When we visited Lars Bergstrom and his family on the Oregon coast we stopped by his wood shop and saw him carve a surfboard out of a single piece of wood with the tools passed down to him from his father and grandfather. Originally, surfboards were made from solid wood and were extremely heavy. Balsa wood boards were introduced in the 1930’s from Hawaii and became popular because the lightness of the wood made them easier to maneuver in the water. These days most surfboards are popped out of polyurethane foam and covered with epoxy resin. Lars’ boards are chambered meaning the wood is carved out of a solid piece of wood leaving a grid pattern that creates chambers between the two pieces of wood when they are bonded together to form the board. Lars is currently producing chambered wood models from the Spruce Sitka trees of Hood River, Oregon that fell down in a blizzard in December of 2007.
If you’re looking for a classic, wooden surfboard, you can contact Lars’ and the 42 Surfboards crew about ordering one from their shop here, http://www.welcometo42.blogspot.com/
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