Building a Balsa Wood Surf Board

Got some choice balsa as long as I could get. Ordered some red foam stringers from US Blanks. Cut the rocker, spot glued the sticks, rough shaped and then knocked it apart to chamber it. Finished it up and rode some waves. 10'5 25 lbs. I call it the Waikiki Cruiser and that's where it's going: to Hawaii. I think it'll be the perfect board for Pops, Paradise, and small Threes. Minimal gentle rocker and 50/50 rails.
Saved some scraps from the stringers and sent them over to Juan Rodriguez. "Make me a fin," I said. "Ok", he said.
Here's a link to the webpage showing more photos of the build:
www.balsabill.com/BalsaBoardRe...
The music is from the soundtrack to "The Summer of '67" produced by Jay Yerkes and played by the Surf Chasers: Jay on Guitar and Bass with Dale King on Drums.
www.balsabill.com

[@lngbrder2]

you do beautiful work , im 64 years old and used to longboard all the time . I used to come down to Cocoa beach and surf alot , been to your shop and met you actually . Life has took a toll on me and i have not surfed in 6 years , i have a nerve disease in my legs and feet so many things unable to do . but i have my longboard hanging on the wall and pray for better days ..

[@DOUBL3SCOOP]

this is definitely the best technique for making a surf board at home i have seen so far!

[@miguelrios2419]

Beautiful Work! not just that you are surrounded by a lot of peace and good energies by sea, for me is literally is the heaven.. beach, waves, a surf shop and the precious opportunity to make your own board!?.. Awesome

[@doowwhap1]

Great to see you at work, Surfing over the board with a sawingmachine... greetings from Holland

[@99bigaznkid]

Balsa Bill... Wooden William... you did a fantastic job on that board. The stringers came out beautifully along the nose and tail in the finished pictures. Muchos props dude.

[@ingridsboy]

This is amazing! This fellow looks like "Wild Willie", a pioneer surfer and skate boarder. Believe he was one of the 'stars' in the breakthrough children's show, "The Clubhouse with Bill and Bill".

[@africanbikemessengers9671]

so cool...and stylish on those waves

[@Unkledeth]

Wow man, thats really impressive man. You captured the classic longboard, i honestly think it would have caught Simmons' eye, (R.I.P. Bob)

[@CaliHavok]

Love it! I would love to build one someday!

[@capcloud]

Great work bill.

[@smokster0604]

I wish I could see pops face awesome build.....love wood...

[@BodhiNDaddy]

Epic. Your a legend!🔥

[@mathewlynn7254]

Beautiful!

[@keanoscarermitano619]

wow goodjob there! Real cool

[@GetFitRecipiesKennyandKari]

That's way cool. Love it.

[@oscarlarghi]

Beau-ti-ful! Felicitaciones desde argentina!

[@keeeefie]

'Tis a thing of beauty!

[@bangkobangko1391]

Beauty!!!!!

[@mgk-jackocios2407]

Awesome!!

[@biltongFTB]

Cheers Bill. I've seen in other hollow boards they sometimes use a vent to release air pressure for a change in temperature. In your experience do you think this is necessary for this type of board?

[@BalsaBill]

+biltongFTB When I took the last two to Hawaii I drilled small holes in the deck. Just a few random holes. When I got to Hawaii I filled them with toothpicks and put some suncure resin over them then waxed it up and went surfing. Go to my website balsa bill and search around you'll see how I fixed it.

[@charliemaloney2180]

really cool video! if i am building a stand up paddle board would you recommend building a chambered paulownia board or a hollow body board?

[@a2zhandi]

NICE work Bill~! Where'd you get the balsa timbers? Thanks

[@surferbro369]

Excellent work Bill. This is awesome. Is varnish enough to keep the board water tight while surfing? What size of beams did you use? They look like 3x4's that you slowly sanded down. Keep up the good work

[@BalsaBill]

+surferbro369 No varnish won't work. I use what ever size sticks I can get.

[@cambuxton5944]

that looks sick. Is there substantial benefit to chambering the board

[@BalsaBill]

That's actually an electric planer. It's the one they use to plane doors to make them fit.

[@jefersonjeff8627]

Ficou muito bom 👏👏👏👏👏

[@BalsaBill]

Yes I have surfed there a couple of times. Not in a while though.

[@jacquelinemiller5502]

ideal life

[@betif00]

Hi Bill. I have a question concerning balsa wood. I'm looking into lightweight strong wood for the construction of a 36" diameter shield for the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism, sca.org) . The shield needs to be sturdy enough to receive 3-4 pounds rattan sword blows. Shields typically last 1+ year(s) of extended use. Your opinion?

