here's my 2 cents from recent balsa experience - -
i have seen 2 balsa made recently by different shapers, each with 30+ years of experience and both well-known in the industry, having worked with and learned from the icons such as weber, duesendorffer, frye, etc etc in the 60's and 70's.
each shaper made their own blanks by gluing balsa planks together like a cutting board.
shaper no. 1: each plank was first 'chambered' by basically hollowing out the center of the plank using a router, then glued together. the chambering greatly reduces the weight. the board is then shaped as usual, although with more hand planing than with foam. the only problem is i he miscalculated and actually shaped through the wood to the chamber in one area, but he fixed it 'ok'. the board is gorgeous, and has been ridden, but is mainly a wall hanger. its a 9'3 or 9'6 i think, and weighs about 40 lbs. this shaper has a full time business doing dozens of boards per month.
shaper no 2: this is my shaper of late, he is very good but very meticulous, and does this as a second job producing 5 to 8 boards per month. his balsa method is to spot glue the planks togther with a sheet or two of newspaper between the planks. he then shapes the board to 90% completion or so, breaks the planks apart, chambers them, then reglues and finishes the shaping. more work, more time, but it shows. the board he is presently making is a 9'0 rhino chaser, weighing in at 12 lbs on the blank, and should be about 20 lbs upon completion. given the lesser volume of a rhino chaser compared to the longboard abovem, it still appears to be a better chambering job. this was awesome balsa, owned for 20 yrs by the surfer having the board shaped, stored in an attic the entire time and with a built in warp that is almost perfect rocker already.
shaper no. 2 made my most recent and most prized surfboard ever this past year, a foam blank with balsa rails. we started with an epoxy blank acquired from shaper no. 1, who has the best epoxy system in the industry, having the foam made here locally at 2 lbs/cf. we did not chamber the balsa on this board. as finished, the balsa comes in about 2.5 inches at the wide point, and runs 7' of length. i added nose and tail blocks that i made from balsa and redwood, fitting each to the board on a curve, as well as some balsa inlays. the transition from balsa to foam and back made for some interesting shaping challenges.
the board is gorgeous and rides like a dream, i have been able to test it on 8 to 12 foot faces twice this fall, as well as our typical texas surf. at 1/4 inch shy of 10', it weighs in at a svelte 20lbs, even without scimping on the s glass and epoxy resin give it an extra durability to help counteract the ding hazards of epoxy foam. hanging around the shop during construction, i kept meticulous records on the volume and density of the balsa, the foam, weighing the blank before shaping and again before glassing, and collecting and weighing the foam and balsa dust - so i know exactly how much resin/foam/balsa/glass i have in it. i have no idea what i will ever do with this data, but its pretty cool to have it. my shaper says with proper chambering, easy on the glass, a 9'3 or 9'6 could be as little as 25 lbs.
the long and short - - talk to your shaper and make sure he knows what he is doing. not just any shaper can handle balsa correctly. also know your balsa and its origin and history, i doubt you will luck into 20-year old premium balsa like i did, but try to get the best you can. also be prepared to lay out some cash. further, i am pretty sure my shaper will be glad to give you or your shaper a little advice here and there, let you know anyone he knows in florida that knows balsa, or better yet - you may even consider using him.
look for the return of surfgeo.com soon, totally redone
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