Thread: Spruce substitute?

Celery top pine might be another.

Celery Top Pine

Cheers,


Frank.

What about Paulownia? Nice and light weight. Seems to be plenty of it around too!...MM

My son had a hobby shop selling radio controlled boats, planes and cars etc. I investigated this very subject and came up with silver quandong (eleocarpis grandis). It has a similar density to spruce, straight grained and strong. The model plane enthusiasts reconed it was a very good substitute, better than spruce itself.
Oregon has too much variation in grain density. Some of the sections used in model planes can be as small as 2mm x 2mm.
Jim

Originally Posted by powderpost

My son had a hobby shop selling radio controlled boats, planes and cars etc. I investigated this very subject and came up with silver quandong (eleocarpis grandis). It has a similar density to spruce, straight grained and strong. The model plane enthusiasts reconed it was a very good substitute, better than spruce itself.
Oregon has too much variation in grain density. Some of the sections used in model planes can be as small as 2mm x 2mm.
Jim

Where would you get this or the other posters suggestions ?
I live in NSW and have never seen any of them in wood yards.

you want hoop pine. they sell it in bunnies for inflated prices as "clear pine". its branded by Hynes. google hoop pine and aeroplane and check out the stats on density and strength etc. its used for small plane manufacturing in place of spruce. there are some great sites.

i think ive seen hoop in sydney in the yard near black wattle bay. ( not the recycled wood place)

you can get silver quandong sometimes in northern nsw in mullumbimby or at the wood shop in urunga if you are in that area. it is however pretty rare and generally denser than spruce by a long shot based on the timber i've bought in the past. go for hoop i think.

try this for info:

http://www.recreationalflying.com/tu...html#table_2-7

I have some spruce that may be suitable.

Let me know if you are interested.

Cheers

Doug

Hi F Murtz,
I may have this wrong, but had a bit to do with Bunnies this year, & out the back, they have all kinds of FREE timber in their Waste Bin.
Not sure what Timber it was, but I got some 50 x 50mm, maybe some kind of pine.
Seems to be quite dense. Not sure if this is what you are after, & it is free, all you have to do is ask.

Originally Posted by F Murtz

Model planes often call for spruce but this is australia, is there any replacement available in au.
Would no 1 clear oregon be similar

First, wellcome to the Forum.

Spruce for model planes ? We used balsa.

Do not know about model planes but I do a little bit of sailing. Back in the days when yachts had wooden masts the prefered timbers, in order, were as follows:

1. Spruce
2. Oregon
3. Celery Top Pine.

My yacht has an oregon mast (built 1962), but I am not sure if I would be happy replacing it with oregon now. The plantation oregon is very different from the forest grown timber of yore.

Do not know if this will help or not.




Fair Winds

Graeme

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

First, wellcome to the Forum.

Spruce for model planes ? We used balsa.

Do not know about model planes but I do a little bit of sailing. Back in the days when yachts had wooden masts the prefered timbers, in order, were as follows:

1. Spruce
2. Oregon
3. Celery Top Pine.

My yacht has an oregon mast (built 1962), but I am not sure if I would be happy replacing it with oregon now. The plantation oregon is very different from the forest grown timber of yore.

Do not know if this will help or not.




Fair Winds

Graeme

Mainly balsa, but this plane has an 82" wing span and it needs some spars of spruce or some such,the spars in the wing are 1/8"x1/2" so the timber has to be straight grained

Originally Posted by F Murtz

Mainly balsa, but this plane has an 82" wing span and it needs some spars of spruce or some such,the spars in the wing are 1/8"x1/2" so the timber has to be straight grained

I have spruce, as I posted above.

Let me know if you are interested. Its aircraft grade

Cheers

Doug

Originally Posted by F Murtz

Where would you get this or the other posters suggestions ?
I live in NSW and have never seen any of them in wood yards.

I've got plenty of Silver Quandong. PM me a list of what you need.

Thanks for all the kind offers but shipping is the bugbear, I am looking for local supplies that I can pick up.

In many cases shipping costs more than the item.
I live 100 kms from sydney NSW Australia (Couridjah)
And for some strange reason a lot of the stuff I want is in any state but where I live.

I just got a bit of clear pine from masters and a bit of poplar.
the poplar seems straighter grain but less pronounced.
Which do people think is the best substitute for spruce?