Author Topic: Inserts. Could I use Balsa or Bass Wood Instead of Divinicell? (Read 3798 times)

Jradtke · « **on:** September 30, 2022, 01:52:41 PM »

Hi, Im about to dig into a new wing board, this one will have foot strap inserts. I can't get small scrap pieces of Divinicell and buying a big sheet and paying for shipping is out of the question, however I could get small balsa and or basswood blocks which I would route and glue inserts into then insert into the foam. Anyone else doing this and how did it turn out?

surfcowboy · « **Reply #1 on:** September 30, 2022, 06:57:48 PM »

Not sure about the use case. But I just used balsa laminated with carbon to make my "Dwight boxes" for my new board. They are nice and solid.

Keep us posted as I feel the same. I'm not buying $100 worth of foam for a couple of tiny pieces.

rbgar · « **Reply #2 on:** October 02, 2022, 07:23:54 AM »

Quote from: Jradtke on September 30, 2022, 01:52:41 PM

Hi, Im about to dig into a new wing board, this one will have foot strap inserts. I can't get small scrap pieces of Divinicell and buying a big sheet and paying for shipping is out of the question, however I could get small balsa and or basswood blocks which I would route and glue inserts into then insert into the foam. Anyone else doing this and how did it turn out?

YES you can use whatever core you like, Balsa will work fine

PonoBill · « **Reply #3 on:** October 03, 2022, 08:12:14 PM »

Basswood for sure, and Balsa is fine in the harder grades. I suspect that hard balsa is about as strong as PVC.

SUPeter · « **Reply #4 on:** October 04, 2022, 08:16:57 AM »

If you use any type of wood, first soak it in Wood Preservative/Wood hardener, forget the exact name. Yellow metal can, in Painting section of Lowes or Home Depot. Its basically styrene foam dissolved in acetone. make your own. Its super low viscosity and will penetrate deep into wood so water will not if breaks occur. Give it a surface sanding prior to bonding to epoxy resin.

PonoBill · « **Reply #5 on:** October 04, 2022, 03:04:25 PM »

Not a bad idea if you used the right stuff. Some preservatives are oily which would screw up lamination. I tried doing a "WEST" thing, by painting on a thick coat of epoxy and sticking the part in a vacuum pot. Got lots of bubbles coming through the epoxy, When I let the air back in the top part had soaked up most of the epoxy but the sides and bottom, not so much.