I’m making my own blank, and I’ve already have the rocker cut top and bottom, but now I’m ready to cut it in half, now I don’t have a long hotwire tool, I do have the harp tool which is normally use for cutting the rocker of the blank, so I’m ready to cut the blank in half and I thought on using the hotwite u tool and do the same thing but in this case follow a straight guide along the center of the blank, that’s the idea…if that works all i need is the stringer, but I’ve started asking myself, what kind?
I know i could use basswood, red cedar, balsa and ply which I preferred wood
bu t my question is which way do I cut the wood, do I follow the grain, which of all four are better, as far a flexibility but also durability
by the way I’m using 2.0 EPS Foam, and I will be using epoxy resin
thanks
IMHO…it’s a matter of opinion and/or preference.
I have used bass, ply(and there are many different types of ply), maple, and am currently using bamboo.
If you want inexpensive, just you standard melamine ply works fine but it is certainly not “the best”
Bass is a good old standard that you can never go wrong using.
It all depends on what you want, and what you want to spend.
I was just in the wood shop the other day and there was an 1/8" sheet of ply(can’t remember the type) going for $130.
Needless to say, none of my boards will have that as a stringer. LOL
Tanks for the reply
money is not a problem I just wan to make sure I get one that works good
also what kind glue do you use, and most important to me is the direction of the wood or ply, I know some people use unidirectional ply, but let say I use basswood, which way should I cut the wood?
thanks
again
I have only used two different glues, so I might not be the right guy to ask about that.
I’m still kind of looking for the “perfect” glue. Right now I am using Gorilla Glue because a few respected friends said it was OK.
I’m still waiting for one of these Guru’s to give me the glue secret! LOL
As far as cutting, If I understand your question, you want to cut along/with the grain. I believe the correct term is perpendicular to the grain.
So…the only time you would be crossing the grain is when you are cutting the rocker.
I hope that makes sense and I didn’t butcher the explanation too bad.
Hope that helps.
1/8" Ply from Lowes works fine. $12 - $15 more or less, don’t waste any money even if you have trash cans full.
I’ve made hundreds of stringers from large beams of Cedar, Bass, Balsa and some with sheets of
bending popular, bass, Luan and Marine Ply British Standard 88 (Strong as heck) for guns.
If your milling wood and doing mass production Bass is the most practial their is and plus it’s easy to plane.
Spruce is really strong but for a shortboard its overkill.
Keep it simple and go with the Lowes 1/8" Ply. The stringer should follow the grain sheet anyway.
It will be strong enough and will provide flex without adding too much weight.
Definitely listen to surfding.
I’ve seen some of the stuff he has done with stringers. CRAZY MAN, JUST CRAZY!
Yeah, I just picked up some 1/8" ply for some blanks that I got from surfding.
If it’s you first time doing it, just go with that. It’s plenty strong and it’s easy to work with.