Does Balsawood Go Bad  
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Does Balsawood Go Bad - 1/5/2002 8:23:27 PM   
countryboy3


 

Posts: 7
Joined: 12/13/2001
From: whitehouse TN.
Status: offline 		I have a chance to buy a bud nolsen p51 about 75% built. this bird has been this way for 10 years or more. was wondering if the wood would stay together if a person tried to fly it now. the wood doesn't look to have gotten wet or anything. Please let me know what you experienced guys think.
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Does Balsawood Go Bad - 1/5/2002 9:19:27 PM   
EASYTIGER


 

Posts: 7676
Joined: 12/7/2001
From: nyc, NY, USA
Status: offline 		I have built models with wood over fifty years old, with no problems. GLUE, on the other hand, does not last indefinitely. Depends on what glue. Pull on some of the joints and see if they are loose or brittle or what.
But, NO, definitely NOT, balsa does NOT go stale.

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Balsa - go bad??? - 1/5/2002 9:42:11 PM   
tailskid



Posts: 5493
Joined: 11/30/2001
From: Tolleson, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		Sure hope not...have a couple of kits 'stashed' away

Jerry

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Does Balsawood Go Bad - 1/5/2002 9:47:14 PM   
EASYTIGER


 

Posts: 7676
Joined: 12/7/2001
From: nyc, NY, USA
Status: offline 		I have hundreds of vintage kits. Hundreds. I have NEVER found any wood that was "stale" and unuseable. I HAVE found wood that was junk when it was put into the kit all those years back...too heavy or whatever.
I ROUTINELY use wood from a stash that is over fifty years old, with no ill effects.

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Depends - 1/6/2002 1:16:26 AM   
Mr. Wildcat


 

Posts: 21
Joined: 12/29/2001
Status: offline 		It depends on how you raise it......

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Watya got? - 1/6/2002 3:13:50 AM   
tailskid



Posts: 5493
Joined: 11/30/2001
From: Tolleson, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		Of those 'hundereds' of kits....got any you will like to part company with?

Jerry

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Does Balsawood Go Bad - 1/6/2002 3:54:20 AM   
EASYTIGER


 

Posts: 7676
Joined: 12/7/2001
From: nyc, NY, USA
Status: offline 		Tailskid, check my auctions on ebay, under the seller name EASYTIGER.
Mr. Wildcat, I have never met a piece of balsa I did not like! Even the heaviest block of ironwood or the most warped stick of stripwood always has a home with me. If you have any wayward balsa that has not been raised properly, you just send it along and I'll find a place for it!

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Does Balsawood Go Bad - 1/6/2002 11:30:59 AM   
Jester


 

Posts: 16
Joined: 12/20/2001
From: Long Beach, CA, USA
Status: offline 		If the wood is stored in a dry place it should last a very long time. As said above, the glue might be an issue. I had an old ASW-21 kit with pre-sheeted wings stored in the rafters for many years. The glue holding the Obeechi sheeting to the foam cores broke down and the sheeting debonded from the wings. What a mess.

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re - 1/7/2002 3:43:11 AM   
jmulder



Posts: 1276
Joined: 12/16/2001
From: NC
Status: offline 		depends on the mice....heehee

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Does Balsawood Go Bad - 1/8/2002 12:33:44 AM   
Al Stein



Posts: 966
Joined: 1/7/2002
From: Johnstown, PA, USA
Status: offline
quote:

It depends on how you raise it......
They always blame the parents...

Serially, though, while it doesn't go bad, its moisture content changes and sometimes it does get so dry that CA needs a little help to work the way you're used to. At that point, you can either dampen the joint area a tiny bit or use accelerator, so it's no big problem... just so it doesn't happen without you knowing.

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Does Balsawood Go Bad - 1/8/2002 2:21:42 AM   
EASYTIGER


 

Posts: 7676
Joined: 12/7/2001
From: nyc, NY, USA
Status: offline 		Is it nurture, or is it nature? When good balsa goes bad...next week on Oprah...
Al, you are totally correct. Something I forgot to mention. CA works on the moisture. Actually, CA glue and a lot of older KITS are incompatible...the tolerances of all the joints are too loose for CA to bridge the gaps...

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Does Balsawood Go Bad - 1/8/2002 2:49:25 AM   
Al Stein



Posts: 966
Joined: 1/7/2002
From: Johnstown, PA, USA
Status: offline 		[QUOTE]Originally posted by EASYTIGER
Is it nurture, or is it nature? When good balsa goes bad...next week on Oprah...
CA glue and a lot of older KITS are incompatible...the tolerances of all the joints are too loose... [/QUOTE]Darn good point about the parts fit... anybody who don't believe it, build me a Gentle Lady and then report back!

Now about the nature vs nurture thing... I think Lorenz would say it's nature, and it's hard to doubt a guy that looks like Santa Clause, but then Tinbergen's name rolls off the tongue so nicely... maybe nurture is woth considering... I dunno!

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Does Balsawood Go Bad - 1/8/2002 3:11:34 AM   
EASYTIGER


 

Posts: 7676
Joined: 12/7/2001
From: nyc, NY, USA
Status: offline 		Well, if you want to get REAL information, you need to go to a reliable source like Jerry Springer. Obviously, you could not get a job on TV unless you're real smart.
As far as the gentle lady goes, man, I hated building that kit. Three pieces of wood with those zig-zag joints just to make a fuselage side...not my cup of tea. BUT...I have to give credit where it is due...great value for the money, and boy, did it ever fly nicely.
That, though, is definitely a CA-designed kit. But, some of yer Berkeleys and Sterlings and such go together MUCH better with Ambroid or wood glue or some other more traditional adhesive. Plus, they all taste better than CA when peeling it off your fingers...

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       Post #: 13

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