[@getsomemtb7427]

Not too many responses on questions, but throwing this out anyway. After hallowing out the ribs, were dowels used at all to line them back up?? 30 year wood worker about to tackle my first balsa board.

[@garyking262]

I like your boards is there any chance you would ship when he ran up to the States and how much would a used both so bored 9 6 or 10 foot cost

[@MrBanditoburito]

i need a little help planning on making a surfboard and wondering a design and mabye how much curve. for mini mal or retro fish, by the way great vid got realy inspired

[@JackPearsonfilms]

I am making a board and have 1\2 inch stringers and glued them together and need advice on how many inches deep my rocker should be

[@SuperBuckable]

how did you knock it apart so easily? Im about to start a similar project using cedar with hardwood stringers. It almost looks like you didnt glue the boards together before you planed the rocker template?

[@BalsaBill]

Full disclosure here: Didn't come out right the first time. That's why it's a 10'5 instead of a 10'6. Getting the balsa/cedar right without getting a dip in the foam (even a 1/16" dip is visible because of the contrast-red) was very difficult. Took three tries. It's the last pass with the sandpaper that does it. That's why you have to stop just one pass before it dips. As I once heard someone say; "You can't squeeze toothpaste back in the tube".

[@mariohuerta6188]

Your an inspiration! Did you glassed the board or just applied some monocoat oil or something for sealant? Mahalo!

[@BalsaBill]

It's glassed. Just like a foam board.

[@lucasmariaish]

Amazing Bill. Do you glass it in the end or just ride it with a varnish or similar type of coat?

[@BalsaBill]

Glass it. Just like a regular board. Don't need much though. 1 layer is enough.

[@MrBanditoburito]

it me, again. just wondering. having a real hard time finding cedar,balsa, or paulownia wood. can i use plywood and do i have to chamer it? Thank you so much!

[@highplainsdrifter842]

Great work. But even if I can get hold of beams of balsa in the UK how am I going to make them curved like yours are?

[@BalsaBill]

The logs were warped when I got them. They come that way out of the jungle. Got to get them before a lumber company planes them down to make them look nice.

[@kramyx96]

Hi bill? Is the chamber neccessary for a 6'5 shortboard? And, where did you get those red stringers? I can't seem to find it on USblanks.com.Thanks man!

[@BalsaBill]

Yes

[@wseefried]

If you are using cedar or pine would you need to glass...or would the linseed oil work?

[@ninjagotguns]

Amazing vid! do you think pine wood is a doable alternative to balsa?

[@BalsaBill]

They did make boards out of pine back in the thirties. You could do some research and see the design. There was an article in Popular Science of Mechanics back then showing the process. But those boards are nothing like this. Pine is a lot heavier than balsa and while it might make a nice show board with some redwood or cedar stingers it would not be a good board to ride. I make my boards to ride.

[@HipHopNobby]

wow!

[@krusher74]

As in pva wood glue? (same stuff you use for the real gluing?)

[@zrl620]

What dimensions are the balsa planks? And how do I know how much to curve the board?

[@199617Joey]

how do you made the round shape( that the nose and tail are higher than the middle)? What for size is the board?

[@sylvainehelm-rauzy646]

Hi Balsa Bill ! I'm french and I want to shape a wooden surfboard and I was wondering what are you puting inside the board ?

[@tomasmalpique]

Hey Bill! did you let it closed? or do you have a valve? I did hear that the air inside could be bad in some way for the durability of the wood. what do you think? did you glass it? cheers!

[@BalsaBill]

When I shipped it to Hawaii I drilled small toothpick sized holes in several places on the deck. When I got there I just stuck in some toothpicks with some white glue. Cut them flush and put a little suncure over it.

[@avigabay.timberwoodproject3372]

hi bill the video was really insipiaring what else can i use instead of the foam stringers?

[@krusher74]

What glue was used initially before he broke it apart?

[@georgiansurferjay4228]

Cool🙏

[@sohy3010]

wow! amazing! what wood dod you make it out of? thanks

[@wiscgaloot]

you're kidding, right?

[@BalsaBill]

No. As you can see in the video I only add one piece at a time when gluing. Lining up is no problem that way.

[@JackPearsonfilms]

I am using ceder stringers

[@stephenAburns]

can you recommend a balsa wood supplier?

