Lone Star Balsa
 

I placed an order with Lone Star for the first time sense the big fire. I did it by phone so there was no mistakes, Mike took the order for me. I asked for 6 planks of 3X3X30 at $10.01 a piece, sold a kit so I had the $60.00 for the wood. That was on a Monday and Tuesday I got the bill for $120.00?? I kept calling but Mike has never returned a phone call. Finally 7 days later I got the wood, it was sent US Mail and looks like someone took a hammer to the wood, it has some deep gouges in it so as sheeting it has a useless outside about a 1/2 inch deep on a couple of the planks.
The 3X3X30 turned into 3X4X30 between here and there and cost over $7.00 a plank more then what I ordered.
I will be going back to National Balsa and Balsa USA again, I gave Lone Star a chance but I don't need the mistakes and lack of return calls. I only order 3 or 4 hundred dollars worth of wood a year so my lack of business isn't going to bankrupt them but the added cost of the mistake put the hurts on my modeling budget, I had hoped to be able to buy some Klass Kote paint this month but that is now out of the question.
Just a return phone call could have corrected this little problem.[:@] I just hate the no returned calls!! It's one of the few things that really frosts my cake!![>:]
Gene, the ticked off old poop!! I know, I was warned but I used to get such good service from Lone Star.

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

Thats a bummer. I used to buy all my wood from them before the fire. I will do the same as you (National and Busa).
Edwin

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

I've been ordering from national ordered some from lone star 40 sheets of 1/8 for wing sheeting could not use so know where you are coming from

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

I used to have such good service from them. Only saving grace is the wood is very light weight. The US mail service was pretty hard on the box though so I lost a lot of wood due to the shipping.
Before the fire there was a lady that took the orders and took care of the problems, sounds like it is just Mike and the one fellow that operates the saws there now day? I won't use them again. I ordered from Solarbo first but got an email the next day stating they were out of planks and wouldn't have any in stock until late December. They ordered a container of wood but had no delivery date yet. I still want to give them a try.
Gene

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

3x3x30 for sheeting?? what am I missing here?

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

One of the members in our club who builds A LOT ordered from them and was also unhappy with what he got.

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

Gene has the facility to cut balsa planks into sheets.

Karol

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

HA, ha Gene never did build lite :D:):D

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

I get that a lot. I live in what my friends call the Old Folks Home, just a Pulte Del Web community for people over 55. We have pretty much everything you could ever want and if there are more then two people doing the same thing you end up with a club. Kinda silly but there is a club for everything. I belong to the Wood Chips wood working club. We have retired artists and cabinet makers in it so some of the projects are beyond belief. There is more top of the line equipment in this shop then in most high school wood shops. We have a re-cut saw so I buy my wood in planks and cut the wood to the sizes required for my builds. I usually have stacks of wood pre-cut to different sizes in my shop but the last pair of Swoose builds used up most of my sheeting so I only needed the 6 3X3X30 planks for my next two builds. I also have hard wood stringers of most sizes used in a model in 10 foot lengths on hand. When I get a deal on balsa wood, a plane costs me next to nothing. When I buy pre-cut wood the price of a build goes way up. Nothing compared to a kit but more then my fixed income wants to spend. I have a budget for my modeling habit.
Living here isn't just luck, my wife and I looked around a lot before we moved here. Luck was being married to a woman that knows what I like, she located this community and forced me to come out to Vegas to look at what they had to offer. I have never seen anything like this place and I love living here. We have a lot of modelers but I'm still the only builder I know here.
Did I mention the retired show girls!!!!!!!:D

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

Sorry to hear about that. The last time I ordered from them was about two years ago, they did leave a couple of things off the order, but I called them and they said they would get it right out. I asked if I could add a few more things to the order that I forgot the first time around and I offered to split the shipping with them. They declined and sent my order out by FedEx.
Sorry to hear that they are having troubles. I had a good experience with them the first time.

