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Dominate the Waves Aboard This Gorgeous Wooden Honeycomb
Today's conventional polyurethane foam surfboards are lightweight, strong, and maneuverable. But that comes at the cost of a more jarring ride in rough seas—not to mention PU isn't exactly an environmentally-friendly material. So New Zealander Mike Grobelny is taking carving back to its roots with a CNC-milled, hollow wood board.
Surfboards used to be made exclusively from wood in the early days of the sport, Hawaiian royalty rode atop solid Koa long boards. Hollow-carved boards—made from multiple laminated planks) also made a splash in the 1950's, however, they lost favor to the lighter (up to 300 percent), stronger, and cheaper PU boards.
So how, and more importantly, why would someone bother to design and carve a hollow board when a superior technology is available at the local surf shop? As Grobelny explains, it's not all about performance:
"The surfboard (and culture of surfing) represents conflict between industry and the environment. The physical act, and the culture of surfing, provides an intimate connection with nature and natural forces. It is this emotional and physical engagement with nature that makes the surfing experience powerful and enriching for many people. In direct contrast to this natural experience is the use of toxic materials in the manufacture of surfboards, with negative impacts for both board manufacturers and the natural environment. These toxic synthetic materials provide a high level of performance, which most surfers are looking for and is not easily achieved using natural materials."
After spending many hours consulting with local surfboard shapers, Grobelny eventually settled on an ingenious, CNC-milled, weight-saving design that doesn't sacrifice strength or maneuverability by incorporating a honeycomb structure between the board's faces. What's more, the wood's natural shock absorbing properties can help mitigate wave chop and its weight adds to a surfer's momentum for longer rides. The wooden board is also far more durable than its PU counterpart, resulting in a board that's passed down for generations rather than disposed of at the end of a season.
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Post Extras:
VCaba21
Gerry Lopez status
Reged: 03/06/06
Posts: 1077
Loc: South OC
wow, pretty amazing. I wonder if there is a way to vacuum seal it instead of all the clamps? I know nothing about board building and he obviously has already invested a ton in that work shop, so clamps do fine it seems. Cool stuff, great vid. Thanks for sharing
-------------------- "someone's gonna be stocked!"
Quote: wow, pretty amazing. I wonder if there is a way to vacuum seal it instead of all the clamps? I know nothing about board building and he obviously has already invested a ton in that work shop, so clamps do fine it seems. Cool stuff, great vid. Thanks for sharing
ahh the joys of being a uni lecturer/cad teacher and getting to use all the tools in-house….
The fact you couldnt acknowledge someone elses efforts and say just that, but instead declaring how unimpressed you are... essentially shvt on the guy and his efforts is the reason you are so annoying and undeniably arrogant. You obviously want people to acknowledge your efforts and boards otherwise you wouldnt post any off your crap online. You not being able to atleast consider anyone else's work is redundant, obvious and verifies how limited the scope of perspective on board builders and anyone else's potential is juvenile. More proof of why most of us just click return button and go to another thread when you post...
-------------------- face the mirror...
Post Extras:
WarrenC
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 11/30/08
Posts: 2753
very impressive, seen this movie before but still imressive, one helll of a machine shop
Spirare, who posts here, is and has been making honeycombed boards for quite some time, I do not necessarily understand the benefit, but it would be nice to know more about this build method, it obviously is more environmentally friendly, but what about no foam interior?? what would one expect from the board, more flex? lighter? etc etc. I've seen Spirare's honeycombed boards and they look incredibly thin, but maybe that's just my perception, are you able to go thinner yet retain same float quality?? lots of questions.
Quote: All Wood Honeycomb Core:
These boards are constructed entirely out of wood. They utilize a lightweight wooden honeycomb as a core material. The honeycomb is fabricated in my shop out of thin wood veneers to make a very strong yet flexible core. This core is set in a balsa wood frame to create the ‘blank’. The blank is then shaped like a conventional foam blank adding bottom contours, rail shapes, and rockers. A thin wood skin is adhered to the top and bottom to make a unified whole. The design elements such as a parabolic wood perimeter frame are the same as the Wood and Composite Recycled EPS boards above.
from Spirare's website above, maybe Mr. Cunningham will comment if he sees the thread.
-------------------- What fin sets work well with this board.
Post Extras:
GDaddy
Phil Edwards status
Reged: 01/16/06
Posts: 7135
Loc: Carlsbad
It's impressive, alright. I'm sure it has its tradeoffs, though. They are wasting quite a bit of the wood and it takes a lot more CNC time - which ain't cheap. And surfboards are about performance.
