Okay, so we need about 3 guys to volunteer. Your mission: fly down to Ecuador (or where-ever, I'm an engineer, not a geographer), cut down a couple of prime light balsa trees , tie them together, and raft them back to the good ole USA. I got a chainsaw out in the garage and a table saw in the shop. So if you guys will do that, I think I can handle the rest.
Okay, so who wants to volunteer? Show of hands, please?
Speaking of rafts,( and in a way your were) deos everyone remember the voyage of the Kontiki? I may not have the spellings correct, but a gentleman named Thor Hyderdal (I'm sure I butchered his name) wrote a book by that name on his theory that the islands in the South Pacific were inhabited by people who's ancestors sailed there in balsa rafts from South America, and recreated the trip in the Kontiki. Well, he almost made it and I think proved his point. The raft eventually made it's was here to St. Louis and ended up in the St. Louis Museum of Transport. When they took possession of it, conservation efforts were the first thing that they thought of, as it was beginning to deteriorate quite a bit. Some one from the parks department, which over sees the museum, was familiar with Bob Underwood, who many of you know as an outstanding scale builder and who led the Greater St. Louis Modeling Association for many years. What better person to ask about preserving balsa than a model airplane builder! I don't remember exactly what transpired as this was many years ago, but if I ever get back to the museum, I will be sure to ask if they still have the remains of the raft.
And along the lines of rafts, I have built many models using would I acquired form a local source that were life preservers from the old SS Admiral excursion boat that used to be moored and operated from the St. Louis river front. I bought 640 balsa planks life preservers that measured 2" by 12" by 36" for 200 bucks!. And most of it was contest grade and weight, some as light as 3 pound per cubic foot. These were made in the early 1930 and I think were on the original ship that the hull came from , which was a rail road ferry called the Albatross. I sold some off as the years went by and still have about 100 I think. I have to count them. It was great wood for wing tip and fuselage blocks!. I also have some small blocks that an since passed away club members reclaimed from a rail car that used it as insulation. I think it was common years ago to use balsa block as insulation on refrigerated rail cars and some trucks.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
Topic: A head's up about balsa in the immediate future (Read 11892 times)