Rotors

[lllazar]

No point at all to use basswood. I mean, they are stronger, but u don't need that much strength, and the added mass certainly isn't worth it.

[kjhsscioly]

Precisely. Balsa is quite strong when supported by ribs and covered on mylar. I haven't ever had an issue with spars breaking, and I never built basswood.

[illusionist]

I haven't had any issues either, but since it came up that stiffere spars work best, is it worth it. I'm jsut going to stick with the balsa spars i'm using now

[jander14indoor]

Nothing is worth being over the minimum weight! Nothing! Well except maybe just enough to make sure you don't get second tiered. But NO other reason.

Remember, balsa is hugely variable in its qualities. If you want stiffer spars, cut many, sort out the ones to target weight, then select the stiffest. You will find a big difference for seamingly identical weight and size spars. You can improve stiffness a LOT that way. Course you throw out a lot of wood unless you can find some less critical use for it. But you will get significantly better helicopters.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

[kjhsscioly]

my partner organizes and numbers all of her wood by density. It seems like a lot of work, but it pays off when building.

[aubrey048]

my partner organizes and numbers all of her wood by density. It seems like a lot of work, but it pays off when building.

That's brilliant! *taking notes*

[thewinner]

Yeah, I just started doing that. It was really surprising how much variation there was in a batch of balsa.

[chia]

-nod nod- Yeah, I'm almost always more organized than actually necessary . For 1/16x1/16 pieces, I grouped them into four categories based on mass, because it would just take forever to do it individually (I bought it in bulk one time and have lots left), but I had 8 motor stick sized pieces of the same length which ranged from 2 grams to 8 and everything in between... so I figured it was probably a good idea to label them so I'd remember.

[illusionist]

Do hobby stores give you discount if you buy in bulk? Cause I would love that. Last time I went they had the crapiest balsa... Maybe I should learn to cut my own 1/16 x 1/16

[thewinner]

If the balsa sheets are crappy, won't you have bad wood anyway?
But yeah, I wish I got discounts on balsa.