Strengthening Balsa

[Courk]

What's a cheap and easy way to strengthen balsa wood? And, how strong does it get? I want "dropped on a hard floor and is still good" strong.

[groza528]

Stainless steel plates on all sides.
What's the application/structure? Are we taking thin sheets of balsa, dowels, blocks?

[MatthewV]

I think an epoxy coating might do the trick.

[Sessie]

Spray acrylic, maybe?
_________________
"I have an everyday religion that works for me: love yourself first, and everything else falls into line." --Lucille Ball

[Legion*]

Surely dropping a bit of balsa wood on a hard floor wouldn't do it much damage anyway,.. would it?

[jesternl]

that's what I thought too

[RSA*]

me three. I remember building model bridges out of balsa for school projects. I hate building stuff, and if it broke every time I dropped it, I probably would have just dropped out of school.

[Courk]

Is balsa wood stronger than I remember, then? I remember being able to break it in half with my weak, puny hands. This'll be a box made of thin sheets of balsa and I don't want it to break with handling, either.

[GH]

Store it in a cardboard box.

[MatthewV]

You can easily split balsa wood along the grain. But dropping it wouldn't do that too often. Also, it is light enough that it doesn't hit the ground with too much force.
If you put finish on it, it will become stronger. It might alos look nicer.

[Aga*]

A basic clear varnish would strengthen it.

Or bubble-wrap.

[Lepton*]

I used to make model airplanes using thin sheets of balsa. They only really broke if I stepped on them; balsa has such a low density that its terminal velocity is insanely low so you cannot even throw a balsa model airplane fast enough to break it.

[Dented Ford]

Dry balsa is pretty brittle though. Now... I hestitate to say this because I might just be completely suckered, but, I was told... that it could help to use vaseline or handcream on it to improve elasticity and flexible resilience. I don't know if this might make it swell and warp though. Or even if it was a serious suggestion.

[The Ragin' South Asian]

[Dented Ford]

well, yes, I was!

[Samadhi]

I'm just offended that anyone would start a discussion about how to make one's wood harder.
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And he lived happily ever after. Except for the dieing at the end and the heartbreak in between.

[Courk]

It's how to make my wood harder.

[ChienFou]

Varnish it before use with an acrylic or epoxy varnish. You now have an insanely strong outer casing to the timber itself and a timber matrix forming a box girder construction. Pound for pound it'll be similar strength as steel. After you've cut it varnish the end grain too. When finished another coat of varnish after you've used the finest grain sandpaper to smooth and roughen the acrylic will give a magnificent finish.

ChienFou (Chartered Engineer)

[Chuck]

If you pick it up soon after you varnish it then there's less chance that you'll drop it.

[Courk]

Chien: How will this varnish affect the visibility of the wood grain when I paint it? I'd actually like the grain to be slightly visible.

Also, something like this then?: http://www.liquitex.com/Products/varglossmedvarflex.cfm

[Mackay]

[Amb]

But by pointing it out, did you not just ruin it's beauty

[ChienFou]

Yep Courky, pretty much what I had in mind - your trade names are different to ours but it looks what I'd have used, and you should be able to paint over it. When the box is finished, rub the thing over with very fine sandpaper, which removes any bits, and creates a very smooth (and slightly scored) surface that will take a 2nd coat, either of paint or of varnish and look great

[Courk]

Well, it remains to be seen what brands my craft stores have. If they have any...

Ever use acrylic varnish over paper? How does that turn out?

[MatthewV]

A few layers of paper and varnish coating can make a fairly durable item. Probably stronger (but heavier) then just balsa wood. And it is cheaper.

[Quailman]

Your craft store has a wide selection, as long as it's name is spelled h-o-m-e_d-e-p-o-t.

[Courk]

I don't need a whole lot of it, though.

[Beartalon]

[Courk]

Any reason why I couldn't use super glue to hold certain parts together? The balsa will be rather thin -- hopefully 1/16 inch. Super glue won't bleed through that, will it? The rest will likely be wood glue (or possibly regular elmers... we'll see how cheap I get)

[MatthewV]

Sometime the wood will soak up too much superglue to get a good bond. I would use a scrap piece first to see how easy it works.

[Courk]

And quite possibly my last question on the subject of balsa wood:

I have to drill a hole for a screw about 1 mm to 1/16 of an inch from the edge of one of the pieces (yes I'm mixing units). Any tips on how to avoid it splitting? Would a bit of super glue over the hole site to the edge be helpful?

[Samadhi]

An exceptionally slow depression speed would work.
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And he lived happily ever after. Except for the dieing at the end and the heartbreak in between.

[Courk]

Would it be better to just go at it with the screw itself instead of drilling a hole first?

[Samadhi]

No. A drill press would be best (precise control), but a drill will suffice with a delicate touch. Just using a screw will cause only slightly less stress than a nail.

And if you want to go the extra distance, bore some threads. That produces less stress than just using a screw.
_________________
And he lived happily ever after. Except for the dieing at the end and the heartbreak in between.

[Amb]

[Courk]

I don't know how to bore a thread.
Shut up, Amb. :-P

[Dented Ford]

You could read to it from one of Samadhi's maths textbooks.

[MatthewV]

"Bore a thread" means to put threads on the inside of a hole. It would be basically impossible unless you had a very thick piece of balsa. It is essential when working with metal.

You will want to carefully (slowly) drill a hole slightly smaller than your nail. This will make the nail not as strong of a connection, but you won't splinter the wood.

[MatthewV]

What are you making?

[Zag]

I suspect Courk knew that. She was just making a joke on how very exciting all threads in which she is involved tend to become.