OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Oh.. something I forgot to mention (which you might've found out already). If you're using single ply veneer, applying wood glue (water-based such as Titebond) to one side will cause it to CURL. If you thought over-boosted H3 curled into a burrito you haven't seen anything yet... Really annoying (and something that didn't happen with three ply birch). You could dampen the other side to keep it relatively flat until you get it into the clamps, I guess, or you could use epoxy or polyurethane glue (if using these scrape off as much as you can with a plastic squeegee (people used to use playing cards, which are cheap but it made your pack incomplete..) before putting into the clamps.

Iskandar

ah - interesting! I didn't have any problems - I glued and clamped it all up pretty quickly, but the veneer stayed totally flat. It is a specialist wood glue, I can't remember the name at the moment.. will post when I know

I have some spiral scroll saw blades on the way from Europe (the type used for jigsaw puzzles), as well as a range of blade handles. Next up, I will make a paulownia core blade of the same size.

What's the story behind the paulownia log???

An interesting story about paulownia I heard back around 1999-2000 on Usenet (in the table tennis newsgroup, where we were discussing blade-making) was that in the 19th and early 20th century, they used paulownia seed pods (the seeds are light, fluffy things meant to be wind-borne) for packing ceramics from China and Japan for export. Some of these seeds got loose in the American southwest (and probably in other places that were too cold/arid) and resulted in large, wild paulownia trees in the forests of that region. Meanwhile in Japan there was a blight that decimated the paulownia plantations. One day, in the 1960s (I believe), someone from Japan was driving around and noticed the paulownia trees, and started buying them up for export to Japan. These were "old growth" trees, huge and mature. Most of it is gone by now, most paulownia is grown in plantations (like balsa), and like balsa, grows very quickly but requires intensive management (you have to prune the branches when the tree is in its early stages to get nice, straight logs). Back then there were web pages devoted to getting people to invest in paulownia plantations, and it was seen as a "miracle tree". In other places it's seen as a noxious invasive species... It does take root and grow rather quickly. I was thinking of planting a few around here - you can order seeds off AliExpress.

Iskandar

interesting story on paulownia in the US!

the story about the log here - I contacted a local supplier who grows paulownia on his dairy farm. He didn't have any 200mm wide from his standard young trees, but he did have a 2m x 200mm x 50mm piece from an 80 year old tree - which means the growth rings are closer together, so stronger and a little heavier than the standard timber. The special timber is very limited and is usually used for making musical instruments.

I will make a 5mm thick paulownia blade over the next few days - it will be interesting to compare to the balsa.

Yeah, that's one of the traditional uses for paulownia in Japan and China. And it would make sense old growth wood would be the ones used for musical instruments (the same is true for other tonewoods such as Sitka spruce).

Iskandar

my handles arrived from China - so will now make up a 8mm balsa blade and 5mm paulownia blade, and see how they all compare!

Ah.. I can't remember, who was making these? They'd make you a whole Viscaria clone for $50 IIRC... Had a whole range of custom blades. You could choose among several blade types ("Viscaria", "Violin", "Innerforce", etc.) and add the handle of your choice. You could even get your face on the butt end, Ma Long style..

I was carving handles out of balsa. Stick them on first, then go at it with a box cutter knife and sanding block. Looked crude but really absorbent..

Iskandar

Hi!

I’m a french player and I started to build blades during the confinement for myself and others. I have a detailed post over at "Forum tennis-de-table.com" named "Fabrication de bois made in Marseille" but I will post some pictures here.

Now I’m stuying real estate to have a plan B.
Then I will study carpentry for 1 year and create a table tennis brand. I hope my dream will come true. I thought to make blade series like Osp, Artte... with an option to custom them.

7-ply: black limba/limba/alc/Kiri/alc/limba/black limba

1st 6-ply combi: black limba/limba/alc/ayous/limba/black limba

5-ply I thought that was an all+ but it’s more an off blade. black limba/limba/ayous/limba/black limba

2nd 6-ply: planchonello/limba/balsa/finerglass/ayous/limba

That black limba looks totally crazy!
Way better that zebrano!

Does it behave different that classic white limba? Is it harder, stiffer, faster?

It’s thanks to the varnish ahah
The white limba have a softer touch than black limba

I see? What varnish do you use? Polyurethane/acrylic?

It’s a special varnish I made.
It takes around 1 year to find the best composition

You have developed a varnish???? My god!!!

Now (on a more serious note) if you are happy with it: apply for a patent!

It’s a varnish from old carpenters like shellac so it exists for hundred of years. It’s an improved "recipe" I made based on shellac and other natural ingredients.

I see. You are still using alcohol to disolve the shellac? Or you switched to something more modern?