As 3D printers keep coming down in price, more and more hobbyists are buying them. After looking through some of the offerings on Thingiverse I found a number of different tools that looked promising for working with balsa. I think it would be useful for the community to put together a list of designs we've printed and tested, and will start with my favorite, a Balsa Stripper.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1892640
Can a 3D printed version be better than a commercially available product?
Instead of simply printing and testing the product, I'm going to compare it against the "gold standard" of balsa strippers, the Master Airscrew Balsa Stripper. I've owned one of these for years, and it works very well. Plus, it's cheap and uses standard #11 blades. My only (minimal) complaints about it are that it's a little awkward to hold with big hands and that the adjusting dial is easy to bump and change the setting. With minimal care these little issues are easy to avoid and this tool makes the task of cutting strips of balsa from a larger sheet a breeze. In the pics you'll notice I've got two blades mounted in the tool. Well, most of two blades... I broke the tip off an old blade and mounted it with the good blade to help stiffen the cutting blade so it doesn't wander and follow the balsa grain as much. It can cut fairly thick balsa (in a couple passes) and this was an issue. Thin balsa doesn't seem to have that problem.
Now it's time to compare against the 3D printed balsa stripper.
First, the good points. It prints well and gives you two options for the bolts - either use wingnuts or the knurled pieces I used. It's much wider, and more stable as well. Adjustments are very secure and it's not likely you're going to accidentally change the setting. You could also run a couple screws down through it and use it as a bench-mounted tool if you cut a lot of strips.
Now, the bad points. Adjusting the cutting width is a little fiddly. It also doesn't handle sheets as thick as the Master Airscrew product, but it'll still do just about any thickness sheet I need. Those are the ONLY complaints I've got on it so far!
With a side-by-side pic you can see the size difference between the tools. I find the 3D printed version easier to use, but for a quick one or two cuts I'll still grab the Master Airscrew stripper for the quick adjustments.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1892640
Can a 3D printed version be better than a commercially available product?
Instead of simply printing and testing the product, I'm going to compare it against the "gold standard" of balsa strippers, the Master Airscrew Balsa Stripper. I've owned one of these for years, and it works very well. Plus, it's cheap and uses standard #11 blades. My only (minimal) complaints about it are that it's a little awkward to hold with big hands and that the adjusting dial is easy to bump and change the setting. With minimal care these little issues are easy to avoid and this tool makes the task of cutting strips of balsa from a larger sheet a breeze. In the pics you'll notice I've got two blades mounted in the tool. Well, most of two blades... I broke the tip off an old blade and mounted it with the good blade to help stiffen the cutting blade so it doesn't wander and follow the balsa grain as much. It can cut fairly thick balsa (in a couple passes) and this was an issue. Thin balsa doesn't seem to have that problem.
Now it's time to compare against the 3D printed balsa stripper.
First, the good points. It prints well and gives you two options for the bolts - either use wingnuts or the knurled pieces I used. It's much wider, and more stable as well. Adjustments are very secure and it's not likely you're going to accidentally change the setting. You could also run a couple screws down through it and use it as a bench-mounted tool if you cut a lot of strips.
Now, the bad points. Adjusting the cutting width is a little fiddly. It also doesn't handle sheets as thick as the Master Airscrew product, but it'll still do just about any thickness sheet I need. Those are the ONLY complaints I've got on it so far!
With a side-by-side pic you can see the size difference between the tools. I find the 3D printed version easier to use, but for a quick one or two cuts I'll still grab the Master Airscrew stripper for the quick adjustments.