I watched a video from the Rapala company in finland . Balsa is not affected by styrene or long resin gel times making it well suited for infusion applications. Pricing/Availability: Widely available as lumber or carving blanks. MOE is almost universally listed as longitudinal value unless otherwise noted in literature. Density 160 (120-220)kgm3, commercially preferred density range 120-160kgm3. Identifying and Using Hundreds of Woods Worldwide, POSTER: Worldwide Woods: Ranked by Hardness. The name balsa comes from the Spanish word for "raft".. A deciduous angiosperm, Ochroma pyramidale can grow up to 30 m tall, as is classified as a hardwood despite the wood itself being very soft; it is the softest commercial … For example would 5 out of 100 trees in a rainforest be balsa or something like that? Balsa is technically a hard wood, because of the shape of the leaves. Common Uses: Buoys, rafts, surfboards, model airplanes, musical instruments, packing/transport cases, core stock in sandwich laminations, and fishing lures. The search phrase you entered, balsa wood, is common to 8 materials, by searching on the exact phrase [ "balsa wood"] in the most common text fields. White to oatmeal in colour with high silky lustre. BALTEK® is the only structural core material made of a natural, renewable resource – balsa wood. I’m sorry, but that’s just ignorant. However, … It is … Colour covers a wide range—yellow, green, red, brown, black, and nearly pure white woods … This wood is a great option for working with RV's, yacht interiors, displays, and anywhere when weight is a concern. Grain/Texture: Balsa has a straight grain with a medium to coarse texture and low natural luster. Yet despite its softness, Balsa is technically classified as a hardwood, rather than a softwood, since it has broad leaves and is not a conifer. This structural balsa wood core material is easy to bond when using any type of resin or adhesive. Ideal for: Sheet balsa wings and tails, flat fuselage sides, wing ribs, fuselage formers, and wing trailing edges. In addition, it has the highest dielectric strength and a moderately low ductility. Follow the links below to view complete property information. Does balsa wood have varying hardnesses? Distribution: Tropical regions of the Americas; also grown on plantations, Tree Size: 60-90 ft (18-28 m) tall, 3-4 ft (1-1.2 m) trunk diameter, Average Dried Weight: 9 lbs/ft3 (150 kg/m3), Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): .12, .15, Modulus of Rupture: 2,840 lbf/in2 (19.6 MPa), Elastic Modulus: 538,000 lbf/in2 (3.71 GPa), Crushing Strength: 1,690 lbf/in2 (11.6 MPa), Shrinkage: Radial: 2.3%, Tangential: 6.0%, Volumetric: 8.5%, T/R Ratio: 2.6. Balsa wood has attained commercial importance because of its exceptional lightweight and its insulating properties. plz help, Dhyana, you can find that information on this same site. It has a high stiffness to weight and strength to weight ratios, which combined with other materials, results in light weight, high strength, thermal and sound insulated products.. Allergies/Toxicity: Besides the standard health risks associated with any type of wood dust, no further health reactions have been associated with Basswood. Balsa is used as a core material in many… Read more ». Balsa has excellent sound, heat, and vibration insulating properties, and is also incredibly buoyant: in fact, “Balsa” is the Spanish word for “raft.”. It is compatible with all types of manufacturing processes from wet lamination to prepreg construction. Copyright © 2008-2021 Eric Meier | All Rights Reserved, https://drive.google.com/file/d/17XKHvjwVq5jCpDoS7fKRG5tgADbi8z7i/view?usp=sharing. Balsa stains and finishes well, though it has a tendency to soak up large quantities of material on the initial coats. Larger boards and lumber sold through typical hardwood dealers is hard to find, but generally has a better cost per board-foot than other sources. Balsa isn’t very strong, but its low density makes it an excellent core material for composite structures. Balsa wood is a crappy wood that has virtyally no resistance. If you belong to an institution that sets its own citation guidelines, use those instead. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information. Many yachts are built with a balsa-cored fiberglass hull, which provides excellent strength and good thermal insulation. Balsa is renowned for its ability to rest on top of water rather than sink into it. Powerful and Lightweight. Buoyancy. These properties are derived from the microstructure, which consists of long slender cells (tracheids) with approximately hexagonal crosssections that are arranged axially. I’m trying to build a structure for a competition and this is my first time reading anything like this- so hard! It has the lowest density among wood-based materials. Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Balsa has been reported to cause skin irritation. RE: Balsa wood properties boo1 (Mechanical) 21 Jan 15 19:19 Balsa is also used in the marine industry, as core and for the Flame, Smoke and Toxicity requirements of the U.S. Navy. Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 'B-grain' also know as Random or Mixed grain cut. The results presented in this study indicate that balsa with a density around 150 kg/m3 can have superior strength properties to balsa with a higher and lower density (this was most evident in … Ochroma pyramidale, commonly known as the balsa tree, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. These supplementary macroscopic characteristics are helpful in describing a piece of wood for identification or other purposes. Highly economical End-grain balsa is a structural core with properties that make it ideal for sandwich construction. Scans/Pictures: A special thanks to Steve Earis for providing the wood sample for this wood species. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on. It is about the Paulownia tomentosa. 1" 4x8 panel weighs just 48lbs 3/4 4x8 panels weighs just 30 lbs 1/2 4x8 panels weighs Applications Comments: Balsa is a wood that is famous worldwide. Workability: Generally very easy to work with virtually no dulling effect on cutters; yet because of its extremely low density, fuzzy surfaces can be a problem when using dull cutters. Bala is an amazing wood for the right application. The mechanical properties of balsa have been modeled, particularly in compression, by considering the wood structure to resemble a honeycomb (Easterling et al., 1982, Gibson and Ashby, 1997, Vural and Ravichandran, 2003, Da Silva and Kyriakides, 2007). Its soft feel is one of balsa’s unique properties that makes it ideal for a … Elongation at Break, %. A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. Plastic foam materials offer better crash-resistance, but balsa is still used as a laminate core material in many high performance designs. Balsa wood is the lightest and softest commercial hardwood timber. It has the lowest density among wood-based materials. WOOD DESCRIPTION LOG DESCRIPTION Color: Sapwood: Texture: Grain: Interlocked grain: Diameter: Thickness of sapwood: Floats: Log durability: from to cm Note: Wood cream white to pink white. Material Notes: Data is based on small, clear, air-dried samples unless specified. Compressive (Crushing) Strength, MPa. How does balsa compare to other wood-based materials? No, I am saying it is crappy because if you try to fly those model planes they will break to pieces from wind. Yes, there is a wide variation in balsa hardness. Pricing/Availability: High quality Balsa (that is, Balsa with a very low density) can be rather expensive when purchased at hobby stores or other specialty outlets. Is just overhyped. Color/Appearance: Heartwood tends to be a pale reddish brown color, though it is not commonly seen in commercial lumber. I do not have yet the technical information about the Elongata and Fortunata, Common Name(s): Paulownia, Royal Paulownia, Princess Tree, Kiri Scientific Name: Paulownia tomentosa Distribution: Native to eastern Asia; also planted in eastern North America Tree Size: 30-65 ft (10-20 m) tall, 2-4 ft (.6-1.2 m) trunk diameter Average Dried Weight: 18 lbs/ft3 (280 kg/m3) Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): .25, .28 Janka Hardness: 300 lbf (1,330 N) Modulus of Rupture: 5,480 lbf/in2 (37.8 MPa)… Read more ». "Balsa", www.makeitfrom.com/material-properties/Balsa, retrieved 2021-02-24. Is this longitudinal or transversal? As far as the wind breaking models to pieces, construction is rated, windspeed has a cap, even before flight, and there is always pilot error. Balsa is the lightest and softest timber used commercially. It is the sole member of the genus Ochroma. Balsa is a wood-based material. There are several other variant species but the most common are the Paulownia Elongata, Paulownia Fortunata, besides the Tormentosa. How does it compare to other polymeric materials. Balsa Wood Properties By Kurt Krempetz 03/2006 Balsa Wood. Who is the author of this article and when was it published? Our end-grain balsa wood core material has remarkable physical properties, starting with its outstanding strength-to-weight ratios (high shear and compression strength).. BALSASUD Core is approved by DNV GL and Lloyd's Register.. Models relating the mechanical properties to the cellular structure and to the density, based on deformation and failure mechanisms, are described. It has a high stiffness to weight and strength to weight ratios, which combined with other materials, results in light weight, high strength, thermal and sound insulated products. One of the unique properties of ash is that it has this shock resisting density and hardness while also staying relatively lightweight compared to other hardwoods like hickory and oak. 1.2. Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa. Working properties: Balsa is an easy-to-work-with wood, provided sharp hand or power tools are used. Balsa generally should not be used to hold nails, with glue being the preferred method of joining. Balsa is the lightest wood in the world. PROPERTIES Balsa is a honeycomb cell shaped wood which, once dried and processed, becomes a natural structural core with unique properties. A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. Since cork is low density, it is also very strong and can be used to make wooden fishing lures. Not too many things fall out of the sky unscathed. You shoudn’t say it’s crappy just because you don’t know what to use it for. Wood - Wood - Properties of wood: Sensory characteristics include colour, lustre, odour, taste, texture, grain, figure, weight, and hardness of wood. It’s unmatched for model airplanes (also used in ful scale airplanes to some extent!)