Choice of Balsa

Need to order some balsa... given that the local hobby shops don't have a great selection to match their prices, what's the best alternative - Lone Star, Superior, Balsa USA or other?

Hi Dennis,
I had been using Lone Star exclusively for close to 10 years. Always got great wood from them. When I had to get my last order they did not have any 4-6 lb. balsa so I ordered from Superior, Balsa USA and National Balsa (Mass.). Didn't know how to get Bud Nosen wood. Had to spread it around to get the sizes I needed, and really wanted to see just what these companies had since I had never used them. All of it was on par with what I was getting from Lone Star. Would have used Sig, but the cost difference was significant on this size order (over $400).
As an example, my 1 X 3 X 36 1" planks from National were all under 6 lbs., and good grain for carving.
Summary: They are all good in my experiences.
Bill <><

My recommendation is to order only "contest grade" wood. I made the mistake once of ordering some of each. The so-called "medium" density stuff was ball-bat material. (It is useful for making bucks for molding balsa..) Further, a good portion of what is sold as contest grade wood seems to be in the 7 lb region when you really weigh it out.

So, the best deal is to buy a large amount, and select and grade that yourself. Give the heavier stuff to your RC buddies, they'll find it perfectly usable, almost always.

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"Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status." -Laurence J. Peter

>My recommendation is to order only "contest grade" wood. I
>made the mistake once of ordering some of each. The
>so-called "medium" density stuff was ball-bat material. (It
>is useful for making bucks for molding balsa..) Further, a
>good portion of what is sold as contest grade wood seems to
>be in the 7 lb region when you really weigh it out.
>
>So, the best deal is to buy a large amount, and select and
>grade that yourself. Give the heavier stuff to your RC
>buddies, they'll find it perfectly usable, almost always.
>
>[photo not recovered: 3e69bb3870f12ad5.jpg]
>
>"Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when
>the quo has lost its status." -Laurence J. Peter

Did you say "**Give** the heavier stuff to your RC buddies..." Hmmphh, yes you did, didn't you.

These guys will *buy* wood, no need to give it away. The only problem area is wood which is just slightly too heavy for our needs being too light for many RC folk.

Not a hit, just fact from my experience.

And my experience includes buying from SIG a big wad of contest-grade wood, quite a lot of mixed-bag C-grain wood, selecting the Good Stuff, dragging rejects to an RC swap meet. The last pieces to sell were in the 6- to 8-pound range, I actually had to reduce prices to clear it all out.

Uh, different story with the better RC Pattern fliers, by the way.

The Daniel is right, of course.

I had some wood at our club's auction one year, and the auctioneer made the comment that it was a bit light and soft, but "might" still be usable!

The FF guys rolled their eyes.. (They had already looked at it, and didn't want it, of course, because they are worse about wanting light wood than the stunt crowd.)

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"My wife said she wanted to have sex in the backseat of the car. With ME drivin'!" -Rodney Dangerfield

When I had to get my last order they did not have any 4-6 lb. balsa so I ordered from Superior, Balsa USA and National Balsa (Mass.).
Didn't know how to get Bud Nosen wood.

Hi Bill,

Bud Nosen will only sell to Dealers and MFG's

Another local choice is, comb the local craft shops. I found some primo balsa at an arts and crafts supply place. I was amazed to find some 4lb 3/8" and 1/2" planks.

>Another local choice is, comb the local craft shops. I found
>some primo balsa at an arts and crafts supply place. I was
>amazed to find some 4lb 3/8" and 1/2" planks.

Randy,

Ya know, part of the art to participation on this forum is that one need not tell *all* the tricks to getting good wood. I have enough trouble fighting off the bead-bashers at local crafts stores, now I'll be faced with competition from CL Stunt guys.

Thanks a lot,

LAST EDITED ON Jul-02-04 AT 01:40 PM (CDT)
 
Hey Dan, anything I can do to help. I also have other sources that I won't mention here. Balsa is sold in some of the oddest places.

>Hey Dan, anything I can do to help. I also have other
>sources that I won't mention here. Balsa is sold in
>some of the oddest places.

QUIT! I know that. Say, you show me yours and I'll show you mine?

Someplace else you mention having found *the prop* for your new model. Does that mean you are finally ready for a confrontation with my Skyray 20? No phoney-baloney "my-jacket-grabbed-my-handle-and-then-my-jacket-made-me-put-the-model-in-my-truck" sorts of ill-advised tomfoolery and poor excuses will be allowed in the future.

Ban,

WEll, I'm glad they won't be allowed. Fact is, the prop was in my box that day. Just didn't know it. But it seems to really work. It does. A lot.

I'm hoping to get the thing re-trimmed this weekend. I added an adjustable rudder that became a Rabe style "wiggely" rudder after the initial adjustment bombed. That has more or less fixed the yaw. It's now un-noticeable from the handle. But like a lot of "fixes", it caused another problem that I now have to try to trim out.

Man, if it isn't one thing, it's another. Now I have yaw-induced roll. Great!

Dennis:

Sometimes Lonestar has contest balsa in uncommon lengths i.e. 20". If you don't need the standard lengths tell them what sizes you need and the minimum lengthmight be able to get the order quicker.

In case any of you are looking for some 4 lb blocks good for carving check out Tim.

http://www.f1d.biz/

He cuts some of the worlds best balsa and when he got his last order of blocks he had some that was real light but had bad grain. I can not remember what I paid but it was around $5 per block. E-mail and see if he has any left. You may also be able to get some 6 LB blocks with good grain for more money. I got a few 6.5 to 7.0 blocks to cut into some 1/16 Th for Dime scale, I use the 4 LB. for things like wheel pants. It is light enough that you do not have to do much hollowing and it sands soooo nice!

Lone Star is an ok place.

On #bay, a lady that goes by "Crazygambler" sells some great 4-6 pound stuff. Her late husband was a modeler and she knows her balsa. Kathleen Dunn in Romoland, CA. She has the "buy it now" in place on some of her wood. I have never gotten a bad lot for her. In fact, one time she was out, apologised and sent two extra piecs free because I was willing to wait a week. Try that at the local HS. ha. Today I received 6 pieces of 1/2 x 4 x 48 from her, 6-8 lb stuff for profile fueslages. Every piece is absolutely straight grained, light and no flaws. She is worth a try, but be sure to get the contest grade 4-6 lb stuff. She also sells heavier wood.