What Type Of Wood Do You Use?

[tycobb9999]

Hello members,

If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to know what type of wood everyone uses for their aircraft models. Also, where do you get the wood? If you're using pine, is one type of pine as good as another; in other words, could I just go buy a piece of 2x4 Southern Yellow Pine stud and start carving? What type of wood would you suggest a rank beginner use?

Any help would be appreciated,

Scott   

[Ken Pugh]

I use poplar for most all of my parts.  Sometimes I will also use basswood.  I never use balsa unless weight is a consideration.  My choice of poplar comes from the ship modeling guys, though they don't use poplar.  Ship modelers use many species of wood for different parts of their ship.  The scratch builders absolutely love the harder woods because they take detail better and hold it crisply, which is desirable for our applications.  Of course, the harder woods are harder to carve, but that forces one to use quality knives that are properly sharpened.  I do not consider an Xacto blade to be a quality knife, but I do use them for some basic cutting tasks.  I have carving knives by Two Cherries and Ramuelson.  I hone and strop them to a good carving edge.  I also hone and strop an Xacto blade before using, which makes a huge difference.

Basswood is an excellent all-around wood, especially for the beginner.  It is easily obtained at craft stores.  It carves easily and holds the detail well.  The main reason I don't use it is because it gets very delicate when it is thin.  I gave up on it when the nice, thin, trailing edge of one of my wings started chipping away during construction.  That is the main reason I went to poplar.

Poplar can be had at Lowe's and Home Depot.  It is not a pretty wood, almost green, sometimes nearly purple/pink in color.  It is harder and can be sanded or planed to a beautiful, hard surface.  My trailing edges do not break when the wing is made of poplar.  You can get a sharp, durable trailing edge that can cut you, which I found out the hard way.  With a couple of coats of sanding sealer you can retain what you carve very nicely.  I also like that there is not too of a problem with the grain, like you get with pine.  Pine can have hard grain right next to very soft wood, giving you valleys in your carving that have to be filled.

All woods have their pros and cons.  You develop the skills to deal with their characteristics.  Basswood is a good choice for a beginner but so is pine.  As you can tell, I love poplar.  Look over carving books in the library and you can get some great info on knife and wood choices, along with techniques for sharpening the knives.  Of course, I say this yet you will not find carvers that use poplar, it is mainly used by cabinet makers for the inside work that is not seen, or when the finished product is painted.  If you will not be painting your model, poplar will not look very good.

Ken Pugh

[tycobb9999]

What an excellent and informative reply, Ken. Thank you so much for taking the time to help me!

Scott

[Balsabasher]

You just do not realise how lucky you are to have woods like that available to you,here in the UK exotic woods have vanished as all of the old suppliers have gone bust,even Basswood is difficult to get hold of and the only places you find it are dolls house emporiums and certain Hobbycraft shops,I used to scrounge Jelutong from pattern shops but those have vanished as well because now they cut synthetic plastic blocks from CAD input.
That is one of the reasons I use Balsa wood because it is available to me,I have learned the best ways to get the good results from it by experimentation,you just have to work extra hard on the filling process.
I would love to get those woods you mention Ken and experiment with them.
Barry.

[dave_t]

I am convinced there is nothing wrong with using balsa if you know how to work with it. The quality of the stock may have something to do with it too. Most of the models at this link  http://www.flickr.com/photos/35989855@N08/ were carved from balsa during the 1940s and '50s (some of these pics are posted on SMM also, by the way)

[Ken Pugh]

Absolutely, balsa works.  Many woods can be used but they require a set of skills to use them.  Grain filling is different for different woods.  Similar results can also be obtained with different techniques.  I have developed a stupid allergy to balsa that is very annoying.  The allergy is less with basswood and practically nonexistent with poplar.  Some balsa also has a mineral content that dulls knives quickly.  Like I said, I never use it unless weight is a consideration.

Another thing about poplar I like, it is very sturdy.  I encourage people to handle my models all they like because they are very durable.  You ought to see the amazement in a child's eyes when you tell them to go ahead and touch all they like.  I have to caution them when I have brass pitot tubes or when the model is large because they can hurt themselves with them.  I love dropping the model I am working on and doing more damage to what it fell on than the model!  A nice hard wood that does not dent easily is handy.

Another thing to consider is the word hardwood.  That does not necessarily mean the wood is hard.  The term is describing the tree the wood came from, not the hardness of the wood.  There are some fruit tree woods that are excellent for carving but they are very expensive.

You can get red oak from the same place in Lowe's but I would not recommend it for models.  It is real hard, though not as hard as maple (that's why they make baseball bats out of maple).  I use it for the display stand sometimes, like on my F-102 model (see my gallery).  When looking for pine, look where they have the nice shelving boards.  They are about 3/4 inch thick and about 12 inches wide and are usually a pretty good pine.

