Balsa or Bass

[disownedpear]

would it make sense to use bass and balsa

[lllazar]

Depending on your design, if you think you should, go for it. I made a change in two of the tension members in my bridge last year, from balsa to bass, and had an improvement in efficiency (by last years equation) of 100ish. So yes, look at your design thoroughly, and keep your mind open.

[Bubba1960]

At my school, somebody told me that a combo of bass and balsa worked well for bridges last year. Would this work well for towers too?

[Littleboy]

It all depends on your design and how you use it. Some designs work well with balsa others with bass and some with a combonation of the two. You will also have to put it in the right places. You won't want bass in a place that could have balsa or balsa were bass is needed. Remembering this, you want to have a light tower so don't build to heavy. This should have applied last year as well.
Also read last year posts on balsa or bass.

[lllazar]

I ordered from Specialized Balsa, some balsa sheets, about 3 weeks ago....it still hasn't arrived at my school (My coach ordered it)...how long does the shipping usually take, because im running low on the wood i currently have.

[Balsa Man]

Wow, I'd contact them; I think something's wrong. I've never ordered- just drive down to pick wood up, but I know Jake works hard to turn orders around quick, and they ship Fed-X.

[SLM]

I ordered from Specialized Balsa, some balsa sheets, about 3 weeks ago....it still hasn't arrived at my school (My coach ordered it)...how long does the shipping usually take, because im running low on the wood i currently have.

I've ordered balsa sheets and sticks from Specialized Balsa several times. I've always received a confirmation e-mail within 2 days of ordering, and have gotten the woods via USPS within a week.

[yogoperson]

I think balsa wood is better. It's lighter and stronger if you use it correctly, and if you know how to put together structures that don't use a lot of glue yet efficient. I am horrible at it, though. My friends are geniuses at this.

[austinfhs]

I don't have much experience with this event, but I think that a combination is the best. Maybe using bass (along the grain) for the serious stress points, and then using balsa as supports against twisting and distributing weight? I tried breaking some quarter inch bass and it had incredible strength - then again that was quarter inch, and way larger than you'll be using less wood then that.

[Vizard007]

I don't have much experience with this event, but I think that a combination is the best. Maybe using bass (along the grain) for the serious stress points, and then using balsa as supports against twisting and distributing weight? I tried breaking some quarter inch bass and it had incredible strength - then again that was quarter inch, and way larger than you'll be using less wood then that.

What he says is kind of correct? The truth is, Balsa is superior in every way IFF the wood is carefully selected. a 5G piece of balsa wood isn't necessarily stronger than a 1G strip of the same size and thickness (Though there is a correlation between mass and strength). The hard part is just taking the time to get the wood. Another issue is that if a 1 meter piece of balsa wood was cut in half, the two opposite ends could have completely different masses and strength. So, IMO I would go with what austinfhs has posted above, or at least go all bass. Because if a tower breaks it will be harder to distinguish why it broke with balsa due to so many different variable. At least it will be harder relative to using bass wood. I'm going to try to get my team to go ALL bass then towards a hybrid of bass and balsa, and then pure balsa. But, the team that beats our school every year goes pure bass, and they've been going to nats for like, 25 years i believe? Plus, with the new efficiency formula, carrying more weight is important, so that's another pro for bass (in the beginning at least).