Balsa Sticks for Bracing

[BuildZoom]

Hi,

First of all thank you balsa man and this forum for sharing a valuable information. This is my first post on this forum.

I have a question regarding the wood for bracing of 1/16" x 1/32" size.

Option 1: Cut from 1/32" thick sheet into small strips of 1/16" wide. What type of grain specification A, B or C? I guess either B or C.

Option 2: Buy balsa sticks 1/32" x1/16".

I read, Balsa Man suggested option 1.
Just curious to know if option 2 is available at the specialized balsa store, whats the drawback of choosing option 2 apart from it is more expensive.

Thank You.

[dholdgreve]

First off, WELCOME!
Secondly, buying 1/16" x 1/32" sticks is A LOT more expensive than buying sheets and stripping yourself! Like 16X more expensive!
Third, as you continue to detail your design, you may find the need to to go just a hair wider or narrower than standard sizes. You can customize the widths when you strip your own,
Fourth, When you have a few sheets on hand, you won't run out out of this width or that width... you just cut whatever you need

The money you save on your very first order will more than pay for the stripper!

[Random Human]

Hi,

First of all thank you balsa man and this forum for sharing a valuable information. This is my first post on this forum.

I have a question regarding the wood for bracing of 1/16" x 1/32" size.

Option 1: Cut from 1/32" thick sheet into small strips of 1/16" wide. What type of grain specification A, B or C? I guess either B or C.

Option 2: Buy balsa sticks 1/32" x1/16".

I read, Balsa Man suggested option 1.
Just curious to know if option 2 is available at the specialized balsa store, whats the drawback of choosing option 2 apart from it is more expensive.

Thank You.

First off, 1/16*1/32 is not what I've had good experience with. Contact points are way to small, and strips are inaccurate. I would first get familiar with buying it, and using it, doing some tests with accurately cut sticks. Then, try to cut the price point down. Precision is key.

[Balsa Man]

First off, 1/16*1/32 is not what I've had good experience with. Contact points are way to small, and strips are inaccurate. I would first get familiar with buying it, and using it, doing some tests with accurately cut sticks. Then, try to cut the price point down. Precision is key.

Just curious, your negative experience with 1/16 x 1/32- presumably for all Xs bracing approach (?) what size/approach worked better for you?

[retired1]

In cutting strips from a sheet,till you gain a good bit of experience, do it from sheets that are about 12" long to start with. It is possible, but from 18" or 24" sheets can be difficult. I find this helpful even on my expensive Harlan cutter.
A good steel ruler and ultra sharp single edge razor blades are nearly a necessity.
Master Airscrew sells an inexpensive stripper thru several places including Ebay of Amazon. This uses #11 xacto blades, so you might want to buy a few extra blades.
It works well if you set the blade to where it just barely passes thru the sheet. Some people will prefer to make the cuts out of the 1/32 sheet, while some would prefer to cut them out of the 1/16 sheet. Cardboard works well for a cutting board.
Grain will not make a significant difference for x braces. Just discard all poorly cut pieces and those with knots and similar imperfections.

[Random Human]

First off, 1/16*1/32 is not what I've had good experience with. Contact points are way to small, and strips are inaccurate. I would first get familiar with buying it, and using it, doing some tests with accurately cut sticks. Then, try to cut the price point down. Precision is key.

Just curious, your negative experience with 1/16 x 1/32- presumably for all Xs bracing approach (?) what size/approach worked better for you?

Not necessarily negative, its just pretty difficult to get it consistently. And I list out the harms of having it inconsistent.

[Crtomir]

First off, 1/16*1/32 is not what I've had good experience with. Contact points are way to small, and strips are inaccurate. I would first get familiar with buying it, and using it, doing some tests with accurately cut sticks. Then, try to cut the price point down. Precision is key.

Just curious, your negative experience with 1/16 x 1/32- presumably for all Xs bracing approach (?) what size/approach worked better for you?

Not necessarily negative, its just pretty difficult to get it consistently. And I list out the harms of having it inconsistent.

Do you weigh your bracing strips? We typically weigh the 1/16" x 1/32" x 36" strips to make sure they are between 0.20g and 0.25g. You definitely do not want them more than 0.30g because they start to add up weight on the tower if you have a lot of braces and you will have a lot of braces if you are using light density balsa for the columns (main 4 legs).