Cruiser Board Wood

Hello again,
Its been a while since Ive had the chance to work on projects but now with it being summer Im finding some more time to do stuff. One project Im looking into doing is building a cruiser or "Penny Board". I want to make one with a solid wood deck. I own a plastic penny board but I think a wood one would be cool. After some research i figured out the plastic boards have a lot of flex which allows them to turn easier (which i find as a necessary feature). However solid wood boards seem to loose flex and are much more rigid. To solve this problem people build boards out of Baltic plywood, which has much more flex and strength. However I dont want to make my board out of plywood for two reasons. 1.It just doesnt look good and its hard to work with 2.I want to build one with a tail on the back and I dont want to have to deal with steam bending the plywood. With solid wood I can follow this simple way of building it http://www.instructables.com/id/Wooden-Penny-Board/.

Now my question is what wood do i use? I want the board to have the maximum amount of flex so I want to use wood with a lower MOE (Modulus of Elasticity), but at the same time i don't want the board to snap under my weight (150 lbs). I would also prefer it to be a hardwood. Another thing to look at is the way the wood is cut, whether its quarter saw ect. (or if the way its cut even makes a big difference). Any ideas, answers or guesses would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Paul

Don't think I'll be much help; I had to look up definition of a penny board

White oak would be your best option and is readily available

Osage orange is what I would use.

bud16415 said:

Osage orange is what I would use.

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http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/bow-woods/
This site shows the wood that would be best. The list includes osage orange. One issue is the availibility. I dont know where id get the wood and id probably need a good bit. White oak would be alot easier to get but i dont know how well it would work. I also have to factor im the thickness of the penny board i want to make. Couldnt i just plane down the wood until its the desired flex? I dont really understand the whole flex/breaking point of wood or even if it matters that much in this situation? Should i just pick my favorite looking wood and make it thinner for more flex or is that not right because certian wood would break under my weight. I dont have time to build the board yet but i want to make sure I have everything correct so i can spend my time and money making something that will be max quality.

White oak is a very strong wood with great overall properties. It was the wood of choice years ago for building bridges I have been told. I suggested Osage Orange because it was a wood widely used for making long bows for its flexing properties. I built a bow as a kid from a piece of it my dad came up with. It had to be limbered for a few days before being used or strung up. Used to rub oil into it as part of the process.

I suspect you will be the expert on this and the only way to become expert is start making some from different materials and see what works.

bud16415 said:

White oak is a very strong wood with great overall properties. It was the wood of choice years ago for building bridges I have been told. I suggested Osage Orange because it was a wood widely used for making long bows for its flexing properties. I built a bow as a kid from a piece of it my dad came up with. It had to be limbered for a few days before being used or strung up. Used to rub oil into it as part of the process.

I suspect you will be the expert on this and the only way to become expert is start making some from different materials and see what works.

Click to expand...

Ya I guess my best bet is to make one with a cheaper more readily available wood like maple, oak or a walnut. That way i can put these ones to the test and see how much flex it has with some simple weight tests. Then i can conpare the results of the test with how it relates to its moe number. Also by the time im ready to make it out of the nicer looking and more durable wood i will be an expert at making them(and ill have a few test dummies on the side incase i want to test out a finish or put it through the cnc). Thanks for the answers, let me know if you guys come up with some design or wood choice ideas.