krazyderek Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 Ok, well i don't really know where to start looking other then surboard pages, but i went to the beach today and i thought it would be fun to make my own boogie board, cause good ones around here at like 70$,..... and well... the cosco ones are 10$.. but you pay for what you get.. So i'm going to use Balsa wood for obvious reasons. I'm worried about crushing it when i joint, glue and clamp 2 or 3 peices together :S, anyone worked with this wood before? i was thinking about using purple heart, beech, or some other really hard in expensive wood strips in between the peices for lateral strength, i got my friends board to copy the specs off of. Anyways, hope this isn't to annoying, i'm seriously not trying to be an a$$, but any advice on the carpentry side of this would be appreciated if it helps i'll paint a guitar on the top side of the board ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 You will definatly need the strips for strength and glass it too.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted July 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 ya my friend makes skim boards in his basement so he's going to show me how to fiber glass the bottom and i guess i'll just use the resin on the top to keep it see thru (wood coloured?) or should i put the fiber on top as well? i'm guessing a nice thick layer (many coats) of sanding sealer would be a really good idea? should i try some laquer? or just go to fiber glass once the sealer is all on and sanded smooth and flat? Thanks alot brian, i really appreciate this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 Dude, I work with Balsa wood constantly in RC modelling, and I'm here to tell you, unless you use it as a core only, and fiberglass (carbon fiber would be preferable) the entire thing to make a structural skin, it will crush and break in no time. For what it's worth, with the cost of Balsa wood, and if you skinned it in carbon fiber, you'll spend your $70 easily, balsa wood is one of the most expensive woods you can buy without going into the exotic wood world, it's incredibly light, and very soft. Most surfboards (and I would assume boogie boards) are made with a foam core, and a hard composite exoskeleton. it's a high density foam as well. To be honest, generally, when you can buy one for $70, you probably can't build it for that, they can sell them for that, because they are buying in quantity, but to go out and buy fiberglass resin, fiberglass cloth, and core material, you'll probably spend $70. If you do it with Carbon fiber, it will be substantially more. This is a project to do because you want to learn, not to save a buck. For safety reasons, I would not use balsa wood personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted July 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 yup, 160$ was the quote for 8 feet of 1 foot by 2 inch board, which is what' i'll need, omg... then the fiberglass stuff, the resin for the glass, sanding... and some "exotic" wood for structural strength in the board it's self.... but the purple heart will only be about 12$ for more then enough.. http://www.riley.com.au this place uses balsa on at least some of their boards, probably for a more traditional board, and as such they probably sell for more, but at least i know they're used in that field.. well i've turned by attention to douglas fir and basswood the next 2 lightest woods, they're about twice as heavy but half the price, per board foot that are available to me localy... thanks guys, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 basswood should be about 1/10th the cost of balsa wood, balsa wood is more expensive than gold by weight, interesting huh? Depending on the grade of balsa wood you use anyway, what they consider contest grade which is 6 to 7 pound per cubic foot, regular balsa is 12 to 13 pound. I'd go with basswood, or pine, or poplar, anything but balsa LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted July 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 76.80 $ for 8 ft of douglas fir, and odly enough, the same for 8 ft of basswood, odd... but they're both going to be about twice the weight as B grade balsa, Could douglas fir ever be used for necks or bodies? it's about the same weight as basswood so.... maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGM Guitars Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 you can use it for bodies if you want, but I wouldn't use basswood of fir for a neck, why do you have to buy 8 feet of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted July 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 actually i have a basswood neck in the other room, but it has a purple heart strip in the center. well a boogie board is 2 feet by 4 feet.. so, 8 feet of 1 foot by 2inches... then just cut in half and glue together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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