Chop chop chop, sand sand sand and sand!

All right I am cutting the balsa pieces! I am using the Dremel Trio, it cuts the wood almost like knife cuts butter. Almost is the big nuance in the sentence… Let say that it is not very difficult to cut but because the Dremel is a rotary tool it make things a little tricky. This rotary movement gives a big willing to the tool to go to some “preset direction”. To make a straight cut you have to fight this willing and find a good angle of progression.

Moreover, because of the density, grain, or whatever this is called changes within the piece of wood, some time I have deviated a bit. I think I didn’t ruin any piece of balsa but I had the feeling of screwing up some part of the job, very unpleasant.

The good thing is I learnt that sanding could smooth everything…when you take the time!

Sanding is going to take a lot of time but it definitely worse it. You can easily see the difference between just cut and cut and sand pieces.

Important piece of advice: please wear a dust masque when cutting and sanding the balsa. The very nasty sawdust goes everywhere and especially in your lungs. I have coughed during half an hour until I finally put this elegant kitchen towel that saves my day! Another thing worse noticing, is the way I glued the paper guide on the wood: I used a (several) glue stick for schools and it worked like a charm. The paper was holding itself up to the time I removed it by just pealing it off. A light sanding with 120 grit on the surface removed any trace of glue.
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My stand is done… But…

That’s it! Here’s my super multi-tips surf stand with rocker table. The weather is so awful since few weeks that the work as gone very, very slowly I only have a patio and only half of tit is covered! Well, let say that I am a little disappointed by the San Diego weather, HAAARRRRGGHH!

Never mind I have started to glue the paper shapes on the balsa plank. I’m using a stick of glue with the hope that I will be able to pull the paper off easily when I will be done cutting.

Every thing was going quite well, when all off a sudden it’s going to take a tragic turn! Those guys at Specialized Balsa Wood might have better bought themselves new glasses: I have ordered ½ inch thick planks for the “spine” of my surf, one 36 inches long and an other 48 inches. My plan was to glue them together to have enough of length for the surf. Damned, the longest plank was 2/8 of an inch thicker than the short one wich was at the good thickness. COME ON GUYS!!!!

I only have a Dremel (by the way it’s working really great)! So I have decided to cut the spine anyway and I will try to reduce the thickness of by using the Dremel Trio (this is the one I have) like a router to get ride off those 2/8 of an inch… I think it might be getting hairy but this is my only choice. I don’t want to invest in a 400$ planer just for that and I don’t want to loose my time with the balsa guys… and I want to see if this can work!

The multipurpose surf shaper stand

Here it comes! This is my very first time I will cut a piece of wood with the intention of using it for something else than poking dead animals or throwing it as far as I can....
I am from France and I was raised with the metric system, here, in USA you have this weird measure: inch, foot, yard, 1/2, 1/8, 1/32!! of inch well it is a nightmare for me! It is not that it is hard to go along with but having to approximate the quantity of wood needed I am always waaaayy off! For example, concerning the balsa, I think I will be able to make a second small surfboard for my 3 years old daughter...
Never mind, it is, I guess, better to have a “little” more than being stop because of supply shortage.
So to start with the stand here is what it should look like:

If I have the time, I will make an Ikea like type of plan of all the constructions.
Above the 2 feet of the stand, I will be able to change from the shaper kind of tip to the glassing kind of type tip. And on the “shaper tip” I should be able to put the rocker table.
Almost all the pieces are cut, I have started the assembly and I will post some pictures of the finishing product. To have the different extension attached on the feet I will use big screws and bolts, this will help me to reduce the cluttering of the patio...
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It’s getting serious now!

It was a busy week end for me as the wood arrived from http://www.specializedbalsa.com/. The order came well packaged (very important with this so light and fragile balsa), the cut seems to be good at a first glance. It is pricey but it is as well one of the cheapest I was able to find. I guess If you are ready to work with rough balsa, you can pay a lot more less. Let say that you will just need a band saw, a table saw, a planer, a moisture meter, a sander, a very big room to store and cut your wood (that you have to find somewhere), etc, etc..... Personally I have a patio, a barbecue and a Dremel.
With the good news from the wood coming in, I rushed to Home Depot to pick up some woods to make a stand, but not ordinary one: an adjustable surf shaper stand with rocker table add on! Yeah, the full option!
I have to be honest, my Dremel felt a little bit lonely and with the coming work, she was really scared as well, so I brought her a new friend a jigsaw! Factory reconditioned 14 bucks on Amazon, arrived within a week of the order and proven to be really efficient. I’m pretty happy about this buy.

The clamps

Hey I might have found a solution: plastic pipes. I have seen people from wood building forum using piece of pipes with a cut in one side. That might work... I’m wondering about the strength of those pipes but by drilling each side and add a screw with a butterfly bolt, I would be able to increase the stiffness. He-he, I’m feeling smart ;-)...
So I went to my very new favorite store, Home Depot, to buy a piece of pipe, a big black thick one and a saw. I cut several one inch large pieces of pipe and voila, I just gave myself 24 pretty descent clamps and a saw for under 20 bucks!

I also find very cheap lumber (20 for less than 10 dollars) that will certainly help me to glue the decks. I have seen their use in this video from youtube: here.
I think as well that I have to build a stand, may be this week end...
But guess what, I am still waiting for the wood to be delivered!

A good pair of scissors

I am still waiting the wood... They say that it is in process...
Yesterday I went to Kinko’s in order to have the plan print to scale. For 15 bucks I got a very nice “blue print”.

Yes, that's me, I look like a dumb dude on that picture... well, it's me...
Now I’m spending my time cutting the paper and starting to imagine what each step of the building process may look like. To date I think I might need a big wood plank that will help me with putting the frame together. I think to glue the spin and the ribs first and then try to bend around the skin of the rails to finish with the upper and bottom deck. To cut the wood I bought the Dremel Trio, they say that it could be a substitute to the jig saw, the sander and the router! Well, it’s look sweet ‘on the paper’, I hope that the balsa is soft enough to be cut with this tool.
An other concern is clamps, I would need many of them and the cheapest one that should do the job are 6 to 7 US dollars a piece.... I have to find something else!