shade producing leaves of the balsa, promoting to much top bush early may shade the lower limb’s leaves leading to a more etiolated spindly trunk. I could see how any wind would torture such broad fast growing leaves, necessitating a substaintial wind break.
On Maui we have wind and it made for some strong Wili Wili , especially when they were bunched up in hedge type plantings, long and relatively straight etiolated trunks developed.They were great for composite skin planking; but most became riddled with wasp larvae and beetles. Perhaps a little wind, though challenging, may make for a stronger more flex oriented balsa.
Balsa and bamboo would be a nice combo for a wind break, both relatively renewable and sustainable; even as a composite board build...light and springy flex. Growing your own trees is the real deal, we could all stand to touch the earth a little bit more and develope a bit of stewardship.
Very cool to see you popping up again on sways. I’ve been crazy impressed, not to mention educated, by your posts in the past.
Did I understand you correctly? Are you saying those trunks are only six years old?
Another question, and please forgive me if it sounds silly: is there such a thing as male and female balsa?
Years back living in Ecuador I had some balsa logs cut up by the local guys intending to make a board or two. The wood seemed kinda heavy, though, and when I took it to an old woodworker to have it thickness planed, he told me that balsa could be either male or female - one being lighter than the other - and that I had bought the wrong kind for what I was doing. Ultimately, I used it for other stuff, and just have always wondered if his explanation was true.
Balsa is easy to cut so I use this little chainsaw powered band saw. The first cut is made with a cutting guide and after that I just run the saw on the log. My first two cuts is to get the pith out of the log. There is a lot of tension in these logs so the pith plank always splits. I cut most of my slabs at 2-1/4 inches . After the wood is dry I will resaw the planks into the thickness i need for making the skins for the surfboards.
Checked out the kite fish thread, stunning board and a great thread cant wait to see the results.
Your final finish was with polyurethene spray, i spray furniture myself but we tend to use celulose do you have any experience of this or how well it would work as a final clear coat…
tommo31 I have been a furniture maker, cabinet maker for a long long time and spray finish everything I make. I no longer use celulose laquers all though at one time it was my most used finish. It is not a good finish for surf boards , nor is polyurathane all though I do like to spray polyurethane on high ware furniture. For surfboards I use acrylic urathane automotive clear coat ( two part) . Thats the stuff that can kill you real fast if you don’t use the right protective gear.(like self contained breathing mask) Aloha Wood_Ogre
Wood-Ogre,fantastic job!!I am an admirer of fine craftsmanship,and that’s sum mighty fine work.They must be sum heavy duty racks!!Keep up the fine work!!How would silky oak work as a veneer?
I got silk oak, would go good with koa and I have been thinking about it. Anyway back to the show. after you get all the slabs cut you got to put it all together again. I usually try to cut the pith out in a 2- 1/4 inch plank. there is a lot of stress there and they always split big time. My logs aren’t big enough to box out the pith. Anyway I paint on some Hybor because we have a problem with powder post beetles here. Then I crank together the split center plank and paint and sticker the other slabs and wrap it with twine to hold it as straight as I can for drying.
