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Wood For Making Buck
thegodplato - 29/4/10 at 09:18 AM

Hi there,
does anyone recommend any suppliers of balsa wood for using to make my buck for my car? All the suppliers I have come across seem to be model shops selling 300mm or 450mm X 100mm/75mm thin sheets.
I was looking at making the `profile` out of 6mm plywood along the length of the body and then covering it in 0.8mm or 1.6mm balsa, before applying a filler on top and smoothing it down to get the final shape from which I would then take the fibreglass moulds from.
If this isn't the best way to do it, please let me know as I'm open to any suggestions/advice

tegwin - 29/4/10 at 09:33 AM

Balsa is pretty expensive...

I would be using ply for the structure and then builders insulation foam sheets for the main body... shape it wil a file, then put filler on the surface and sand it down to get the perfect shape etc for your buck...

chrsgrain - 29/4/10 at 10:13 AM

I'v not done it, but the consensus seems to be ^^^^.

Have a look at the CANAMSA thread, Freds pictures tell a thousand words about how to do it right and reasonably priced (if not quick!)

Chris

Canada EH! - 29/4/10 at 02:22 PM

A good friend of mine built ski boats, he used plywood and pine frames and covered it with what we over hear call masonite, wood and cardboard composite about 3/16" thick, very smooth surface, he then used body filler for the compund curves, his boats are still in vogue and he hasn't build one in over 15 years.

skinned knuckles - 29/4/10 at 02:40 PM

i use ply, chicken wire, PU foam, and filler.

don't know if its right but it has worked for me in the past.

Confused but excited. - 29/4/10 at 05:13 PM

Masonite = Hardboard

Fred W B - 29/4/10 at 07:14 PM

quote:

covering it in 0.8mm or 1.6mm balsa,


Won't be near strong enough to let you bring up a good finish, it will deflect as you try to sand the filler.

You can see what I did

HERE

Thanks for the credit Chris

Cheers

Fred W B


[Edited on 29/4/10 by Fred W B]

thegodplato - 30/4/10 at 12:23 PM

What an impressive thread that was and all respect to you Fred for your perseverance. Fingers crossed I'll be able to keep going but as this has always been a dream of mine, I know I will have to.
Just waiting for my CAD software to arrive and then we can start the `easy` work!!