BTW, I have a friend that lives in Sun City (Del Webb) He LOVES it!

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

Gene,

I have had terrible problems lately with items shiped USPS. I have received packages literally snapped in two and the helpful person at the Post Office asked what was wrong with it! The good news is that Lone Star typically does make things right, or always has when I've had problem orders. Explain the mistake in the order and they will probably credit you. Tell them about the damage and they will probably re-ship.

Have you been able to get hold of them since you received the shipment?

Dave

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

It has been a year or so since my last order from Lonestar but I was very happy with that. Sorry to hear of the troubles. I noticed that after the fire, it seemed that it was a one person show; but I had always gotten good material.

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

I used them for years before the fire and all was well, great service and the mistakes made were all mine. I was on the phone a lot with them this time but Mike never phoned me back and the guy operating the saw can't do anything about it. My gripe is more about never getting a call back and the fact I only had $60.00 in my account for modeling. The over charge of $60.00 means I don't have any gas money this month, what is in the gas tank is what I will have, that means no driving to the field, 54 miles round trip. I will stick with National from now on, good wood and great service.

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

So I took a block to the wood shop today to start cutting the sheets and sticks I need for my next build and as I was ripping the plank 4 inches of the end fell off!!! It had a cross grain split in it like someone was using it as a bat?? This gets better and better!! Never again!!:eek: Be funny as hell if it was happening to someone else!!!:)

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

Gene, I'm sorry about your experience with these guys... But thanks for the heads-up! I for one will never order from Lone Star!


...and don't get me started with the USPS. Horrible, unprofessional, unaccountable organization...

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

And they used to be so good?? I had to cut extra wood due to the plank end falling off so I had to use one complete plank to get the wood for one small plane.
This used to be my go to wood store too. Nothing seems to last these days.

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

Gene you have Mates everywhere I only whish I traded with them so I could stop.
Sounds like a great place to live,tell us more about the show girls. Now you better tell us about the new build. Yours Paul T

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

No, no I"m for Gene telling us about the "show girls"! LOL...

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

I'm a visual kind of guy. I don't want to hear about them, I want to see them. It's OK if you can only load one picture at a time. I have lots of time, I'm retired[8D][8D]

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

I'm here waiting, waiting, waiting :D

Karol

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

We are pathetic ! http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...ular_smile.gif Maybe we need those new 3-D glasses.....

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

I deal with specialized balsa in loveland colorado,they can send you any size you need,soft-med-hard balsa,their prices are alot better than 10.00 a peice,call or E-mail Jake at www.specializedbalsa.com or call 970-461-9663. what you ask for you get,no crap involved they are a good company.

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

Thanks for the heads up! I will be placing an order early next week for winter prodjects. It will be Balsa USA getting my order.



Award winning caller

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

Thanks for the address, I checked them out and the 3X4X36 planks is $17.63. In my quest for some cheap balsa planks I found Solarbo had the best prices but they are out of planks until December. I want to give them a try for my next order. The build I'm just starting on is a plane called the Old Timer Satyr. It was designed in 1942 as a free flight so it needs a few mods to make it a two channel electric RC. This is another plans build. {what else do I do these days?} I found the plans at MAN during there July sale. It calls for a lot of hard wood stringers but I'm going to try building it with balsa. I'm already giving that a second thought though so I may be cutting more stringers? I need to go buy some light ply today. Michale's craft store has the best prices for that. Shouldn't have any problems with them.
Show Girls, for the younger guys, keep in mind, I live in an over 55 place so just going over to the strip you will see more eye candy. I exercise at one of our indoor pools and most of what you see will make you go blind. Trust me, you have better at home. But sometimes!!!! some of these older ladies could still get on the stage and perform!!!
Last week when my wife and I were in the pool one lady got out and walked away going to the outside pool. My wife asked me if I saw the shape on that woman??? As I told her, I'm old and half blind but I saw every inch of that woman!! My wife is understanding and we both notice these types of things. It works both ways.[8D]

