Working with Balsa Wood

Post by **aferguson** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 5:12 am

i'm contemplating making a large model out of solid balsa wood (ie not just a frame covered with tissue paper but solid wood throughout) and was wondering if there are any drawbacks in working with this material that i should know about eg warping, sealing for painting, expense etc

Anyone with expeience sound off, please.

pickelhaube · Post by **pickelhaube** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 5:35 am

It is a good medium to work with. It is expensive. It is hard to get real big blocks of it unless you have an inside source in South America or the Phillipines. It is easier to glue smaller blocks together and make the project hollow to save money

!. It dings very easy. This is easy to remedy. Put a drop of water on the ding and this usualy makes the wood swell and puffs the ding back out.
2. Balsa does take paint well but it is hard to cover the grain of the wood. The grain is unlike other wood. The paint actualy pudels in it and make long fish eyes. Sanding sealer works OK but you will probably have to put 2 or 3 coats on it to get good results. Another method for paint is to use a type of epoxy sold at hobby shops that cator to RC. I am not sure of the name but it is a 2 part deal, kind of like fiberglass resin with liquid drop hardener. This works well but you will get a work out sanding the object. Hope this helps ,
Matthew