balsaworks

There was a discussion in a recent thread on this forum re. balsa strippers; see “What balsa for .049 plane” below,
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3859340/tm.htm

I posted a couple of photos in that thread, of the Jim Jones balsa stripper, which is real gem, but unfortunately no longer available.

Some further research has revealed that Jim Jones ceased production in 2003. While his production designs have been passed along to another individual, nothing as yet has come of it.

There is however an alternative stripper, made along the same principles, but slightly bigger.
I assume that being a little bigger makes the stripper even more precise, and probably even better suited to the needs of small RC plane fans.
This tool is hand made by Dan McLeod, who reports that it will cut from 0" to just over .875" in width and up to .5" thick.
One of the reasons the stripper works so well is the point of the blade fits into a small brass tube in the base of the stripper. This keeps the blade from wandering as a result of hard spots or divergent grain. The stripper comes with a blade holder that holds the blade at 90 degrees to the base and another holder which holds the blade at 16 degrees from vertical which is useful for strip planking and sheeting with balsa.
Blades used are X-acto or scalpel #11.

I have mine on order, and can´t give you any first hand experience yet.
According to very reliable sources, and judging by the photo below, this is a top quality product. I expect that it will be one of my favourite tools for many years to come, so I think it´s a bargain at $60.
Dan told me that there will some delay in delivery since he only works at one speed, to insure quality

If you are interested, contact Dan direct for more details at: [email protected]

Tomas H.

build light

Very nice! At that price It will be a long time before I will be able to afford one. Still it is nice to know where one that is this nice is available.

Robert

mikegordon10

Keep 'er light and she will treat you right?

And all this time I've been trying to keep 'em barefoot and pregnant!

BMatthews

Does this particular Dan Mcleod happen to live in Ottawa Canada?

GrahamC

No, it is a different Dan Mcleod. They both post to the FFML (free flight mailing list) and it can get confusing. The Dan Mcleod that makes the balsa strippers lives in the US.


cheers, Graham in Embrun near Ottawa Canada.

RCPAUL

My Feedback: (1)

I use a Craftsman 10-inch bandsaw with a homemade guide to strip balsa from 1/16 on up and it works great. Why spend so much on a less useful too?

Paul

Bolio

Because we love tools!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![8D]
There is something about using the right tool for the right job every time that cannot be explained unless you want everything perfect.
Saludos.

gcb

I use a metal yardstick and a #1 X-Acto with #11 blade for the first pass to establish straight, then one of two of my X-Acto semi precision ( ) strippers from the nineteen fifties, along with same knife and blade, for subsequent passes. Needs multiple cuts for anything thicker than 3/32".

...Never thought of the band saw on anything that small...Hmmm! Have to give it a try.

George

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

The blade kerf on a power saw would waste alot of wood!

cyclops2

My 9" finish cutting blade is 1/8" waste. I never even hesitate to cut modern random balsa quality. Every cut is perfect at 3600 rpm. With a blade it is hit or miss. I clamp a VERY straight 8' piece of 2 X 4 to the fence and make a 48" strip in 20 seconds that needs no sanding.

Or tilt the blade for turtle strips. It will also trim the ends on the original big piece so well that no sanding is needed.

Best tool for a scratch builder. I also have a steel 9" disc that has 2 different grits on it.

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BMatthews

A small wheel bandsaw typically uses .015 thick blades. With the set that would probably cut a kerf of .020. For stuff of 3/16 wide or more I could live with that. 1/8 for a regular table saw blade would get a bit much if you were making 1/8 sq wood though.

balsaworks

I got my balsa stripping tool from Dan McLeod today and I am impressed.
It is top quality, from the sturdy box it arrived in, and down to the last detail.
Workmanship & attention to detail is very impressive; it should last a lifetime. The finish is perfect.

The balsa sheet slides on a strip of low-friction plastic. The paddle has fine sandpaper on the underside and provides a very positive control of the sheet, as you push it forward as well as sideways up against the fence. The tip of the blade is anchored in a brass tube, countersunk into the base, so it cannot deflect sideways. Those simple measures make the stripper very precise. It´s easy and fun to use.

A stripping tool won´t provide all the stripwood you need, it will only handle soft to medium balsa. 8-9 lb/qu.ft. is probably the hardest balsa one can feed a stripper for a 1/8” sheet. Thinner sheets can be slightly harder.
Hard strips must be sawn (or bought, for those of us who don´t have a useful saw).

However a stripper such as this will handle a major part of your needs and it´s a lot of fun to use.
If you strip your own wood regularly and have the slightest interest in quality tools - get one while you can.

Andrew

Very nice!! The width adjustment is pretty slick and I like the idea of anchoring the tip of the blade.

Bipe Flyer

Nice design. Are the screws holding the blade just screwed into the wood, or are they small bolts with metal anchors of some sort?

balsaworks

No Bipe, the screws for the hold-down plate don´t have nuts, they are threaded directly into the wood.
The screws are very long and the threads should hold up for a long time provide you don´t overtighten.
Would be easy to install threaded tubes or nuts and maybe switch to a plastic or metal hold-down plate if you want to beef up this area.

The set screw for the sliding fence, as well as the two bolts that hold the interchangeable blade holding crossbars all have captive nuts installed.