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

Hey Gene 55 still works for me I'm 65 but I best not lel my Jenny see this.Good to here the year and type of model.I'm about to rebuild my trenton terror (all but the wing) .
I have one other question ,what is the wind like there in your state for flying. Yours Paul T

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

There is another supplier that I have had tremendous luck with, and their prices are right.

http://www.balsawoodinc.com/balsawoodproducts


The only negative is that they don't have triangle stock. But other than that, they ship fast and their wood is very, very good. You can get all grades and straight cut. If they don't have something, they will call you right back and let you know. That is if you order online. If you call them, they will tell you while you are on the phone.

Frank http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...ades_smile.gif

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

The plane I'm starting today is the Old Timer Satyr designed in 1942 as a free flight, it will be electric and three channel. Our wind can be brutal, 65mph with high gusts is nothing strange. Our normal day flying is from almost no wind to about 10 or 15 mph. At the moment it is only blowing at 7mph. It's simple to know what to expect though, I have the weather bug loaded into my puter and I can see what the conditions will be a day in advance and it's usually pretty accurate. I will go out when it is supposed to blow from 10 to 15mph. Mornings are usually calm and the wind comes up between 10am and noon. If it says from 10 to 20mph I don't bother making the drive to the field because it can get big gusts after 20mph. I'm retired so I can pick the days I fly. I have a private[kinda] field I can go to that is 7 miles from my home or I usually fly off a lake bed that is 27 miles away. There is a nice public field only 17 miles away too but I like the people at the lake bed a lot more then the public field.
This is a desert so the wind can go nuts on you but like any place, you just pick your days. We have a lot more good days then bad and this time of year it is usually nice. We can fly all year long so there really is no season so you can be choosy. I no longer go out when it's going to be 110. I used to get out there at sun rise and fly until 9 or 10, a lot of the guys do that in the summer. I don't bother flying when the weather is in the 20 or 30s either. At 65 I don't feel the need to fly every day.
You should see it right now, about 75 with a light breeze and it will only hit the mid 80s this afternoon. This is a good place for RC flying. Calif. was better but this is OK. If you can fly in wind around 10 mph then you would have a lot of stick time here.

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

That is also where Igo for leading and trailing edge stock as they seemed to be the cheapest and did a good job.

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

I go to my daughters in Colorado all the time and can stop at the balsa place in loveland when I do. Thanks for the heads up on the place. My goal is to build from plans from here on out and I will be buying allot of balsa where I can.

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

Just a heads up on the craft store liteply. It is not designed for aircraft use. Most craft stores around here that sell liteply has a note on the display stating such. So just be careful as to where you use it.

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

The balsa and light ply I buy at Michale's craft store is from Midwest balsa and Revell. You could never afford to build a plane if you bought your balsa from them but the light ply sheets are as cheap or cheaper then most wood companies sell it for. This is some very good wood but as acerc said, beware of what you are buying from different craft stores. Most of them use a display rack and the makers name is on th rack. The Midwest balsa is usually on the heavy side but I often buy it when I need a stiff LE or TE. Once in a while you just need a sheet or two to finish a build and I like having a Michale's close by. Other then hobby people no one else in my area stocks balsa. The price mark up at Hobby Town can be over 100% for the same wood sold at Michale's, it's even in the same rack, just marked up in price.
Buyer Beware!!!!

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

Gray Beard please don't feel I am in any way trying to offend you because that is not the case. But Midwest Balsa makes different grades of lite ply, birch grade for aircraft and craft grade. The lite ply for craft's is different. As long as it is not for anything structural it's probably fine. I was trying to be a little informative. One can go to Midwest Balsa's website and see the different grades for different application's. Please don't assume it's as good as aircraft grade, birch,  just because of the name. 