I think this board looks cool because they start with solid boards and retain the same look as the solid or chambered boards from the pre-foam days. I think they could probably lighten it quite a bit and use thicker deck planking instead of the processed veneer by using a much larger grid pattern through the middle; like maybe 6" diameter or trapezoidal (like Roy's spacing) grids. I also think it makes little sense to do all-wood construction methods that will naturally end up being heavier for building boards used for progressive performance surfing. Aside from the tow boards it seems to me that incorporating the extra weight into the design for the types of surfing that can benefit from it makes more sense - fishes and traditional longboarding being examples of that.
But sustainable materials with lower carbon footprint? It seems like the cork might be a contender for that.
Post Extras:
Luddite
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 05/21/10
Posts: 2509
Loc: New Zealand
Quote: The fact you couldnt acknowledge someone elses efforts and say just that, but instead declaring how unimpressed you are... essentially shvt on the guy and his efforts is the reason you are so annoying and undeniably arrogant. You obviously want people to acknowledge your efforts and boards otherwise you wouldnt post any off your crap online. You not being able to atleast consider anyone else's work is redundant, obvious and verifies how limited the scope of perspective on board builders and anyone else's potential is juvenile. More proof of why most of us just click return button and go to another thread when you post...
Of course I've 'considered' this system.
You will notice that I was mentioned in a disparaging way prior to my reply.
Call me what you will. I'll just continue to give my honest opinion.
What I don't like about the boards:
1) They are very wasteful of wood.
2) The chambers aren't vented, thus the board is vulnerable to internal pressure
3)No vertical grain in the internal structure, thus vulnerable to internal pressure.
Quote: The fact you couldnt acknowledge someone elses efforts and say just that, but instead declaring how unimpressed you are... essentially shvt on the guy and his efforts is the reason you are so annoying and undeniably arrogant. You obviously want people to acknowledge your efforts and boards otherwise you wouldnt post any off your crap online. You not being able to atleast consider anyone else's work is redundant, obvious and verifies how limited the scope of perspective on board builders and anyone else's potential is juvenile. More proof of why most of us just click return button and go to another thread when you post...
Of course I've 'considered' this system.
You will notice that I was mentioned in a disparaging way prior to my reply.
Call me what you will. I'll just continue to give my honest opinion.
What I don't like about the boards:
1) They are very wasteful of wood.
2) The chambers aren't vented, thus the board is vulnerable to internal pressure
3)No vertical grain in the internal structure, thus vulnerable to internal pressure.
4)Can't be done with hand tools.
5) The shapes.
What I like about them:
1) Paulownia.
2 Made in NZ.
3) Close spacing of deck supports.
Would of been a great first reply. I agree on all your points sans the shape. Dont know how it goes til one rides it
-------------------- face the mirror...
Post Extras:
Luddite
Michael Peterson status
Reged: 05/21/10
Posts: 2509
Loc: New Zealand
re. the shape it could well be a good example of its type, but I don't like thee type, just personal taste and of course other shapes are possible so it isn't a big issue.
Quote: very impressive, seen this movie before but still imressive, one helll of a machine shop
Spirare, who posts here, is and has been making honeycombed boards for quite some time, I do not necessarily understand the benefit, but it would be nice to know more about this build method, it obviously is more environmentally friendly, but what about no foam interior?? what would one expect from the board, more flex? lighter? etc etc. I've seen Spirare's honeycombed boards and they look incredibly thin, but maybe that's just my perception, are you able to go thinner yet retain same float quality?? lots of questions.
Quote: All Wood Honeycomb Core:
These boards are constructed entirely out of wood. They utilize a lightweight wooden honeycomb as a core material. The honeycomb is fabricated in my shop out of thin wood veneers to make a very strong yet flexible core. This core is set in a balsa wood frame to create the ‘blank’. The blank is then shaped like a conventional foam blank adding bottom contours, rail shapes, and rockers. A thin wood skin is adhered to the top and bottom to make a unified whole. The design elements such as a parabolic wood perimeter frame are the same as the Wood and Composite Recycled EPS boards above.
from Spirare's website above, maybe Mr. Cunningham will comment if he sees the thread.
I saw this video a few months back, it's impressive work. I'm glad that other people are exploring wood and honeycombs. I see his boards as being chambered wood boards, but with the chambers cut on the X axis instead of the Y axis.
Honeycomb is a lightweight and strong structure and depending on how you make it is very flexible. I know that for my honeycomb boards I am able to go thinner (about 3/16") because there is more float. Weight wise they are a few ounces more than PU. I've been favoring the wood/recycled eps cored boards over the honeycomb lately though. Feel more responsive.
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