SIMON CRAGG Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Thought I might have a go at building a Buggly Ugger from plans over the winter. Ideal, I thought. Warm model room / tea / ginger biscuits etc etc. Then I looked in to the price of balsa, as all our local shops are long gone. Its INSANE!. No wonder not many people build from plans anymore.....be cheaper to grow my own balsa tree and sit and wait. I might be going to the wrong suppliers.......anybody know of a decent on? Cheers. Simon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Contact SLEC directly. they will choose the right grade of wood for your job and will ship it to you. I bought some ply from them recently and I had to keep adding bits to make it up to the minimum value I needed for a card payment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broken Prop Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 SLEC timber is of excellent quality and so is that provided by the Balsa Cabin. To save on costs buy a balsa stripper and cut your own strip from sheet material. It saves a small fortune! There are a number of good balsa strippers on the market, from Kavan, SLEC and the like, but I normally use one made by Avicraft which seems to suit me better. Good luck with the build! Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMON CRAGG Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 Thanks chaps. Done all the balsa stripping, its sheet and triangular section I need. Will price up SLEC but sounds good so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Another for SLEC balsa Check for any discounts if you by up to a certain value. By thinking two or three projects ahead and buying in bulk you can make a decent dent in the price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Evans 3 Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Look ahead and think of snakes , glues ,covering ,clevices , nuts and bolts ----etc,. and get from SLEC or Balsa Cabin etc. i.e do a comprehensive one off shopping list to minimise shipping costs . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Yes, possibly your wood may seem expensive but A) at least you will know that it is properly built and properly glued. B) you will have had the pleasure of actually building your own model and C) it opens up a huge range of models which you can cover in your own colourscheme. Think, no more picking up someone elses model because you can tell the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Balsa is expensive- it needs to be used carefully to minimise waste! Carriage is expensive so buying at shows is popular, or buying with other club members. Deciding if 48 inch lengths or 4inch sheet might be more economical is worthwhile but beware the carriage cost might increase for 48 inch. ( many 52 inch wings can make do with 48 inch spars & LE sheeting when you allow for the tips) The good thing about home built models in balsa is that they are repairable in most instances, especially electric where there is no problem with fuel soaked areas. Triangular strip seems the most expensive of all, it may be much cheaper to use a square strip cut from a sheet. Making square notches in formers instead of triangular may be necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 If you want quality, straight edged sheets and exactly what grade you order then Balsa Cabin is really the only option in my opinion. SLEC are great for links, hinges etc but I find that their wood is really not up to that standard. Sorry if I offended you people at SLEC because you do offer a very good range of other bits and I use you a lot. I do a lot of wing sheeting and find that the Balsa Cabin stuff does not generally require any cutting to enable butt joints to be made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 I was in Balsa Cabin this afternoon for some odds'n' ends, a real Aladdin's cave of delight for the builder The ladies on the desk sure know their stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Bird Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 I have to agree about the Balsa Cabin, the last balsa order I made was nothing short of superb. You don't worry so much about price if the quality is of a high standard, I was very pleased to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Bennett Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Use Depron it's even cheaper. runs away and hides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMON CRAGG Posted November 19, 2016 Author Share Posted November 19, 2016 All valid points (apart from the Depron ), will have to have a re-think. uggly buggly coming on well though despite the plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Z Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Posted by Cuban8 on 18/11/2016 21:00:49: I was in Balsa Cabin this afternoon for some odds'n' ends, a real Aladdin's cave of delight for the builder The ladies on the desk sure know their stuff! +1 vote And I use SLEC for a variety of parts as well, some are hard to find elsewhere Edited By Stuart Z on 20/11/2016 04:03:06 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetenor Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 All right for those that live nearby but out of 5 lms so called within fairly easy reach 2 are trains 1 does R/C Cars another is plastic kits and toyz Th e furthest one about 10 miles is very good.There is one or maybe two in Colwyn Bay which look good but not had a chance to visit them Ply I can get cheaply from Enrique Iglesias in Spain Even with postal charges but have to rely on the net at present for balsa etc. I'm giving Depron a try but I'm finding working on my lap tray a bit of a pain Hopefully things will improve after 2nd Dec when" hopefully" I get hip replacements.. I hope I haven't hijacked the thread too much. regards John ( one tenor ) Mantova Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIGGER Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 You should be so lucky, here in Cyprus every item big or small has to come via mail , and postal charges are very high. But at least to offset this we have good flying weather nearly all year round. The way we get round it is to buy in baulk with other flyers and have it shipped over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanN Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 Posted by onetenor on 20/11/2016 07:16:27: Ply I can get cheaply from Enrique Iglesias in Spain Is that the chap that came on here a while ago offering Okume plywood? Didn't realise he was still going - do you have contact details? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMON CRAGG Posted November 20, 2016 Author Share Posted November 20, 2016 Tom, many thx for the picture. Any idea what they flew like? Simom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mannyroad Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 for Balsa Cabin from me too. Always get really well matched grades when buying multiple sheets and 'the ladies on the desk', whom i met earlier this year at Weston, really do know their stuff indeed. SLEc are excellent too, though I usually use them for all the other accessories I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMON CRAGG Posted November 21, 2016 Author Share Posted November 21, 2016 Great. Thx Tom. Given me the motivation to finish the model. Needless to say, I will be keeping out of the way of others whilst prop-hanging! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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