2mm formers out of balsa?

[wag]

I too use balsa for formers, wing ribs and spars. The cheaper, heavier balsa from the craft store works better that the lightweight stuff from the hobby shop. To avoid splitting the wood I cut well clear of the line and sand down to the final shape.
Wayne

[romanmodels]

A jewlers piercing saw and either 2/0 or 4/0 saw blades, depending on the thickness cardboard is good for cutting thick card but you do need a bench peg with a v cut in it as the saw cuts on the downstroke. Small parts might need a backing of masking tape and good support or they can rip.

[Zathros]

Balsa works very well on the small parts if you use a wee bit of crazy glue to reinforce it. There are also veneers that work well but now we are getting into something else, unrealized paper models with realized paper. "Oh the Humanity"!!


@Scon, what is that ship your building there? I missed that one.

[CharlieC]

Originally Posted by RAFleischman

Does anyone have any experience in using balsa for 2mm formers?

The thought of trying to cut 2mm card for the frame of my next project is making my hands hurt already!

Thanks,
Russ

Yes - I used 2mm balsa on my build of papermodels-bg.com KV-2 tank. The hull on this model required a 2mm frame. It worked very well - easy to cut and shape with a #11 blade. From memory the only downside was the softness of balsa - you have to be careful not to be too enthusiastic with sandpaper.
AMMS Brisbane

Regards,

Charlie

[richkat]

You can also get 1mm balsa and build 2 layers cross grain (like balsa plywood)...I'v done that and it worked good.....Rich

[OhioMike]

I have used balsa for reinforcement to bulkheads before as well..i just used regular elmers applied to the back of the paper than mostly scraped off. Than place the peice between two flat objects, sandwiched with wax paper and weighted down for 3-4 days than were ready to go.

[glounsbury]

For most card models cardboard etc. is much cheaper than balsa wood and there is no particular strength advantage until the model ship gets to about 3 feet long. Then I would suggest using basswood or thin plywood.
Either would be esier to cut with a scroll saw and make fine tuning with a sanding block. Now you are using woodworking tools. So is it a composite model?
As for me, I have been building balsa airplanes for many years and paper models only a few years and have found no good reason to use balsa in a paper model. Keeping to paper products keeps my paper modeling tool kit simpler.
The attached picture is a little fishing skiff aboout 18" long. It is 1/32" ply and 1/8" basswood. It would be just as sturdy made of same thickness paper material. The Kevinrude is paper.

George

[PAPER FAN]

I use balsa all the time. Laminate both sides of the wood, one with the kit sheet and the opposite with plane copier paper. This will prevent the wood from splitting when you cut it. Check out my Oklahoma/Arizona and Junyo builds.

The double lamination allows you to rebend the warpness out of the parts and makes handling much easier.

Your fingers will appreciate it.

Joe

[Zathros]

Originally Posted by PAPER FAN

I use balsa all the time. Laminate both sides of the wood, one with the kit sheet and the opposite with plane copier paper. This will prevent the wood from splitting when you cut it. Check out my Oklahoma/Arizona and Junyo builds.

The double lamination allows you to rebend the warpness out of the parts and makes handling much easier.

Your fingers will appreciate it.

Joe

Yeah, what he said. This technique works great!

[RAFleischman]

Thanks for all the input! I like the idea about gluing a piece of copy paper on the back side of the balsa to reduce cracking. Plus it would probably reduce any tendency for warping!

Thanks again,
Russ