That is terrible to hear about the UK and wood.  All the elder ship modelers from the UK keep telling us Yanks to use these better woods and they are becoming scare in their country!  What a shame.  I have an exotic wood store here in town but have not been there yet as we have been economically challenged lately.  I am disabled and can't work and my wife was out of work for 6 1/2 months.  She is back to work now so maybe I'll be able to stop in there some time.  I could be very happy with what they throw away in the dumpster (skip).

Make sure you check in with any shops in your area that make anything from wood, like those places that make furniture that you finish yourself.  They typically throw away chunks of wood that are useless to them but treasures to you.  Introduce yourself and maybe they will set pieces aside for you.

Ken Pugh

[cliff strachan]

I'd like to put in a plug for Balsa. The principal advantage is that it is more adaptable to smaller models. In other words if space is a consideration - you don't  have the physical room to set up a real workshop or space to store a collection of finished models - then size of model and work area are important. Apartment dwellers fit into this category.

The chief disadvantage of balsa  is in regard to its graininess.  However, the obvious grain attributed to balsawood is easily eliminated using the old mixture of telcum powder and clear dope. About three coats with sanding in between easily takes care of this feature. After this a coat of lacquer before applying enamel is the usual process.

Also with balsa you can adapt various tools to carve the product - various grades of sandpaper, razor blades, xacto knives - an endless list.
However, just because you have chosen balsawood as the primary building material doesn't mean that you are stuck with only using that medium. When required a harder wood may be required. Then we have any number to chose from: basswood and on. I also use plastic and aluminum when needed.

Cliff.

[tycobb9999]

Great discussion. I'll check the home stores and/or Hobby Lobby for basswood or poplar. Being inexperienced, I'm not sure I'd do well with balsa at first. Thanks to all who have participated.

[Balsabasher]

I agree a great discussion and learning things all the time here,one odd practise I use sometimes is balsa wings and basswood fuselage depending on what wood I have in my stash,I like the feel of certain woods they just seem right for different sizes of model,crazy eh ?!
Ken I have never heard of a balsa allergy ? having been poisoned by model Glow-fuel and had to stop using it abruptly after doctors orders I then became allergic to fibreglass,the doctor told me that these things build up and kick into our systems sometimes after many years,I hate fibreglass,the smell and the mess etc,how people can work in those fumes every day beats me ? thats the nice thing with wood,so natural and friendly a feel to it,you just feel part of it as you build as we all know.
I will go along with that about local wood shops and their offcuts,discovered one myself recently with hefty chunks of timber for the asking,just need a decent bandsaw to cut it now,and dont forget the stores that sell whitewood furniture,they often sell off broken furniture for peanuts,it is akin to a whitish ramin or even obeche with its more open grain,there are many types of ramin some much harder than others it is popular with the ARTF kit producers in China,check out your mouldings rack at the DIY stores for excellent pre-cut stripwood in useful small model wing sizes,one long strip produces a lot of small models and it carves up beautifully.
Yes the UK now is suffering badly with very few model shops in the high street left,everyone is doing mail order these days and it has killed those outlets,I owned and operated the last true vintage model shop in the UK,I filled it with period kits and models filling the ceiling,after 15 years the lease went up double so I had to quit but it was a shop that I always wanted and set it up with very little cash as well,I achieved my dream at least.
Keep searching out those offcuts to make small masterpieces.
Barry.

[Oceaneer99]

Wood availability and cost vary greatly by region.  I was recently in Texas and was amazed by the beautiful spruce construction lumber.  In my region (Pacific Northwest), the typical construction timber is ugly hemlock, with the odd Douglas fir thrown in.

My preference is usually to use basswood.  I buy the hobby sheets for wings and other thin parts, and have a big plank I bought a few years ago that I use for fuselages.  However, I have used a number of other woods including:

Douglas fir: but prominent grain require a lot of filling; so much fir was used in old house construction in the Pacific Northwest that I frequently find it salvage.  Gets brittle as it ages and likes to split during carving. True firs are much nicer than Douglas fir (which isn't really a fir) for carving.

red cedar: prominent grain can be a problem, soft, I get this scrap from outdoor furniture and fence construction, and use pieces with very close, straight grain only.  The heartwood is a dark red-brown and is harder than the whitish outer wood

poplar: hard, holds crisp details, inexpensive and easily available in thicknesses of 3/4-inch down to 1/4 inch

longleaf or Ponderosa pine: if I can get it -- fairly even grain, holds crisp details, easy to work; costs about the same for me as poplar, but more expensive than utility woods

yellow pine: inexpensive, occasionally if I find a piece with even grain and no pitch; sometimes I find better-to-use white pine thrown in with the common grade yellow pine boards.  I've used yellow pine for a number of models because I had scrap around

