Hoping to start my first build.

[flyingj]

I was given a balsa kit from a club member that has been handed down through 5 people before it landed in my hands. Its a Carl Goldberg Piper Cub Anniversary edition. I started checking the parts, it all looks to be here but I noticed quite a bit of warping in most of the die cut part sheets. Will this cause a problem during or after the build? I can post pictures tomorrow if it would help with opinions.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Joker 53150]

Maybe. It depends on which pieces and how bad the warping is. If the parts are secured firmly during construction it may pull warps out. You might be able to lightly steam the sheets and lay them flat and weighted down to remove some warping. If it is the "sticks" which are warped those can be easily replaced with new wood.

 

[BobK]

Windex is your friend here because of the magic of ammonia. As Joker said if the warped pieces are just sticks it is easiest just to replace them, otherwise with sheets or even loose parts spray them with Windex until the are just moist then weight them down flat and let dry. Be careful building with warped parts.

 

[Joker 53150]

The testing I did with Windex compared to just using water yielded very similar results, so you could probably try either liquid. My only tiny gripe about Windex is that the wood was slightly discolored after it dried.

 

[BobK]

The testing I did with Windex compared to just using water yielded very similar results, so you could probably try either liquid. My only tiny gripe about Windex is that the wood was slightly discolored after it dried.

It seemed to work better for me because with the ammonia in the Windex you don't have to soak the wood just mist it, I never noticed discoloration. If anything the only thing I noticed was it roughed up the surface a bit but a quit light sanding fixed that. There are many different ways of doing it, I had a friend that would soak fully built fuses and wings weighted down in a bathtub of warm water overnight..I never had the courage to do that, but I never seen him build anything straight either lol so he had a lot of practice I guess.

 

[Joker 53150]

I'm not doubting amonia may work better, just noting that plain water is an option. The discoloration I had was very minor, and nothing you'd notice once the balsa was covered. Using both liquids on a test I was able to wrap 1/16" sheet around the tight curve of a CA bottle.

 

[flyingj]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to try the windex option for sure, I don't have any money invested in this project yet but I also don't want to throw money at a project that is doomed to fail.

 

[BobK]

I am positive either will work just fine for taking the warps out, I have only used water once and Windex many times so that is my experience only, Joker knows his way around balsa so I don't take his advice lightly. I will say with either method make sure to keep the parts weighted/pinned down flat until they are completely dry. As mentioned earlier you can possibly "build" the warp out, but I feel it would be best to try and get straight pieces before you begin, especially if you are fairly new to building. Can you post a pic showing how much warp you are dealing with?

 

[Joker 53150]

Joker knows his way around balsa so I don't take his advice lightly.

Mrs. Joker usually laughs at my advice, so I appreciate your benefit of the doubt!

 

[Ken-The-Woodman]

I would wet the wood with witch-ever fluid you pick and press between a FLAT workbench or table and something like a cutting board or piece of plywood and leave for a day or more. Stack a bunch of books or something on top to give it plenty of weight. Maybe put plastic sheet or wax paper under and on top of warped pieces to keep table and plywood dry.

 

[Amcknight31]

Maybe. It depends on which pieces and how bad the warping is. If the parts are secured firmly during construction it may pull warps out. You might be able to lightly steam the sheets and lay them flat and weighted down to remove some warping. If it is the "sticks" which are warped those can be easily replaced with new wood.

If the warping is really bad, you may have to cut your own parts out.