All times are UTC


It is currently Thu Dec 12, 2024 1:49 am



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 12 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Balsa Thickness Confusion
PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 12:41 pm 
Kinsman
Kinsman
Offline

Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2013 3:36 pm
Posts: 62
Location: Deep Forests of Småland, Sweden
Images: 1
Hey! I'm going to order some Balsa wood and I'm unsure on how thick it should be, they are ranging all the way from 1mm(0.04 inch) to 1cm(0.4), anyone have any input on this?

_________________
Check out my W.I.P Painting, Terrain and Conversions!
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Balsa Thickness Confusion
PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 12:57 pm 
Ringwraith
Ringwraith
User avatar
Offline

Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:56 pm
Posts: 3736
Location: The Height of Nonsense
Two things - first one is that balsa is not the best wood for some aspects of terrain or modelling - you can get strips and sheets of other types of wood. Second one - what are you planning to do with it? There are situations where very thick balsa would be appropriate (carving something for instance, or making rectlinear columns like in the dwarf halls). Balsa and other wood is available in a range of sizes - examples here-
http://www.modelshop.co.uk/Shop/Strip-S ... -Rod/Wood/
http://www.modelshop.co.uk/Shop/Raw-Mat ... ood-Sheet/
Tell us what you are planning so we can make useful suggestions. I am guessing you may be considering something to do with Goblin Town?

_________________
Published ebooks:
Instrument of the Empire
A Note of Defiance
Phantom Ships, Ghost Flotilla
More to come!
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Balsa Thickness Confusion
PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 1:08 pm 
Kinsman
Kinsman
Offline

Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2013 3:36 pm
Posts: 62
Location: Deep Forests of Småland, Sweden
Images: 1
Dorthonion wrote:
Two things - first one is that balsa is not the best wood for some aspects of terrain or modelling - you can get strips and sheets of other types of wood. Second one - what are you planning to do with it? There are situations where very thick balsa would be appropriate (carving something for instance, or making rectlinear columns like in the dwarf halls). Balsa and other wood is available in a range of sizes - examples here-
http://www.modelshop.co.uk/Shop/Strip-S ... -Rod/Wood/
http://www.modelshop.co.uk/Shop/Raw-Mat ... ood-Sheet/
Tell us what you are planning so we can make useful suggestions. I am guessing you may be considering something to do with Goblin Town?



Correct, mostly to expand upon the Goblin Town terrain but also for other things. So a wood which is easy to work with and is general-purpose.

_________________
Check out my W.I.P Painting, Terrain and Conversions!
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Balsa Thickness Confusion
PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 1:13 pm 
Elven Elder
Elven Elder
User avatar
Offline

Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 11:33 pm
Posts: 3688
Location: Atlanta GA. U.S.A.
Images: 14
wiirgy wrote:
Hey! I'm going to order some Balsa wood and I'm unsure on how thick it should be, they are ranging all the way from 1mm(0.04 inch) to 1cm(0.4), anyone have any input on this?

I only use balsa for flying kits. It is light and strong but fuzzy and soft. The thickness will depend on what you want to make.

I see that while I was looking for a link Dorthonion posted some.
I used bass wood and pine scrap for my Goblin town sections.

_________________
"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Balsa Thickness Confusion
PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 1:25 pm 
Elven Elder
Elven Elder
User avatar
Offline

Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 11:33 pm
Posts: 3688
Location: Atlanta GA. U.S.A.
Images: 14
Image

I used some craft sticks AKA Popsicle sticks and coffee stirrers. I also split some thin strips of pine scraps with a heavy knife blade.

_________________
"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Balsa Thickness Confusion
PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 1:56 pm 
Kinsman
Kinsman
Offline

Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2013 3:36 pm
Posts: 62
Location: Deep Forests of Småland, Sweden
Images: 1
Hmm, so balsa might not be the way to go then?

_________________
Check out my W.I.P Painting, Terrain and Conversions!
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Balsa Thickness Confusion
PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 2:18 pm 
Elven Elder
Elven Elder
User avatar
Offline

Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 11:33 pm
Posts: 3688
Location: Atlanta GA. U.S.A.
Images: 14
wiirgy wrote:
Hmm, so balsa might not be the way to go then?

It depends how hard the craft sticks are to get. I usually get them at the craft store. I have not tried to order them by mail. I like the large size. I use them for shutters and gates for doll houses too.
http://www.discountofficeitems.com/prod ... ref=nextag

_________________
"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Balsa Thickness Confusion
PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 6:27 pm 
Ringwraith
Ringwraith
User avatar
Offline

Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:56 pm
Posts: 3736
Location: The Height of Nonsense
I use basswood, spruce and similar for structural load-bearing components. I have used cocktail sticks and BBQ skewers for some logs. Balsa is handy for the non-loadbearing areas - it can be cut with fine-toothed saws and cuts/splits very easily along the grain so it could make the 'decking' planks for goblin town. I would use stronger wood for the supporting frames and use a mixture of thicknesses - it should be a bit ramshackle to be goblinesque. Best of luck!

_________________
Published ebooks:
Instrument of the Empire
A Note of Defiance
Phantom Ships, Ghost Flotilla
More to come!
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Balsa Thickness Confusion
PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 7:13 pm 
Kinsman
Kinsman
Offline

Joined: Fri Jun 21, 2013 3:36 pm
Posts: 62
Location: Deep Forests of Småland, Sweden
Images: 1
Thanks for your input everyone, I will look into this more tommorow and then check back to see if what I found is a yay or nay.

_________________
Check out my W.I.P Painting, Terrain and Conversions!
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Balsa Thickness Confusion
PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2013 7:54 pm 
Dark Lord of Moria
Dark Lord of Moria
User avatar
Offline

Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 2:11 pm
Posts: 1346
Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne, England.
Images: 6
The only comment I would add to the above posts is that Balsa is very easy to deal with and can be an ideal medium choice for beginners, personally, I love Balsa.

If you choose to buy some Balsa Wood wiirgy, a word of advice, Google Balsa Bundle and also on Ebay. This is a great way to get a selection of different thicknesses and an understanding of what to order in the future. There are some very cheap prices out there.

_________________
There are fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Balsa Thickness Confusion
PostPosted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 12:06 am 
Administrator
Administrator
User avatar
Offline

Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 11:59 pm
Posts: 2780
Location: Adelaide
Images: 15
I use balsa a lot. It forms the core of most of my buildings and a lot of the feature timber work I do is with balsa. I usually have a number of 100mm wide strips of various thicknesses on hand - 1mm for planking and building facades, 5mm for wall sections (which I then plaster with polyfilla), and 12mm for larger structural elements. I also use 3mm pieces to make staircases.

But I also use basswood strips if I need something strong enough to take a few knocks during wargaming, like fences and palisades.

_________________
Dagster
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: Balsa Thickness Confusion
PostPosted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:37 am 
Ringwraith
Ringwraith
User avatar
Offline

Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:56 pm
Posts: 3736
Location: The Height of Nonsense
I meant to post this earlier - her are a couple of images of balsa and other wood used on a Mordor Siege tower - the white stuff is cardboard.
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj26 ... 2WIP13.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj26 ... 2WIP12.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj26 ... k2WIP9.jpg
I hope that helps - the basswood makes up the frame and balsa and cocktail sticks make up the wooden cladding while the card is used for the 'armour'.

_________________
Published ebooks:
Instrument of the Empire
A Note of Defiance
Phantom Ships, Ghost Flotilla
More to come!
Top
  Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 12 posts ] 

All times are UTC


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 62 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: