This is my first post on my Midwest reply to Jeff Walkers “East vs. West Challenge for ‘07”. Uhmmm. Jeff I live in the Midwest! The objective of the challenge is to build the lightest possible surf board that will support a 180 pound surfer for an accumulated 5 minutes of ride time. The ride time should be documented via video.
Is it possible to make a lighter than air wakesurf board? Uhmm… probably not but how light can you go?
The core of my entry is balsa wood. Pound for pound balsa wood is one of the strongest materials available. I’ve ordered a bunch of balsa wood, hat should be here by this weekend. In the mean time I’ve been working on the design for my entry.
Last night I tweaked the longitudinal stringer design and I bought a few sample pieces at the local hobby store. Tonight I printed and cut out a couple of lateral stringer models. I used these models to cut the shape of these stringers and drill the core holes.
I pined two pieces together and cut the basic shape on the jigsaw. I used a sanding drum to clean up the cut. Then I tried using a drill press to cut the core holes. The drilling didn’t go so well. The back side of the holes tore away. I altered my drilling technique. I drilled half way through one side and then finished on the other side. The two sided drilling reduced the damage but it isn’t acceptable.
I’ve speculated that laser cutting is probably the best way to cut this material, I’ll have to see if I can find an out fit that can do the job.
The design
Cut out models
The IS Yellow is the inspiration for this board
Pinned and ready to cut
Cleaning up the cut
Tried to load test but the weight was too unstable
I used standard wood cutting bits for larger holes
deep groves formed while drilling - that's a problem
That's hard to read - 0.1 ounce!
The second stringer only has six holes
the weight of both stringers is 0.6 ounces
I think the density of the second stringer must be higher of the scale isn't very linear at low weights
Threaded Mode