Where to buy wood?

[dannyual767]

Besides a local hobby shop, where do you guys purchase your wood to make boats?

 

[Eric Perez]

I know what you mean. If you are buying a lot of wood from the LHS the price can add up quick. I've used balsausa.com in the past and have had good results. Some of the other boars members have recommended lonestare-models.com (I think this is Tom's top pick). Climate also sells wood on-line.

http://www.balsausa.com

http://www.lonestar-models.com

http://www.climatemodels.com

 

[dannyual767]

Eric, thanks for the links. I'm going to take a look. I'm thinking about tracing out some of the parts from my Dumas kits so that I can make an additional boat. I'm also thinking about buying some plans and making something else.

 

[Ron Olson]

Danny, here is one more, http://superiorbalsa.com/ . The prices are pretty close at most of these places, the quality is what makes the big difference. Knowing where you are would help in getting a place closer to you.

Copying a Dumas kit is nothing new. You can get a better boat using other wood than what is supplied. Die cutting is out, Laser cutting is now the thing to do.

 

[dannyual767]

Ron, I went to the Climate models website and read about their laser cutting service. This seems the way to go. Do you or anyone else reading this thread have any experience with this. For one thing, I don't have any real woodworking equipment and cutting the parts out by hand would be a real pain and probably not all that accurate.

 

[Kez]

Danny,

In an effort to save cost, I have used marine grade plywood successfully for years. These are typically made from Occume. The thinning available size is 1/8" so it is perfect for frames and bulkheads.

The plywood is waterproof and I pay about Cad$56 for a 4X8 sheet.

Check with your local lumber yard or boat builder.

Kez

 

[Ron Olson]

Yes, I do. The Hammerhead .12 boat is Laser cut on my sisters Laser cutter. She can only do up to a 12"x24" sheet though. Peter at Climate can do any size that you need. All my sis needs is a floppy or CD with the diagram on it with the right program. Wade knows more about that part than I do.

 

[dannyual767]

Kez, thats a 4x8 foot sheet of 1/8" marine ply you're talking about, right? $56 Canadian? Thats not bad. I should be able to find a sheet of that here in Ft Walton Beach, FL with all of our boating .

Ron, I guess that I've got to get the drawings or tracings of my Dumas parts on to cd or floppy and then get that to the laser cutting service? It must be cool having a sister with a laser cutter. At least she can cut most of the boat parts for you. Even big boat parts can be done with the exception of hydro top pieces or sides of mono hulls.

 

[Ron Olson]

She bought it for her Scrapbooking store then moved it to her home when she had enough of travelling plus the hours. Now she and my brother-in-law are doing signs, banners, boat lettering and a dozen other things that can be done with one. They also branched off into "Subliminals", printing on T-shirts, hats, mouse pads, key fobs, license plates, coffee mugs, etc..

 

[P THOMAS]

Lone star Balsa is a good source for cheap wood.. 1/8" X 6" X 48" $3.60

http://www.lonestar-models.com/

 

[Mike Hughes]

Check around your local area. We have a place in Tacoma, WA called B&D Plywood. The last time I bought wood for my scale it was $60 for two sheets. 1/32, 1/16 one of each. They were 50" x50".

Mike

 

[dannyual767]

I'll do some checking locally. I'd still like to get the wood laser cut.