BalsaTribe Surfboards

THE ART AND SCIENCE OF BALSA Our boards begin in the forest. In their native, wet, tropical environment, balsa trees take root as seedlings and become full grown within 3-5 years; making them one of the most sustainably grown trees on earth. A small patch of balsa can be used as a near constant supply of wood, doing no harm to the ecosystem within which it exists. They are harvested as full grown trees pulled from the small plantations and are cut into planks roughly 6x6" and between 7 and 12 feet long. After being transported to the coast, they are stacked into our custom built ovens where the heat and humidity is controlled for at least one month. The thoroughly dried balsa is then extracted, cut, and sanded again into boards of various shapes that will be used for the foundation of the blank. We work with two different types of blanks; solid and chambered. Our chambered blanks come again in two types: 1. carved chambers and 2. strutted chambers. Carved chambers are created by removing center sections of the various planks that will be used in the blank. The sections are chosen strategically to offset each other, to create as light a board as possible, yet maintain the maximum strength of the balsa. Strutted chambers are created by an entirely different process, whereby the blank is constructed of many thin planks held apart by struts similar to those built into the wings of early planes. These strutted blanks are the basis for the lightest balsa boards on the market and retain and incredible strength. The incomplete blank is then cut into various pieces with a skil saw and the desired number and position of the cedar stringers are determined and added. Solid rails are then fixed to the central hollow core of the blank, and using large clamps, the whole package is fastened tighly together, allowing the high-quality, waterproof, wood glue to bind the various planks together. After a couple of days, the clamps are undone, and a beautiful balsa blank is ready to be shaped. Where as shaping solid balsa is fairly similar to shaping a regular polyeurothane blank, working on a chambered board (especially strutted) is another art. Tuning into the blank and leaving enough wood to maintain full strength, while shaping the board to be as light and hollow as possible, is a fine art. With a fully shaped board resting in the shop, another type of artist comes into the picture. Extremely unique in the surfing world our boards are inlayed with various hardwoods from 5 continents, creating practical works of art that are nothing short of stunning. After a top-end glass job and the addition of handmade hardwood fins, the boards are finally done and ready to be ridden across the globe, with the durability to be handed from one generation to the next.------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ---For ordering information and general questions please don't hesitate to e-mail us at [email protected] inventory for California-------------- Hold mouse over scrolling boards to see price and size... and check E-BAY SEARCH UNDER LONGBOARDS FOR AUCTIONS IN THE NEXT WEEK..hide{display:none} .text{font-size:1px}