4DM00571-1 [file:4DM00571-1.jpg] Balsa Sheet (Metric)

Balsa Sheet (Metric)

1 pc / 1 x 100 x 1000mm
£5.75
Skip to product information
Balsa Sheet (Metric)
  • Balsa Sheet (Metric)
  • Balsa Sheet (Metric)
  • Balsa Sheet (Metric)
  • Balsa Sheet, 1.0 x 100 x 1000 (1 pc)
Balsa Sheet (Metric)

4D

Balsa Sheet (Metric)

1 pc / 1 x 100 x 1000mm(1)
SKU: 4DM00571
In stock (27 available)

Renowned for being the lightest timber available, balsa wood is the classic choice for aircraft modelling and architectural prototypes due to its soft, velvety texture and ease of use. It requires no heavy machinery and can be effortlessly cut, pinned, or glued, making it an essential material for lightweight, stable constructions.

£5.75
Selected options
Make your selections below. Size:
Size
Make a selection
This combination doesn't exist — try a different option.
This combination is out of stock.
Features
  • Exceptional Lightweight Performance: As the lightest of all timbers, Balsa is the industry standard for aircraft modelling and architectural studies where weight and ease of transport are critical.
  • Effortless Workability: Designed for high-speed prototyping; it can be shaped and trimmed using basic hand tools like a craft knife, eliminating the need for heavy machinery or specialised workshop equipment.
  • Uniform Grain Structure: Features a straight grain with a soft, velvety texture and a consistent whitish finish, providing a clean and professional aesthetic for presentation models.
  • Dimensional Stability: Renowned for its low shrinkage rates during drying, ensuring that complex structures and delicate assemblies maintain their precision and shape over time.
  • Versatile Assembly: Highly compatible with all-purpose glues and wood adhesives; its soft composition allows for easy "pinning" to hold complex geometries in place during the curing process.
Found in...
Find more products like this in these collections:

4D, All Products, Balsa, Brands, Brown, Materials, Shapes & Forms, Sheet Materials, Wood & Timber

Description

Its extremely light weight makes balsa ideal for aircraft models and the fact that it can be worked on without the need for heavy tools meant that it was predestined for use in architectural model making as well. Balsa can be cut with a cutter but it should be done carefully because when cutting across the grain the wood tends to tear. Gluing work can be done with Teas all-purpose glue (Technicoll), Uhu hard or Ponal. Balsa slats or rods can be provisionally joined together with pins.

Attributes: Balsa wood comes from the Ochroma pyramidal or Ochroma lagopus tree, which grows in the tropical areas of America. The wood for the market comes mainly from balsa forests or plantations in the low-lying western foothills of the Ecuadorian Andes. The tree is ready to be felled after 5 or 6 years; by then it has reached the stately height of 20 metres with a diameter of between 35 and 60 centimetres.

The softwood balsa has the lightest weight of all the timbers. Its gross density runs between 0.05 and 0,41 kg/dm. The best balsa wood has a whitish colour that sometimes shows a light reddishness and a straight grain structure. It is glossy and has a soft and velvety feel. The texture is medium rough but uniform. When balsa dries out it shrinks very little and holds its stability even if that is fairly low to begin with. Balsa is used industrially for heating and sound insulation. It is, of course, most well known as the classic material for airplane model making.

Unit Converter

in
cm
mm