David Davis Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Posted by Brian Cooper on 17/04/2020 17:05:37: Yup, I have a SLEC stripper. It's not perfect, but it does a fairly good job. So do I. Good enough for my standard of building! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothiquity Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 I have a master airscrew one, works pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Stephenson Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 I borrowed a Slec stripper once and didn't get on with it because as soon as the edge you are cutting off gets wavy the remaining strips go the same way. A scroll saw is much better but nothing beats a band saw with a fine tooth blade. A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devcon1 Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 Still use a Slec. Found a great alternative use for it to slice strips of 8mm insulation for my Campervan floor. Had to make lots of various sizes to fill the gaps in the ribbed floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David perry 1 Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 Yes I recall.my issue with the SLEC offering was the perfect reproduction of wave edges. That Vmarr looks a sturdier job. I googled the saws by proxxon...expensive new but most reasonable second d hand and quite commonly up for sale it seems. I might look out my own bench saw and see if I can sort it. I confess I am not really familiar with the uses and differences between bench saw and band saw. I have a huge table saw (?? Big disk thing for slicing olanks) which I use for, erm, slicing planks...big DIY stuff and far too big for balsa. I used to have a vibrating jig saw but it destroyed itself too many times. I've never had a band saw. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Gaskin 1 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 I've had a SLEC one since they first came out. I've mounted mine on a board so that all is rigid & square. Best thing since sliced bread! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David perry 1 Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 Its interesting that some swear BY SLEC and others AT them. What am I doing wrong then, do you think? Maybe my fixing isnt wasnt rigid as it should have been? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Gaskin 1 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 I fixed mine to a 30 x 100 x 1cm piece ply with small countersunk screws so it is well solid 😀 In fact, I've had it so long it would have been in proper imperial measurement! Tom Edited By Tom Gaskin 1 on 18/04/2020 10:39:35 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 It could be the SLEC has a blade that is blunt ( a Swann Morton item I think ) or blade is not fixed properly. Could be you pushed the blade instead of pulling, could be you tried to cut thick balsa with one pass instead of several light cuts. The Channel section needs to be fixed to a wood base using the supplied self adhesive strip. Other than that I cannot see what could go wrong. Well you could be trying to cut without leaving a large enough waste piece on very thin balsa. Needs something to hold onto- perhaps a hold down sheet of 1/8 ply to press down if you want to cut down to the last bit. SLEC is just a little bulky when fixed to a 3 inch by 39 inch wood and assembing the pack of spacers is a little tedious, but no other complaints. Edited By kc on 18/04/2020 10:45:55 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David perry 1 Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 Maybe i should give it a second chance. The price of strip suggests it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 David- see the extra 2 sentances I added - Well you could be trying to cut without leaving a large enough waste piece on very thin balsa. Needs something to hold onto- perhaps a hold down sheet of 1/8 ply to press down if you want to cut down to the last bit. Edited By kc on 18/04/2020 10:48:55 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David perry 1 Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David perry 1 Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Fairgrieve Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 Still use my SLEC version, indeed I have a complete spare one!! By far my favourite one is the Blue Master Airscrew one. The white one is a 3D printed version and mainly gets used for foam and Depron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kettle 1 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 There are many a good balsa stripper on market, like the SLEC unit, I've got two of those in the workshop and get on with it OK. However I wanted a adjustable one. So whilst I was bored with the 'coronavirus syndrome situation', I made one using bits around the shed. Using a Stanley Knife Blade, scraps of soft wood, 1.5mm ply, screws, a coach bolt with a doomed head one end using one nut in the middle and a machine knob on the end of the bolt for adjusting the width of the cuts. Here's some pictures. The hole in the top ignore, ex nail hole, the wood was previously used as a guide when one was tile-ing the bathroom. Above - made a safety cover for the exposed Stanley blade with 1.5 mm ply. Works a treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David perry 1 Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 Very good! Nicely done that man. Thanks everyone...I shall re-investigate the SLEC stripper . INteresting thread as it turned out. Many thanks. D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve de24 1 Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 Nice job on the adjustable balsa stripper. While on the subject of balsa stripping has anyone got any advice for doing 'edge on' stripping. As an example I mean by this I start with a 3 x 36" sheet of 3/16" and from this I want to get 3/32" square strips. I need to cut 3/32" deep all the way along the middle of the sheet edge before putting the sheet down flat and using a conventional balsa stripper. It's the edge cut I'm having trouble with - has anyone found a reliable way of doing this? - thanks in advance. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stevens 1 Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 I still have a Kavan one, had it almost 40 yrs now and it still gets used regularly. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Crosby Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 I use a 3d printed one I found on thingyverse, printed out very well and works great.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Stephenson Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 I think what goes wrong with balsa strippers is when the blade is too flexible it tends to follow the grain of the wood rather than cutting straight and the harder the wood the worse this effect. A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David perry 1 Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 Posted by Pete Crosby on 23/04/2020 18:30:42: I use a 3d printed one I found on thingyverse, printed out very well and works great.. That's neat. I could print that. Thanks. You dont have a link do you? D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Purcha Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 Here it is: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1892640 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David perry 1 Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 Thanks. I've just been told by my son who drives the printer that its tempo u/s for some reason. So this will have to wait sadly while we work out why the prints are failing. Seems everything unsticks from the bed and curls up like a british rail sandwich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Crosby Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 Posted by David perry 1 on 24/04/2020 08:19:29: Thanks. I've just been told by my son who drives the printer that its tempo u/s for some reason. So this will have to wait sadly while we work out why the prints are failing. Seems everything unsticks from the bed and curls up like a british rail sandwich are you on a glass print bed or a taped one ? I have glass (heated) and just use pritstick works very good ,I have only ever lost one print that didnt stick. Edited By Pete Crosby on 24/04/2020 11:49:11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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