spruce: I find this in the random "whitewood" stacks sold for furring strips.  Very inexpensive here, and frequently I find close-grained, clear pieces in there.  The better remodeling contractors use spruce here for construction timbers, and one gave me some scrap pieces that I've been using for ship model hulls

balsa: as already mentioned by others, it can be difficult to fill the porous grain, details may be a little soft, but in the hands of an expert (see Balsabasher), amazing things can be done with it.  I use it for "period" models where I'm trying to recreate the look of a 1930s model.  I buy it at a hobby store, but it is fairly expensive.  Good material for introducing solid models to children, because they can shape with files, rasps, and sandpaper instead of chisels and knives

boxwood, limewood, etc.: old drawers are a good source of 1/4-inch or 1/2-inch wood of these and similar species which carve nicely

maple, birch, etc.: I haven't used these for models but expect that they should work fine based on my use of them for other projects; nice, even grain

alder: an inexpensive hardwood available in the Pacific Northwest.  Softer than poplar, it is a fairly nondescript wood with boring grain, so tends to be overlooked by woodworkers, but it carves well.  I've used it in the construction of my workbench.

I have avoided the following for models: white and red oak due to open grain, walnut due to hardness, other exotics due to cost

Garet

[Balsabasher]

Wow Garet that really is a useful list of suitable timbers,as you say woods are very regional and vary so much in quality depending on areas of forests,I yearn to try some of these woods that you mention here,they are so beautiful in grain and texture each requiring different techniques gained through practise and experimentation,I remember many years ago visiting a long gone exotic woods supplier and he gave me a wood swatch ( wood cut into slithers and held together with a bolt ) the colours and qualities were so different much akin to the way those people make marquetry pictures.
One thing to remember if you do use balsa and that is the fragile state just after carving and sanding changes dramatically once sanding sealer has been applied,those seemingly frail trailing edges become tougher and after another coat stiffen up dramatically,it is certainly fun re-creating 1930's solids from those old 'Flying Aces' pulp mags.
And does anyone remember seeing constant references to a wood called 'Satin Walnut' ? this timber was mentioned in many re-war articles on building solids,I never did manage to get any of it but even now would love to give it a try,so what exactly is satin walnut ?
Barry.

[Oceaneer99]

Barry,

According to an on-line dictionary, "Satin Walnut" is really Sweet Gum.  According to Wood Magazine: The often beautifully figured stock can resemble walnut. And when quartersawn, it passes as the costly Circassian walnut fancied for fine furniture and gunstocks.

You have a good point about the sanding sealer toughening up thin edges.  Your comment reminded me that Ray and I both tried using the very thin (not the gel kind) superglue to strengthen end grain of small parts that need a sharp edge.  I use it around engine nozzles and intakes as well as for small parts in ship models.  After the glue has dried, the wood parts sand almost like a piece of plastic, so you can continue to carve the edge thinner.  I have also used it to keep cardstock pieces of models from fraying, though I sometimes use lacquer instead.

Garet

[Balsabasher]

Thank you for the cyno tip Garet,what I always realise now is that those models we once fashioned using Secotine to stick them  can now be made again with these excellent modern adhesives at our disposal, and also our knowledge and use of better tools can produce such finer replicas from those old plans.
You have reminded me of the use of micro balloons to build up wing fillets etc on solids,the fine balloons can be easily mixed with binders such as aliphaetic resin to build up the fillet,more balloons produce a dough like mass that can be shaped carefully into the compound curves required,whilst the balloons were aimed at light weight flying models there is no reason why we cannot use this excellent material,used in admixture with cyno produces a wonderous smoky puff and instant setting,so beware of this,however this can be used to advantage as a gradual build up of the balloons first with cyno,then changing over to other additives such as aliphaetic yellow adhesive for the upper layers to get the desired effect.
Experimentation is the answer,those requiring a more gentle and workable solution should try DAS modelling material which I have used with great success in the past,and if you need detailed small components then FIMO oven bake material takes some beating,mould your own radial engines,props and wheels at will,but remember this is a stanalone material so do not place the model in the oven ! bake up the parts for 25 minutes then add them to the model later,and yes it will file and shape beautifully.

Sorry to get a bit off track re wood uses but this seemed an appropiate time to mention these modern products at our disposal today.
Barry.

[lastvautour]

I can't believe I never gave my 2 cents worth on this post. Better late than none. I mostly use clear pine with a bit of mahogany and basswood. I tried spruce but found it a bit to hard.

Lou

PS, please visit the link provided by Dave. Excellent photos.

[K_mars]

The wood used by Japanese modelers is a Japanese specialty. The name is "Hoonoki" and the scientific name is "Magnolia obovata".
The wood is strong, light, and easy to work, sought by craftsmen.
The origin of the plastic model mold is made of this wood. The photos are "Ilyushin Il-4" made by a professional.