Balsa??

[woody67]

Hi y'all. Quick question out of curiosity! Would balsa ever be used as drawer sides? I've just acquired an old chest of drawers circa 1950's (?) and the sides are of a very light but strong wood 15mm thick. My limited (very ) experience tends towards balsa due to its weight but relative strength. Am I barking up the wrong tree?
Oooh - and what's best to do with it as a new project as it's no good as a piece of furniture?

Thanks for any replies for such a boring question.

 

[Andy Pullen]

Could be Poplar also known as tulipwood I believe. It is bland stable knotfree and quite soft in texture. kwite simlyur :shock:

 

[Andy Pullen]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulipwood

 

[jasonB]

Obeche is much lighter than poplar/tulipwood but harder than balsa.

Jason

 

[WellsWood]

....or Cedar, (western red) which is extremely light and quite popular for drawer construction.
As to what to do with it, that's a bit of a "how long's a bit of string" question. Did you have something in mind?

 

[Andy Pullen]

I just suggested Poplar because it is a very common carcassing timber used where it generally isn't seen or where it is going to be painted. We've used it a lot for aprons on staircases as you can use it in wide boards without it cupping.
Andy

 

[Andy Pullen]

....or Cedar, (western red) which is extremely light and quite popular for drawer construction.
As to what to do with it, that's a bit of a "how long's a bit of string" question. Did you have something in mind?

The western red I am using at the mo has a definite perfumey smell to it and is dark fading to driftwood if that helps.
Andy

 

[engineer one]

balsa is not the kind of wood you can use for any kind of major construction work.

its use in model making is generally also not where great strength is needed. it is used in model aircraft but to increase the strength, it is covered with either tissue paper, then doped, or with material.

also i do not know that it is possible to get 15mm thick .

paul :wink:

 

[woody67]

Thank you all. Poplar it is then. It's very light in colour, no cupping and knot-free. I was thinking about making the usual suspect, i.e. boxes, but am in fear of them blowing away!

 

[woodbloke]

Paul the Engineer wrote:

balsa is not the kind of wood you can use for any kind of major construction work.

...unless sailing across the Pacific doesn't count. The Kon Tiki was built entirely from balsa logs :wink: - Rob

 

[engineer one]

interesting rob, i thought it was papyrus derived :?

but you mention logs, which suggests that the bark was still there.

my experience with un painted balsa is that it drinks the water faster than i can drink a pint :lol:

paul :wink:

 

[RayUK]

ah no - you are thinking of the Ra raft which was papyrus - the one across the Pacific was Kon Tiki.

I must admit Id forgotten it was made from balsa.

Im still intriqued by what this wood can be - I'm 100% convinced its not balsa - wouldnt be used unless you want the drawers to fall apart first time you use them but comments such as "afraid it might blow away" does suggest something of similar weight/density.

Is poplar really that light?

 

[Ratter]

This is getting intiguing :?:

I wonder whether it would be possible to weigh a piece of this wood and work out its density.

A quick google found these figures:-

Balsa typical density 140 kg/m³

Tulipwood 475 kg/m³ (water = 1000)

I haven't actually handled any tulipwood but it appears from the above to be about three times as heavy as balsa.

On the other hand, as Engineer One says, balsa is stuff we made model aeroplanes from in the '60s and undoped it is so flimsy that I can't imagine making anything requiring any strength or rigidity from it - unless there are different types ...

 

[RayUK]

Found a table for various woods...

http://www.csgnetwork.com/specificgravwdtable.html

Balsa rolls in at 170 kg/m3 - cant see anything less than double that.

 

[jasonB]

I'd still go with obeche or cedar both of which are about 360kg/m3 getting on for 100kg lighter than poplar. Could also be gaboon which is just a touch heavier, gaboon ply was often used for draw sides.

Any chance of cleaning up one of the sides and posting a picture?

Jason

 

[Andy Pullen]

This is getting intiguing :?:

I wonder whether it would be possible to weigh a piece of this wood and work out its density.

You couldn't do that unless you could compare moisture levels aswell and even different examples of the same species can vary wildly. Doesn't Obeche have a pitted straw coloured surface texture whereas Poplar is very smooth but soft and can have tinges of green etc in it.
Andy

 

[jasonB]

Thats why a picture would be helpful. Obeche is a yellowish straw colour with a slightly more upen grain than tulipwood/poplar but it is softer, you can easily mark it with a finger nail.

Jason

 

[woodbutcher]

cedar was and is still used in draw and box construction because moths don't like it , so it repels them and other insects this has been known for a long time.





woodbutcher

 

[Jake]

I'd still go with obeche or cedar both of which are about 360kg/m3 getting on for 100kg lighter than poplar.

That's about the same density as some real (native) poplars, rather than the ubiquitous Am Yellow stuff.

 

[engineer one]

not completely relevant, but in the late 60's when F1 moved to 3 litre cars,
mclaren racing built a car using Mallite as the structural element.

iirc mallite was and possibly still is a kind of torsion box construction but using balsa as one of the structural elements. and i seem to remember that the facing was actually quite thin ally.

what you ended up with was a panel that was very strong in torsion,
and i remember it being used for bulkheads etc.

paul :wink: