Many people ask “Where is the the best place to buy balsa wood online?” The best website I know of is Specialized Balsa LLC. The owner, Jake Zimmer, has been in the balsa business for years and knows what he is doing. Once I had Jake cut me some 1/32″ x 1/32″ sticks of Balsa just to see if he could do it. He did, and they were absolutely perfect. He also cut me a 3″ x”1/64″ x 36″. I have no real use for these, but still it is cool to have around.
Overall, I have been very impressed with the quality and precision of the cuts that come from Specialized Balsa. I have also ordered from other online companies, and bought from local hobby stores but Specialized Balsa is the best. They also have limited pre-weighted sticks of balsa for competition purposes, which is great. One thing that I really thought was neat is that the balsa sheets come with a sticker with the weight on them precise to a 1/100 of a gram. Very professional.
Hi
I have an idea for a project. I think it might be a crazy idea, but anyway here goes …
I would like to build a teardrop caravan shell out of timber, it has to be as light as possible because it will be mounted on a small steel trailer frame, which will be towed behind a small motorcycle.
The thought of using balsa wood popped into my head from my younger days making models outof the stuff.
Is this a completely un-do-able idea?
Cheers
Steve
Steve, I have my doubts if balsa wood would be able to hold up against wind and thrown rocks, etc. Perhaps you could make a frame or some sort of truss system out of balsa and then cover it with sheets of a more durable wood, such as basswood or maybe spruce. Both are still very strong for their weight and much more dense than balsa wood.
Hello: I’ve been interested in building a scale model of my home and my church for static display in my model railroad. I understand balsa wood, light aluminum and clear plastic would be ideal for manufacturing the parts. Are you able to cut minature 2x4s, 2×6 etc. pieces to make walls, floors, rafters etc.?
I need a sheet of Balsa wood 2ft X 4ft X1/8. Can you help?? Wes R
Hey Garret,
I am making a bridge judged on weight/efficiency. I am using thin CA glue and balsa wood. I wanted what thickness of wood you think would work best for me.
Thanks,
Garret Shipley
Hey Garret,
I’m afraid that’s the kind of question that is impossible to answer without more information. In addition to thickness, you also could consider the density which will affect the stiffness and strength of glued joints.