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

I take no offense and I will check what wood I buy. I have gotten a lot worse from wood suppliers that was called light ply. I like the idea of no warps in this wood too. The way it is racked it doesn't bend. They have no aircraft grades there at all.

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

I can understand a few dings here and there on the balsa sheets on the outside of the pile, but then again, if it was packaged properly, there really shouldn't be any dings or dents.

As far as getting balsa wood, i've had GREAT success with BUSA and National Balsa. Actually ordered a short kit from National balsa, and the quality couldn't be better, I'm really impressed. The only screw ups with the laser cutting was because the plans had the wrong size, so the part was wrong.

Gene, your getting too old to be getting ripped off by these model airplane companies :)

Jason

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

Old!! Old!!! Heck, he is just a kid in a grown up body [X(][X(][X(]

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

It was a bad week, I had a serious problem with another company, not RC related. Yedsterday a friend came over and we were checking out the planks, we found splits in it too running about 6 inches long and about a half inch in on a couple of them. This is my first ever problem with ever buying wood from anyone and I used to buy all my wood from LS. After the fire I went with National, I found there wood perfect and the way they wrapped it and shipped I never even had a split or warp.
Gene, you just stated the same thing my wife tells me, I get that a lot!

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

I feel your pain with LoneStar as well.  They messed up a very simple order on me with my current project.  I don't typically voice my opinion on forums but after 3 fricken calls to LoneStar, I'm speaking out.  I got a promise of a return call from this so called "Mike" fellow 3 times and as far as I'm concerned doesn't even exist.  My order was just under a $100 but it really pissed me off when I was left feeling like I was "blown off".  I deal alot with online sites, but support you local hobby stores with wood sales.  Future buyers BE WHERE!!

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

I feel your pain with LoneStar as well. They messed up a very simple order on me with my current project. I don't typically voice my opinion on forums but after 3 fricken calls to LoneStar, I'm speaking out. I got a promise of a return call from this so called "Mike" fellow 3 times and as far as I'm concerned doesn't even exist. My order was just under a $100 but it really pissed me off when I was left feeling like I was "blown off". I deal alot with online sites, but support you local hobby stores with wood sales. Future buyers BE WHERE!!

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

Mike is real but just isn't there a lot or knows how to dial?? You can't afford to support your LHS when buying wood!! Hobby People is the only LHS that stocks a good supply of wood and they have a 400% mark up on it. During a build if I need a small supply or a few pieces of wood I will use HP but my local Michale's has a pretty good supply too. If I need a real stiff piece of 1/4 inch sheeting I go to Michale's, just because of what Acerc and I were talking about, not all there wood is of top grade and I can find some balsa there that is as dence as hardwood for things like rudders or ailerons.
From what I have seen on this post I'm not the only one that will no longer use LS for my wood.;) Sorry you got had too but the word is getting out about them. I was always a supporter of them. No longer!!

RE: Lone Star Balsa
 

There was a time when hobby shops had a nice selection of balsa. Like maybe 40 years ago or more. Not only was the balsa higher quality but the also carried contest balsa. Now the selection is extremely slim because so few people build anymore and as Gene says, what is available locally is usually hard and heavy. I prefer to support my LHS even at the cost of more expensive supplies but not at the cost of a heavy airplane.

I got very lucky about 6 months ago and found a local estate auction that had a large lot of balsa, the man had been an avid control line builder. I picked it all up for just over a C note and when I got it home I discovered that it was all contest wood, with every piece weighed and labeled. What a score! Combine that with the remaining stock of balsa I purchased from local hobby shop that closed when the owner retired and I'm set for several years. Keep your eyes out for estates and shop closures. When you catch wind of a shop closure, try to make a deal to buy out remaining stock. If you buy selected wood during the close out you will get a discount but if you offer to take the entire lot you'll get a great discount. I made the deal to let him sell what he could and take whatever was left after he closed the doors for good.

Dave