Milling paulownia wood for surfboards

On the 12th of August this year we harvested some 20 year old paulownia trees which were growing only a few hundred metres from the workshop.



http://olosurfer-woodensurfboardsatpipeline.blogspot.com/2010/08/harvesting-paulownia-for-surfboards.html



Yesterday the logs were slabbed by Ian and Roy, an operation which went very smoothly in the welcome  drought breaking light rain which fell all day.



Here the big Stihl 064 chainsaw makes light work of the small diameter logs.

A slow growth rate in the diameter of these  logs was the result of them being planted very close together. The wood has close growth rings and more contrast in grain colour than most of the paulownia wood we have seen.

Two cubic metres of wood were cut into 3 and 4 inch slabs over a 6 hour period

Ian also brought us  a load of dry surfboard wood  from his site in the Kaimai ranges where he's been harvesting 20 acres of paulownia and blackwood, there's enough here for about 20 alaias or 10 hollow longboards.