[@BalsaBill]

I wouldn't build a short board out of balsa. No amount of chambering would get it light enough for a short boarder. I did get the red foam stringers from US blanks. Just got some green foam from them for my next project.

[@BalsaBill]

Elmer's white glue.

[@VanFilmz]

how did you get the fin onto the board? this was never shown.

[@jamesmorris8721]

Goat talk

[@BalsaBill]

Let me know how it works out.

[@BalsaBill]

Not if you're gonna surf it. It will weigh a ton. We use balsa for surfboards because it is light.

[@BalsaBill]

The fin is put on when the board is glassed. I don't glass my boards. I have someone else do it. Suggest you check glassing videos to see how this is done.

[@BalsaBill]

Hi Lance.

[@TheOMGminecraft]

Wait wait why did you knock it apart?

[@Bspice626]

do you / is it important to glass balsa wood surfboards?

[@BalsaBill]

Mmmmm. Might be worth trying but I doubt it would hold good enough to endure the rough shaping process. Sometimes the spot glues don't hold and have to be reglued. Other times they hold too good and the pieces don't come apart.

[@matmarianoart]

I can only find 1 meter long balsa sticks... What should I do?? Can I bound them at the middle? Help!!!!!!!

[@yochay883]

+matmarianoart you can build a board from Paulownia tree to, it's strong and lite tree, a little bit heavier than balsa but stronger

[@krusher74]

yes, you can glue up smaller planks

[@noahdrummond248]

how much does this whole in tire project cost?

[@BalsaBill]

I would use varnish. No glass.

[@guygetter6322]

?did you cover the board with fiberglass and epoxy

[@BalsaBill]

Regular poly glass job. Single 4 oz.

[@BalsaBill]

You could just use solid balsa, no stringers. I do that a lot. Check my website. Or you could use any combination of contrasting wood strips.

[@krusher74]

I would guess extra flotation, lighter weight to carry, and more flex.

[@IndraGunawanST]

Bagus sekali .

[@BalsaBill]

Balsa planks are whatever size I can get and they vary from source to source. "Curve the board?" Sounds like you need to do a lot of research on basic surfboard design. The information is out there. Just start searching.

[@nzjaba12do3]

wy do you pull it a part?

[@Fluffyhead147]

What are the red strips you used

[@BalsaBill]

+Fluffyhead147 Foam.

[@BalsaBill]

White glue. Just a few spots. Three, four, no more than five. About the size of a half dollar.

[@BalsaBill]

Sorry I have no idea.

[@joaogabriel-qc8oc]

friend how much weight this plank was ?

[@krusher74]

in description 10'5 25 lbs

[@BalsaBill]

Balsa

[@BalsaBill]

Wish I could help but I don't know. Try Swaylocks the board builders website. Do a search.

[@BalsaBill]

To cut the chambers to lighten it up.

[@BalsaBill]

All balsa comes from Ecuador.

[@zackmorris5679]

I'll bet you never have carved from a solid tree. The Duke carved from solid trees, until whittling enough around the edges for the perfect shape. I'm so sorry that the pinko environazis in California allowed all of those beautiful redwoods to burn to a crisp rather than putting them to use, shaping redwood trees into most excellent solid redwood surfboards.

[@BalsaBill]

Click here and scroll down. They all start with a tree. www.balsabill.com/boards.html

[@zackmorris5679]

​@@BalsaBill Sir, I respect what you do. Don't get me wrong...PLEASE. However, those are limbs and branches from foreign balsa. I'm talking CALIFORNIA REDWOOD TIMBER. Translation: some sixteen to twenty foot long planks of REDWOOD, that measure three to four feet wide, and four to six inches deep. The finished redwood surfboard would weight between one hundred to one hundred twenty pounds, for a ten to twelve foot log. Of course, this significantly increases with each foot, up to twenty feet long, if you're gangster moke.

[@Sidetrackification]

Can you estimate how many hours?

[@BalsaBill]

No. I never put a clock on it. And I don't do it all at one time. So it's impossible to really tell.

[@Sidetrackification]

@@BalsaBill I'll be ordering another ukulele from you soon, Thanks. ..

[@garyking262]

There are no surfboard shops up here that I know it's that sell you're bored here I would like to be one of your reps and so you're bored here

[@BalsaBill]

There are lots better than me. Set your sights higher.

[@a2zhandi]

looked to me like double sided tape

[@jeffreylear7594]

Why not build an oscilating table instead of you walking back 'n forth? Kyd

[@andreejmarbbf52]

The best thing I've found on the net was plans from Stodoys.