Thread: Strengthening Balsa

Wood hardners or stabilizing solutions are (usually) just plexglas dissolved in Acetone or MEC.
If you do the E How method I suggest you use only glass for the container. Acetone and MEC are solvents that will eat through plastics.
However, if this is needed, why use Balsa to start with? Stabilizing will make it heavy, partially defeating the advantages of that light wood.

Basically I was thinking of a way to make bandsaw boxes or thick boxes on a scroll saw, so I thought of Balsa. Due to it being soft and easily dented, I was then wondering if it could be hardened after I cut it.

Part

Originally Posted by Rifleman1776

However, if this is needed, why use Balsa to start with? Stabilizing will make it heavy, partially defeating the advantages of that light wood.

Why not use Paulownia or WRC The relative density's are
Balsa approx. 130 kg
Paulownia approx. 275 kg
WRC approx. 380 kg

There both very workable timbers. The Paulownia is very light in colour, like balsa and takes staining well if you want it.

Whitewood

Apparently Paulownia is good enough for the Japanese.......take a look at the first post in this thread:

https://www.woodworkforums.com/f152/3...y-over-130524/