Well, RC I must confess that it has never occured to me to soak my balsa in water before using it to build a model airplane.

If you contemplate saturating your wood before using, I still don't see what difference the age of the wood would have. New would fare no better than old. Again, absent abused wood, I see no cause for concern with properly stored wood regardless of age. Further I see no reason for saturating balsa that is later to be used in construction of model aircraft, or for using wood treat as you describe.

I found it mildly interesting that Mr. Bader's tests found no rot in balsa until it had been soaked for six months or so. Initially I saw no connection of this test to models. Then I realised that one might encounter a seaplane that had been sunk and lost for some period of time.

In any event the Jess Real World Practical Tests of Old Balsa clearly and repeatably demonstrate that there is no problem in using old wood.

jess